The Real Clean Detergent

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Here's a recipe for you. You may not think about it, but your laundry detergent is in your life a lot more than you may think. And like a clingy ex-boyfriend, the toxins are lingering. Chemicals that you can't even pronounce are still in the fibers of your clothes where your skin is exposed to them all day, every day. If you're like me then you like to expose your skin to things you clearly understand like baking soda, and the coconut oil this soap is based in. 

Even better you use far less of this detergent per load. Therefore it's a good way to save money. Especially since it's cheaper by volume anyway (about half the cost of name brand detergent per gallon). 

Two things you should know about this laundry soap. 

1. It is very effective. I haven't mentioned this before but my husband serves on a naval submarine. If you are familiar with submarines then you know that the smell that permeates everything on that boat can be the bane of a laundry-woman's existence. It is next to impossible to get rid of. Yet the baking soda in this recipe gets rid of it better than anything I've ever used. Furthermore this recipe leaves a pleasant lavendar scent. 

2. I do use borax in this recipe. A lot of bloggers and natural health enthusiasts have expressed concern over the use of borax. However, since I have not been able to find any real evidence against borax, I choose to use it as my mother and my grandmother before me used it. If it makes you nervous leave it out of this recipe. Just know that the detergent will be less effective at removing stains, particularly sweat stains (the kind that love to appear in pits and around dress shirt collars). 

Here's the recipe:

-1/2 bar of scented coconut oil soap (grated) 

-2 cups of baking soda

-1 and 1/2 cups super washing soda

-1/2 cup and up to 1 cup of borax

Directions:

1. Grate half a bar of the soap into your container (I use a big ol' coffee tin)

2. (only if your soap is unscented for some reason) add 10 drops of essential oil (like lavendar) to the grated soap, mix, and let sit for 15 minutes or so.

3. Add in the baking soda, washing soda, and borax. 

4. Mix carefully, the baking soda tends to powder puff everywhere!

5. Use WAYYYYY less of it than you would store bought soap. About 2-3 tbsp of it. (More like 1/3 of a cup on submarine laundry).

If you like this recipe and you want to get even more homemade, I am currently working on soap recipes for a coconut oil based soap. I can't wait to share it with you! 

Vinegar All-Purpose Cleaner

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Here's a fun twist on a classic homemade cleaner. It's also one of the simplest things for you to start with if you're not ready for the headfirst dive into all-natural home care.

Vinegar is a great natural cleaner. Your grandmother knew this, as did mine. So why are we dumping a litany of chemicals into our homes around ourselves and our loved ones? 

Not only is this the safer alternative to store-bought all-purpose cleaner, but it is also the most effective cleaner I've EVER used on my stove. I just spray it on the stove. Turn around and wipe off the counters, and by the time I'm done wiping the counters the vinegar has disolved the gunk on my stove making it simple to wipe right off!

Best of all, here's the fun part, this recipe leaves a clean citrus scent behind.

Recipe:

-1 clean, and NEW spray bottle

-1 part water

-1 part vinegar

-the peel of one orange

So here's how you accomplish this recipe:

1. Find yourself an orange. Remove the peel and place it in a bowl (and in the interest of not being wasteful, eat the orange!)

2. Pour vinegar into the bowl. About a cup or cup and a half. It should be half the amount that will fit in your empty spary bottle.

3. Let this mixture sit for about two weeks.

4. Once it's sat for two weeks strain the orange peel and pieces out of the vinegar. 

5. Pour the cleaned vinegar into the bottle. 

6. Add a matching amount of water.

7. Spray and clean as you would normally, but with no fear of harmful chemicals.

The benefits of using a citrus and vinegar cleaner are multiple. The most important benefit is that both citrus and vinegar help to cut through grime, thus making this cleaner as effective as possible. Not to mention the scent I mentioned earlier. 

I also wanted to explain that it is important that you use a new and clean bottle. I bought a cheap one that was easy enough to find at Walmart. The reason this is so important is that when you reuse old bottles, depending on what used to be in the bottle you could be spreading dangerous chemicals like bleach or ammonia. You can't be positive that you've completely cleaned your recycled bottle: so please be safe and just buy a new bottle.