Make Your Own Household Cleaning Products, Part 2: Laundry Lessons

As I began my walk towards a more natural life a few years ago, something that shocked and frustrated me was the discovery that there are no regulations that enforce proof of claims on cleaning products. Packages can be labeled with words such as “natural,” “green" and “eco-friendly” and yet still contain hidden, artificial chemicals that create a toxic build up in the environment and in our bodies. This increases our risk for countless health disorders and diminishes our quality of life. In order to ensure that the product is 100% all-natural there needs to be a full ingredient disclosure list with which you can use to verify each ingredient as natural. You can also look up the brands and products online or call the manufacturer directly. Although, I've found that if the product doesn't have 100% ingredient disclosure - it is almost assuredly not 100% natural.  Having to research all of those products just to have peace of mind can get detailed and confusing - especially if you're a natural newbie. That is one of the reasons I love the following homemade recipes for cleaning products. They're also easy to make, inexpensive and effective!

Laundry Detergent
This is not only all-natural and works well with colors or whites, but it also leaves your clothes smelling freshhh! It works with top loader machines as well as in the High Efficiency front-loader variety.  Make several batches at once to save time. I store mine in recycled oatmeal or other tightly sealed containers.

Ingredients:
- 1 Cup Borax (“sodium borate” – a naturally occurring mineral), buy it the laundry section of your grocery store/super store
- 1 Cup Baking Soda
- 1 Cup Washing Soda (natural “sodium carbonate”), buy it in the laundry section of your grocery store/super store
- 1 Bar Castile Soap (An all-natural vegetable based soap) Any 100% natural castile soap will work, I like Dr. Bronner’s Magic Bar Soap that comes in different natural scents.  You can buy castile soap at many grocery/super stores, health food stores, farmer’s markets and vitamin stores.
- Essential Oil (Optional if you want a more fragrant detergent, use a few drops at a time) Find 100% pure essential oils at a health food store.

Directions:
1. Chop up Castile Soap into a few large chunks with a butter knife.
2. Put soap in a blender and grind on “pulse” mode until the soap is the size of peas or smaller. (It’s best if you buy a cheap blender specifically for this and other homemade, non-food products that you make.)
3. Pour ground soap in a big bowl and add other ingredients, stir until mixed.
4. Use 3 TBS per load of laundry (For heavily soiled clothing you can use an additional TBS of detergent, 1/2 cup washing soda and pre-treat stains as directed below.)  Note:  add the detergent directly onto the clothes so that it mixes well – do not use the soap reservoir.

Fabric Softener
Ingredients:
- 1/4 Cup of White Distilled Vinegar
- Essential Oils, a few drops (Optional)

Directions:
1. Put vinegar & essential oils in the liquid fabric softener reservoir of your washing machine or add directly to the final rinse cycle. The vinegar actually works as a great deodorize and will not leave a vinegar smell in the clothes – even if you leave out the essential oils.

Stain Remover:
Soak:
Add 1 tablespoon of Borax per gallon of cool water or 1/2 cup in washer
Pre-soak for at least 30 minutes before washing
Direct Application:
1. Mix  1/4 Cup Borax or Washing Soda and 2 Cups Water
2. Sponge on and let dry
3. Wash as normal

Whiten Whites without Bleach:
- Lemon Juice*:  Pour 1 cup of lemon juice in a bucket half full of water and soak clothes overnight. (*for white clothes only)
- Hydrogen Peroxide*:  Add 1 cup of Hydrogen Peroxide directly into the wash or use “bleach” reservoir in washing machine (*for white clothes only)
- Baking Soda: add about ½ cup into the wash plus your regular detergent.
- Washing Soda: add ¼ to 1 cup to the laundry load during the wash cycle.
- Sunlight: after washing – hang them outside on a bright day. They’ll whiten and smell amazingly fresh!