Why switch to natural laundry soap you ask? Conventional laundry detergent is loaded with chemicals like sulfates, fragrances, phenols and more. Many brands contain things like petroleum distillates, which are linked to cancer and lung disease. Fragrances in these detergents are made of a mix of harmful chemicals.

Luckily, making your own laundry soap is an easy and fast process! You only need three basic ingredients:

• Washing Soda (Arm and Hammer Brand available at most stores)
• Borax (20 Mule Team Borax available at most grocery stores)
• Bar Soap (Dr. Bronner’s, Fels-Naptha, Ivory, or other natural, unscented bar soap)

All of these things should be available at your local grocery store on the laundry aisle. You can also add a couple tablespoons of baking soda to help freshen clothes.

Wonder what’s in these ingredients? Borax is a naturally occurring mineral made up of sodium, boron, oxygen, and water. It is an ingredient in most of the natural soaps available now (Seventh Generation, etc) but it is much more inexpensive to make yourself.

Washing Soda, sometimes called sodium carbonate or soda ash, is made from common salt and limestone or found as natural deposits.

Dr. Bronner’s soaps are free trade and made with vegetable castille soap and pure organic oils.

To Make the laundry detergent:

1. Grate the bar soap or mix in food processor until finely ground. Use the soap of your choice. I personally use Dr. Bronner’s Pure Castille Bar Soap because of its exceptional quality, and because it is available in several different natural scents like lavender, tea tree, peppermint, almond and others.
2. In a large bowl, mix 2 parts washing soda, 2 parts Borax and 1 part grated soap. (Add a few teaspoons of baking soda if desired).
3. Store in closed container. I keep mine in quart or half gallon mason jars. If you are using a big enough container, you can skip step 2 and just put all ingredients in storage container or jar and shake.
4. Use 1/8 to 1/4 cup per load of laundry.

This recipe is also a great way to save money on laundry. By my calculations, I am saving over half on my laundry bill by switching:

On this recipe, I spent:

• One 55 ounce box Washing Soda- $3.49
• One 76 ounce box of Borax – $4.99
• One Bar Dr. Bronner’s Pure Castille Bar Soap- $2.99

With the amount this mixture I use (1/4 cup) per load of laundry, this recipe works out to $0.09 cents per load of laundry. This saves me almost $0.15 per load over using Arm and Hammer or Tide.

Happy Washing and have a healthy week!!

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How to Make Almond Milk:

Ingredients

• 1 cup raw organic almonds
• 4 cups pure filtered water
• vanilla bean (optional)
• dates, honey or stevia (optional)

Instructions

1. Soak almonds for at least 12 hours in pure water with 1/2 tsp sea salt. This is an important step as it breaks down the phytic acid and enzyme inhibitors and cultures beneficial enzymes in the almonds. (side note: soaking nuts should be done before eating them as well. Soak nuts in salt water for 12 hours, rinse them, and dry in oven on lowest heat.)
2. Rinse almonds well. Mix almonds with pure water in blender or Vitamix.
3. Blend several minutes until smooth and creamy. (Warning: mixture will expand some, so make sure your blender is not full before starting it)
4. Strain mixture into a large bowl through a sprout bag, cheese cloth or kitchen towel.
5. Put mixture back into blender with vanilla, soaked dates, or other sweetener.
6. Pour into glass jar or pitcher and store in fridge for up to one week.

Note: Save the pulp of the almonds, put on cookie sheet and dehydrate in oven on lowest heat until completely dry. Run through blender or food processor to make almond flour, which can be used in recipes in place of flour.

Have a healthy weekend!

Click here for more recipes.

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Tile Grout Cleaner- Mix 1 part water and 3 parts baking soda mixed into a paste. Apply to grout and let sit, scrub with toothbrush, remove with sponge.

Cookware- Use sea salt or course salt mixed with a little lemon juice and scrub. Also, try baking soda and water made into a paste.

Fabric Softener- Mix 1 part baking soda, 1 part vinegar, and 2 parts water together. Use 1/4 to 1/3 cup during the final rinse cycle.

Toilet Cleaner-Use undiluted white vinegar, pour around the top of the toilet bowl, scrub until clean.

Click here for more natural living ideas.

Have a healthy week!

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The product I use the most in my new natural lifestyle and that you probably already have in the house is distilled white vinegar (It is also available organic). I know, I know, you don’t want your house to smell like pickles, but don’t worry, the smell fades when it dries and can be easily masked with a few drops of essential oil. Things I use vinegar for in my own natural cleaning:

• Stains- with two kids three and under, I have gotten a lot of practice with stains, especially on white clothes, which seem to attract stains like a magnet. The most effective treatment I have found so far is pouring undiluted vinegar onto the stain and washing as normal. This also works great for wine, tomato sauce, or other spills on carpet. Immediately pour vinegar on the area, wait a few minutes, and wipe up with a damp cloth.
• Window cleaner- Vinegar is by far more effective than Windex or other window cleaners at cleaning windows and mirrors with a spot free shine. I mix 1 part vinegar to three parts water and add a few drops of my favorite essential oil (lemongrass) or a 1/2 tsp or so of my organic dishwashing liquid.
• Mold Remover- One part borax mixed with four parts white vinegar in a spray bottle does wonders for mold. Just spray it on, wait about an hour, and wipe up. The mold wipes right off.
• Hardwood floors- Our last house was entirely hardwood floors, and this meant a lot of mopping for me. I found that 1/3 to 2/3 cup of white vinegar in a gallon of warm water cleans hardwoods very quickly and easily.
• Toilet Cleaning- Pouring a few shakes of baking soda in a drain and then adding a cup or so of vinegar will create a bubbly reaction that, when scrubbed, leaves the toilet shining.
• Cleaning cabinets- If you have food spots, oil buildup or stains on your cabinets, mix 1 part vinegar with 3 parts water and scrub with a rag or sponge. The vinegar will cut any grease, leaving the cabinets clean and shiny.
• All Purpose Cleaning- For everything else, I have two bottles of homemade spray cleaner in the kitchen and all bathrooms. One of these is 1 part white vinegar, 4 parts water, 10-20 drops of essential oil (optional), and 1 tsp of organic dish soap. This does wonders on counter tops, high chair trays, baseboards, walls, appliances, floors, and everywhere else things can be dumped, spilled or tracked.

Hope this will get you started on natural cleaning with an inexpensive product you already have in the house. More to come next week.

Happy Cleaning!

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