Laundry, it's a mundane task that we all must do.
Right now, actually, I'm sitting at the laundromat in my apartment building, typing this blog post.
I've done photo shoots in my laundromat (Yeah, girrrrrrrrl) and I often come down to read while I wait for my laundry to finish up. I try to make the most of my chores and laundry is no exception.
This got me thinking about my eco-friendly laundry detergent and how I haven't shared the recipe with all of you, yet!
A couple of years ago I started reassessing the way I was doing laundry. I began by researching DIY laundry detergent, as a way to save some cash, which snowballed into a rabbit hole. The more I researched, the more disgusted I got with what I learned. It was astonishing how many chemicals the average laundry detergents has in it. I could not for the life of me understand why chemicals that are harmful to humans AND the environment were allowed to be in detergent! What made it even worse, was that these chemicals DIDN'T have to be in there.
You know that fresh, homey smell that laundry gives off? Yeah, that's chemicals. Of those, two chemicals, acetaldehyde and benzene, are classified by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency as carcinogens for which the agency has established no safe exposure level. Can you believe that? On top of that, the law, does not require companies to disclose all the ingredients in their cleaning products.
This is when I decided that the only way I could know what was in my laundry detergent, was to make my own.
If you are stretched for time, there are a ton of "natural" laundry detergents out there and they don't cost much more than your average detergent. If you are prone to random headaches, rashes or even suffer from asthma, your regular laundry detergent could be the culprit, so it's wise make the switch sooner rather than later!
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To get started, you'll need these ingredients:
1 bar of your favorite soap, I use Dr.Bronners
1 to 1½ cups washing soda
1 cup baking soda
1/4 cup Epsom salts
1/2 cup powdered citric acid
[if !supportLists]1. [endif]Grab a food grater that you’re OK dedicating to your DIY laundry detergent. Use it to shred your bar of soap into pieces. You can also use your food processor to speed up the process. *This is the most time consuming portion of this process*
[if !supportLists]2. [endif]Place your shavings into your food processor, then scoop the rest of the ingredients in to top it off.
[if !supportLists]3. [endif]Pulse the machine a few times to mix, and you’re done!
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** NOTES ** Be sure to store the detergent in an airtight container. You will need approx. 1-3 tablespoons per load, depending on the size. To make a fresh-smelling batch, add a few drops of essential oils. Feel free to mix and match your oils to customize your scent to personalize your new laundry detergent!
