So tonight I decided was a good night to make some home made natural cleaners to my liking. Like I've said before I do not consider Borax my friend. Just because its natural occurring doesn't mean its not poisonous as it is. Would you clean with poison ivy? Its naturally occurring.
The first recipe I put together was my laundry detergent which is in two parts. Wet and Dry. You keep them separate until you have your wash in the washer. I mixed equal parts of Arm & Hammer Washing Soda with Arm & Hammer Baking Soda and put it in a canning jar. Then because we are having a baby in about a month to a month and half (hopefully not longer) I have a baby food jar of Dr. Bronnor's Lavender Castile Soap and a baby food jar of Dr. Bronnor's Unscented Baby Castile Soap. You can add essential oils, I decided not to this time around. You can always add them. When your wash is in the washer add 2 T of the dry mix and 7.5mL of the Castile soap and that's it. I found a cooking syringe at Target in the cooking/baking aisle for $1.99. I washed my first load with this detergent tonight on whites, darks are currently washing and everything came out clean, no heavy smells, I plan on hanging them out side in the morning. I'm editing this part, I left my laundry in baskets last night so I could hang out this morning, before you put your wash in the washer turn the water on and put in the dry ingredients to let disintegrate before adding laundry, then add liquid. I had a few pieces this morning with the dry mix balled up on them.
The second recipe I put together was homemade window/glass cleaner. I bought spray bottles at the dollar store earlier this week to put the cleaners in as I didn't have any I could re-purpose, I think they got recycled. Its 1/4 c. vinegar, 1/2 teaspoon liquid dish soap, 2 c. water, shake to blend, and spray. I added a couple of drops of blue food coloring so my husband realizes what it is as he more then likely won't read "glass cleaner" that I've written on the side of it. I sprayed our bathroom mirror and tried with a squeegee first (not my forte) so I resprayed and dried with a microfiber cloth and its amazing! Streak Free, no lint and practically edible. The Liquid Dish soap I used is non toxic, not much left so soon I'll be making natural homemade dish soap. I can't begin to figure out how cheap this is vs buying Windex which is what these days $4-5. The total cost of the jug of vinegar was like $1.92, the water was free, the liquid dish soap around $4-5. HUGE savings and HUGE difference.
And last but not least the third recipe I put together was an all-natural all purpose cleaner which I got from Frugally Sustainable except I left out the borax and the Tea Tree Oil just because I didn't have any. But will be picking some up on Wednesday when I head up to Cook, MN. Tea Tree Oil is a natural anti-septic.
Will let you know when I make home made natural liquid hand soap and dish soap.
Showing posts with label safe all natural cleaners. Show all posts
Showing posts with label safe all natural cleaners. Show all posts
Friday, March 30, 2012
Sunday, March 25, 2012
Earth Friendly & Baby Friendly Cleaners
I have been nesting for a few months already, cleaning and organizing my home. Though as I've mentioned I don't like using conventional cleaning products because they are full of fake estrogens and other harmful crap. I ordered a discovery pack from Honest.com where I got 7 free almost completely biodegradable diapers and completely biodegradable wipes which look cute but obviously my son can't try them out yet cause he's not ready to join the world yet. But they also sent me a sample pack of their household products. Shampoo/bodywash, hand soap, body/face lotion, laundry detergent, and healing balm. The hand soap smells nice but doesn't do its job of cleaning your hands at all. The shampoo is less than to be desired, the lotion I used on my face and it was ok, I haven't had a need yet for the healing balm nor a nice sunny day to wash a load of laundry yet.
Though with the honest company you have to order so many products every month in order to get their products at all. You can't just pick and choose, which sits me on the fence and ultimately back to where I started. I've been trying to find a laundry detergent recipe that does NOT contain borax. Everyone on etsy seems to sell "natural laundry detergent" but when I asked their ingredients they all say borax. The main ingredient in Borax maybe a naturally occurring substance but its neither child safe or the natural in which I'm searching for, its poisonous and causes reproductive issues which is not my idea of natural, I'm looking for natural meaning safe. Through reading multiple discussion boards I don't know why I didn't get that Ah-hah sensation, but I already occasionally use a safe natural approach to laundry. When towels get that mildewy smell even though you've washed them and they still smell I throw about 1/4 c baking soda in with the wash and the smell is gone. So really I could just shave off some natural castile soap in with baking soda and some salt and be good to go and it would cost signficantly less then any of that crap you can buy at Target in a jug.
I'm also running low on hand soap. I found a super easy recipe for that today too. 1 gal water and 4oz of all-natural bar soap. You heat the water in a pot on the stove until it steams. While the water is heating, grate the entire bar of soap. When the water starts to steam, remove from burner, add all of soap, mix, let sit 15 min, mix with hand mixer, leave over night, mix again with mixer in the morning and pour into container with soap pump.
Though you do have to pay attention to what's in the bar soap, remember just because someone says its natural it could still contain crappy fillers. So do your homework, I always use the Skin Deep Database to find out just how safe each of the chemicals and oils are.
A lot of what I use for bath and body I buy from a local gal who has a shop in Cook, MN called Gilley's Naturals. The products she makes are amazing and as all-natural as she can possibly get. I use her shampoo, deodorant, headache relief, lotion bars, miracle oil, sunburn spray, my husband uses her stinky foot powder, lip balm, etc. Though she doesn't sell either of the items above and thus why I am going to attempt at making them.
Though with the honest company you have to order so many products every month in order to get their products at all. You can't just pick and choose, which sits me on the fence and ultimately back to where I started. I've been trying to find a laundry detergent recipe that does NOT contain borax. Everyone on etsy seems to sell "natural laundry detergent" but when I asked their ingredients they all say borax. The main ingredient in Borax maybe a naturally occurring substance but its neither child safe or the natural in which I'm searching for, its poisonous and causes reproductive issues which is not my idea of natural, I'm looking for natural meaning safe. Through reading multiple discussion boards I don't know why I didn't get that Ah-hah sensation, but I already occasionally use a safe natural approach to laundry. When towels get that mildewy smell even though you've washed them and they still smell I throw about 1/4 c baking soda in with the wash and the smell is gone. So really I could just shave off some natural castile soap in with baking soda and some salt and be good to go and it would cost signficantly less then any of that crap you can buy at Target in a jug.
I'm also running low on hand soap. I found a super easy recipe for that today too. 1 gal water and 4oz of all-natural bar soap. You heat the water in a pot on the stove until it steams. While the water is heating, grate the entire bar of soap. When the water starts to steam, remove from burner, add all of soap, mix, let sit 15 min, mix with hand mixer, leave over night, mix again with mixer in the morning and pour into container with soap pump.
Though you do have to pay attention to what's in the bar soap, remember just because someone says its natural it could still contain crappy fillers. So do your homework, I always use the Skin Deep Database to find out just how safe each of the chemicals and oils are.
A lot of what I use for bath and body I buy from a local gal who has a shop in Cook, MN called Gilley's Naturals. The products she makes are amazing and as all-natural as she can possibly get. I use her shampoo, deodorant, headache relief, lotion bars, miracle oil, sunburn spray, my husband uses her stinky foot powder, lip balm, etc. Though she doesn't sell either of the items above and thus why I am going to attempt at making them.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)