Dirty Clothes, Dirty Laundry and Dirty Dishes… 3 Green and Safe Cleaning Recipes

Dirty laundry, dirty dishes and fingerprinted glass…These 3 things are a staple in my house!  I never really thought or cared about the chemicals I was using to clean my clothes, countertops, dishes, etc.  Once I had my son, it was important for me to be as chemical-free as possible.

Here is what I purchased…

White Vinegar * $1 at the dollar store

box of baking soda * less than $1

box of washing soda * Arm & Hammer Super Washing Soda, less than $4

Lemi Shine * $4.99 (rinse-agent) from www.alice.com (the website has great household stuff for cheap!)

bar of Dr. Bronner’s Castille soap, orange citrus * $3.59 at Whole Foods

Those ingredients replaced ALL of my cleaning materials! 

Here’s what I made…

Laundry Detergent (it’s baby-safe too!!!)

          * grate the bar of castille soap

          * mix grated castille soap with 1 cup of washing soda and 1/2 cup of baking soda

          * use 1-2 Tbs per load, depending on the size.  It’s important to remember that suds do NOT equal clean.  This detergent will not create a lot of suds, but it does it’s job and it’s 100% safer than the processed chemicals that I was buying for $12+ a bottle!

 

Glass/Window Cleaner

          * in a container (I used an old glass cleaner spray bottle) mix 1/4 cup of vinegar with 4 cups of room temperature or lukewarm water, shake to mix and spray to use.  Simple!

 

Dish Detergent (My dishes have never been cleaner. No spots. Nothing!)

          * in a large container mix 1 1/2 cups of Lemi Shine (an entire 12 oz. container), 1 1/2 cups of washing soda, 1/2 cup of baking soda, 1/2 cup sea salt (I used whichever I had in my cabinet)

          * use 1-2 Tbs per load (I purchased a tall container at Ikea for $3.99 and I just pour it from there straight into the dishwasher)

 

There are a lot of recipes out there that include Borax.  However, after some research I decided I didn’t want to be using Borax on my clothes or dishes.  There is some controversy about it’s chemical make up and adverse reactions when you use it for laundry detergent and/or dish detergent.  So I decided I didn’t want to use it in my household.

 

                                                         dishwasher detergent

 

Just to keep things in perspective…

…Look at the back of your laundry detergent container.  The ingredients are not listed.  Legally, they don’t have to be.  These are the chemicals that clean your clothes and sit next to your skin every day and night.  You laundry detergent should clean your clothes, not cause side effects! 

I was purchasing bottles of laundry soap for $12.99.  And baby laundry soap is closer to $20 a bottle! 

Brand name dishwashing detergent is about $7 a box.  I do a lot of dishes, so I was buying a box at least once a month.  It’s cheaper to purchase the ingredients and make it as needed.  And my dishes are much cleaner now! 

Glass cleaner is cheap.  But have you ever coughed or choked when the smell hit your nose/throat?  It never occurred to me that it’s probably not a good thing!  Yes, I would rather make my own.