Have you seen THIS article floating around on Facebook- or others like it? It makes me so mad- why can't I walk into a store, buy something marketed to clean my children gently without having to worry that it's actually not good for them or the environment? So many products are like this- I watched a Marketplace episode about "green" products that turned out to be not green at all. So frustrating. Consumerism often infuriates me. But what are we supposed to do? We can research all we want but companies can still trick or mislead us. If your family has the budget, better/natural/organic/green products can be invested in but not every family can afford that. Ours, for instance, is a family of four living off not even one full income since I am at home full time with the kids while Cole is in school full time. We can't afford some of the more health-conscious/environmentally responsible companies. So I started researching homemade products- so I can be sure of the ingredients. Thankfully it's 2013, and the internet is a vast resource of such things.
I already make my own homemade laundry soap- have been for over a year. We love it: it's easy, ridiculously cheap, and as effective as all the commercial laundry soap I've tried. That's the thing- if you're going to make your products, you don't want to sacrifice the result. And I have had 2 babies during my laundry detergent switch- I wouldn't still be doing this if it didn't get out the spit up, poop and other food/dirt stains that come with the territory. I still buy a stain remover for the really tough stuff (stains your commercial detergent wouldn't get out either). I've read about homemade stain remover and even homemade dryer sheets. But I haven't gotten to that yet- one step at a time.
Recipe for Homemade Laundry Detergent
1 cup Borax (the box lasted us a year)
1 cup Washing Soda (the box lasted us longer than a year)
2 finely grated Sunlight Bars (we have to buy a pack of 2 every month probably)
Mix together and keep in a container by your laundry. 1-2 tbsp per load. I use a dry detergent- there's recipes out there if you like liquid. I just use an old formula scoop to measure my soap.
So when my "poisonous" products are gone, I will start trying some of these new recipes. I will have to start getting familiar with the health food stores in order to find the best deals on bulk castile soap (I hear Dr Brommer's is the best) and essential oils. Thankfully things like vinegar and baking soda are dirt cheap. Here are some of the links I'm looking at for recipes. If your family already does some of this and would like to share your experiences, I would love to hear about it- also any recipes you have tested. I will post once I have tested some of these out.
Cole said he's on board for whatever I do- he will use whatever I make. I've talked to him about cloth diapers before but he's always maintained he won't help change diapers if they're cloth (his family used them and had no desire to go back to that). But the night I was talking to him about all this, he said if I wanted to try cloth diapers for the 3rd baby (who is hopefully a long ways off), he will comply. But he warned me that I am entering hippy territory with all this.
Maybe so, but I'm tired of being lied to and wondering what all these strange chemicals are doing to ourselves and the earth. But things take time, one step at a time. I have made the laundry change, next I will look into these recipes and we'll go from there. I like that I will know how to make things that we use everyday. Also, it feels like a way I can help our family be self-sufficient/reliant at a time when I'm not contributing money to our bank account.
http://matthewandemmavickery.blogspot.ca/2013/07/no-poo.html
http://mymerrymessylife.com/2012/10/homemade-moisturizing-baby-shampoo-recipe-free-printable.html
http://mymerrymessylife.com/2012/02/the-magic-and-reality-of-dr-bronners-castile-soap.html
http://mymerrymessylife.com/2012/04/baking-soda-body-scrub-and-soap-100-green-and-gentle.html
http://www.organicauthority.com/sanctuary/3-best-essential-oils-for-cleaning.html
http://liagriffith.com/make-your-own-organic-castile-hand-soap-printable-labels/
http://www.diynatural.com/homemade-toothpaste/
http://sarahhearts.com/2013-08-06/diy-hand-soap/
http://www.diyhomeworld.com/diy-toilet-bombs/
http://tipnut.com/household-baking-soda/
http://fountainavenuekitchen.com/orange-vinegar-a-green-cleaner/
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