Category — Household

I made my own laundry detergent a couple of months ago, thinking I’d try it out and blog about it once I had decided if it worked. Yesterday I ran out and decided it was time to make another batch (I have been happy with the results!) so it’s also time to share.

After reading many, many posts and comments about various methods and various ingredients, I decided to try this recipe for homemade laundry detergent on Passionate Homemaking. Mainly I decided on this one because it is simple, the ingredients aren’t hard to find, and it’s cheap. Luckily, I found it effective.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup liquid castile soap (I like Dr. Bronner’s)
• 2 cups water
• 1/3 cup salt (use regular iodized salt, not sea salt—it’s in there to keep your colors from bleeding out of the fabric and onto other clothing)
• 1 cup baking soda or washing soda

Directions:

1. Warm the salt and baking soda in water until mostly dissolved, then transfer to a one gallon container. It won’t dissolve completely, and actually seems to separate more, and then become a gross paste if you warm it together for too long, so don’t worry about this–just warm it and stir it and when it seems reasonably mixed, move on to the next step.
2. Add your soap, then fill the rest of the jar with water, this giving you 1 gallon of detergent.

The detergent will separate a bit so you’ll want to shake it up each time you use it. Use 1/4 -1/2 cup per load, adding a tablespoon or two of vinegar to your wash during the rinse cycle or in a Downy ball as a fabric softener and disinfectant.

Some recipes suggest adding essential oils, but many others warn not to, because they will break down the fiber in your clothing. I was tempted, since I used the totally unscented Dr. Bronner’s, but then decided against it. Last week I realized I still had some commercial fabric softener to use up, so I used it for our sheets. It was amazing how sensitive my nose has now become–I couldn’t stand the smell of the same stuff I used to like! One idea I read is to put a few drops of essential oils (I love my lavender oil!) on a rag and throw it in the dryer to lightly scent the clothes, but I haven’t tried that yet.

About Dr. Bronner’s: I really love this stuff! I use the unscented baby-mild variety for the detergent, but I also got the lavender kind and I use that (diluted with water, in an old dish soap squirt bottle I saved) in the shower as a body wash and shaving gel (gotta love 2-in-1!) and I have also been refilling soap dispensers around the house with it. It’s concentrated, so you dilute it, and it lasts a long time. I found the 32oz. bottles at Whole Foods for only $8.99, which is about half of what I found it for online or at Target, so definitely try to get it at Whole Foods if you’re able.

Before I even got really interested in natural, whole foods, I read an article in a magazine that sparked my interest in natural beauty products. I learned that the majority of cosmetic and beauty product ingredients have not been evaluated and are not regulated by the FDA, and about some of the links between common ingredients and cancer (parabens), hormone disruption (DEA), and reproductive issues (parabens and phthalates). Within the week I was looking up everything in my bathroom on the Environmental Working Group’s Online Cosmetic Safety Database and filling bags of sweet-smelling, paraben-filled lotions and body sprays to be trashed or given away.

The tricky thing is, most products have SO many ingredients, it’s exhausting to scan them all and try to see what’s what. And the database, while helpful with its rating system, also shares very honestly the data gap that goes along with their rating, so it still leaves a lot to your own judgment.

When I learned the “five ingredients” rule of thumb for food (when buying packaged/processed foods, look for the ones that have five or fewer ingredients, and be sure you recognize each) I thought that would also be a good one to use for my household beauty and cleaning products. And then I decided, if I could go a step further and make things myself, that would be a great way to save money and know exactly what I was using!

I’m still exploring making my own all-natural house-cleaning products, laundry detergent, and shampoo and conditioner, and will cover those in future posts. Today I want to share the one replacement I can finally say I am happy with: my deodorant!

Deodorant is a product that has gotten quite a bit of attention lately, and most people are at least familiar with the concept that deodorants and antiperspirants containing aluminum may not be good for them. Aluminum has been linked to Alzheimer’s Disease, because high concentrations of the metal have been found in the brains of Alzheimer’s patients. It has also been linked to breast cancer, and it interferes with calcium, phosphorous, zinc, and selenium absorption. Another common deodorant and antiperspirant ingredient is Triclosan, and it is known to cause cancer and other medical problems. Putting products that contain these ingredients onto your skin anywhere–especially near the lymph nodes under your arms–causes them to go into and spread throughout your body very quickly. Never forget that your skin is your largest organ, and anything you put ON it, you are putting INTO you!

So after trying several brands of natural deodorant/antiperspirants and seeing each one fail miserably, I decided to try the make-your-own solution that I had come across a few places online. I had to play around with the “recipe” a bit, but I’m now very happy with the results. I have made my own stick deodorant, which works great, but especially because it’s summer, I find that the coconut oil gets drippy because of my body heat and can get on my clothes, so now I use my homemade stick and then I follow up with a bit of powder.

To make the stick:

1. Combine 1/4 cup cornstarch or arrowroot powder and 1/4 cup baking soda in a bowl
2. Add 4- 5 tablespoons coconut oil, mashing with a fork and working into a paste
3. Add a few drops of lavender oil or other good-smelling essential oil (optional)
4. Depending on the temperature in your house, your coconut oil may be very runny or very solid–ideally it will be somewhere in the middle, creating a paste
5. If you want to make a stick, pour the mixture into an empty deodorant container. If you are ok with applying it with your fingers, just store in a container with a lid.
6. Store at room temperature, or if it’s very runny, refrigerate until it’s more solid. Once it’s solid, unless your bathroom is VERY warm, you should be able to store it there without it being too melty.
7. Apply daily (although some people online swear they can go for 2 days!)
8. Note: Some people say the baking soda makes their underarms itch or even get a little rash, especially right after shaving there. If this happens, experiment with less baking soda and more cornstarch/arrowroot powder, but don’t give up on this!

To make the powder:

1. Combine 1 part baking soda with 6 parts cornstarch or arrowroot powder in an empty bowl with a lid
2. Add a few drops of lavender oil or other essential oil if desired
3. Put the lid on the container and shake thoroughly to mix
4. Dab on daily with a cotton ball or cosmetic applicator (I bought a powder puff)

Some people swear by just the powder, some people (including me) find the coconut oil mixture is more effective, but the combination of the two has been the perfect solution for me (and my clothes). The powder does get onto my clothes, but it’s easy to brush off, which the oil is not.

It may take a little while for your body to adjust to this, but give it a try for at least a week or two and see how it works for you. If you buy a big container of coconut oil, don’t worry about the extra–you can use it in cooking or apply it to your skin anywhere as a moisturizer!

Now I’m off to scout out some more homemade shampoo recipes to try…so far no luck there, but I’ll have a more full report on that soon!

Additional Resources:

Know Your Cosmetic Ingredients: Top Ingredients to Avoid

The Dirty Dozen Chemicals in Cosmetics

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