Alternative Living: Laundry
Have you ever wondered how things were done in the past? Maybe you’re trying to get away from excessive chemicals? Or looking for cheaper alternatives?
If you said yes to any of these then join in on this discussion!
I love the idea of trying out how to make things on my own. Not only is it something I’m passionate about and enjoy, but most of the time it’s more cost efficient and I know exactly what’s in it. Which for someone with a lot of allergies, eases a lot of anxiety.
(I know this isn’t for everyone and that’s okay! I’m not trying to convince you to live alternatively just simply sharing my experiences!)
So the first thing I thought I’d tackle is laundry! I was in a bind this week and really needed work clothes washed. I live in a place that doesn’t have the ability to hook up a washer or dryer so I have to either go somewhere else or wash stuff by hand. Now washing stuff by hand doesn’t bother me, because I wash all my knits and crochet items by hand already. Because I don’t have a washer or dryer I don’t typically buy detergent. So I had to go down the rabbit hole of DIY laundry soap.
So the recipe I used was this.
3 cups baking soda
1/4 cup sea salt
3/4 cup Castile soap
(I made a smaller batch using the same ratios)
Disclaimer: Soap and detergent are not the same thing! Soap is a TYPE of detergent that cleans but doesn’t sterilize. So this recipe is NOT recommended to wash clothing with bodily fluids (ie blood, fecal matter, vomit, etc) All soaps are detergents but not all detergents are soaps.
I washed my items in my bathtub with about 2 tablespoons of this sprinkled in. Now I was not expecting this to work as good as it did! Like I said before I have a good bit of skin allergies, so I have to be careful when it comes to laundry detergent and soap in general because I’m allergic to most chemical fragrances. Not only did this not irritate my skin, but my clothes are SUPER soft and clean!
Now the question comes to mind. Can this be used in an actual machine? Well I did some research. You can however it is recommended that you don’t use more than 3 tablespoons in a single load. Otherwise it may cause damage to your machine.
Which by the way did you know that 53% of Americans use too much detergent! You only need about 3 tablespoons of detergent for a large load of laundry! 1 for a regular load! A little goes a long way, so even if you don’t use this alternative recipe, start cutting back on your detergent. Your clothes, machine and wallet will thank you!
