What? Why? What? Yes, I said make your own detergent. I know it sounds terribly time consuming and is it really necessary? It really is quite simple and well here are some reasons why you may want to:
- It will saves you money
- It is safe and free of toxic chemicals that get on your clothes and therefore on your skin and into your body
- It will saves tons of plastic that ends up in our landfills
- It will not release toxins into our environment like most commercial brands do
Big companies like Tide were in the news recently because their detergent carries a high amount of carcinogens, and Tide just so happens to be the number one laundry detergent sold in the United States! Proctor & Gamble made no apologies for this and stated that they will not reformulate their product because they believe that it is a low amount of carcinogens and that same amount is in most things we use and drink. Here is their response. Well I certainly don't want any amount in my product and if you are using many products a day, a week, what's the percentage of carcinogens and toxic chemicals going into your body and into the environment? Something to certainly think about. What kinds of toxins are in the leading laundry detergents out on the market? Things like Linear alkyl sodium sulfonates, Petroleum distillates, Phosphates, etc. What do these mean? You can click here for a break down. Not good stuff that's for sure.
So here is the best recipe I found out there:
It's by Elizabeth's Kind Cafe and what I love about this one is that it's for liquid laundry detergent which is what most of us use.
2 1/4 Cup Liquid Castile Soap (I use Dr. Bonner’s)
1/4 Cup Distilled White Vinegar (I use Organic – try Whole Foods or your local health food store)
1 Tablespoon Glycerin
3/4 Cup Water
10-15 Drops Essential oil (here you can experiment with a favorite scents like lavender or lemongrass, etc)
Combine all the ingredients, put them in an empty laundry container
Shake before using. Use 1/4 cup for small loads, 1/2 cup for larger loads.
That's it. You will be surprised how a little goes a long way and you can change the scent every month if you'd like until your find your favorite blend. You can find these ingredients at your local health food store, amazon and online.
Now there are alot of worthy laundry detergents out there that are really doing their part and doing it without all the chemicals and allergens that most leading brands carry. Here are a couple of really good for you and good for the planet laundry detergents. You can find these at your local supermarket or heath food stores and Target.
I got this at Target for 11.99 (does about 66 loads)
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| Method Target has this for 7.99 and 14.99 (for 50 loads) |
So this is one more simple step to take in getting healthier and cleaner! :) Please let me know if you try your own laundry detergent and how you like it! Thanks!
