How to clean your clothes naturally- DIY natural detergent

I used to never pay attention to what I was washing my clothes with. I would buy all the regular brands and wash with them constantly. I loved the scent it gave the clothes and It made me thing things were really clean. However, when we moved out here to the country I slowly started trying to incorporate more natural products into our lives. Then last year as we prepared for Ava’s birth I decided I did not want to use any chemicals in our home. I’m not saying I never ever use store bought products. But for the most part I have made our laundry soap, cleaners, etc and they have been great!

I will share with you what I use and hopefully it’s something you can do on your home, homestead, or farm as well! I am still learning so know that what I share is just what’s worked for me! If you have any skin sensitivities, these alternatives should work great and help decrease those irritations.

For many things around our home I use castille soap. It is amazing and can be used in a lot of ways. Castile soap is an amazingly versatile vegetable-based soap that’s made free of animal fats and synthetic ingredients. It is natural, nontoxic, and biodegradable. I I currently use it for our hand and dish soap, laundry, bug spray, and even pesticide spray. It comes in many scents and I cannot say enough good things about it.

For this post I will explain how I use it to make our laundry detergent! Laundry detergent can be expensive and this is a wonderful alternative that will be cheaper to make and healthier for your home! Win win!

With all the farm activities and Ava learning to eat things get DIRTY around here! This combination of ingredients seems to do the trick and really clean. I love a clean smell and for this I prefer a lemon scent. However, there are so many options out here you could do Lavender, Rose, Tea Tree, or even unscented.

I use this with my HE top loading washer and it works well. I have read a lot about front loading washers and it seems like this should work too. It’s a low suds formula so shouldn’t be an issue but try it out carefully first.

I use about 1/2 cup to one cup per laundry load. If you make a gallon of this at a time you’ll get about 40 loads with it and it will be about $5 a gallon to make! So way cheaper than the store bought stuff and WAY healthier for your family! YAY!

DIY HEALTHY LAUNDRY DETERGENT

INGREDIENTS

1 cup baking soda

1/2 cup of salt

1 cup castille soap ( lemon scent) ( or lavender, unscented, etc)

30 drops lemon essential oil ( or lavender, tea tree, rose, etc)

14 cups very hot water

Gallon size jug.

DIRECTIONS

Heat water until boiling

Add salt and baking soda, mix till dissolved

Add to gallon sized jug

Add soap and essential oil

Gently mix before using.

USE 1/2 cup to 1 cup per load

I find it helpful to always have glass jars with baking soda and vinegar around in case I want to spot clean anything else or make more cleaners.

Another thing I use are natural wool balls for the dryer. I don’t really use dryer sheets anymore! The wool balls help soften and de-wrinkle the clothes! I hope this simple mixture helps you make your home a safer place for your whole family.

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