My Education Junction

 

One of my New Years resolutions is to have a more environmentally friendly home. I have decided to start experimenting in making my own cleaning solutions. Thus far, I have been happy with the results. They are easy to make, inexpensive, and the kids have a lot of fun helping me make them. Here are a couple of the recipes I have been using.

Laundry Detergent

1:1:1 ratio
Borax
Baking Soda
1 bar of Ivory Soap shaved ( The kids love to shave the soap with a potato peeler!)

Combine all the ingriedents in a tupperware container or jar and shake until  they are thoroughly combined. I use approximately 1/2 cup of this mixture in my laundry loads. There are several variations of this recipe on the internet, most of which suggest washing soda rather than baking soda. I do not have any complaints using baking soda. If you feel baking soda isn’t doing the trick you may consider changing to washing soda.

Fabric Softener

1:1 Ratio

Vinegar
Water

I put this mixture in the fabric softener cup of my machine where it is released at the appropriate time. Upon removing the wet clothes from the washing machine, I do smell the scent of vinegar on the clothes. But once they go into the dryer this is no longer the case. You can always opt to add scented oils if you prefer to have your clothing slightly scented. Another suggestion would be to buy dried lavender buds in bulk and then fill individual muslin bags with the buds. The bags can be used in the dryer and will perform well for approximately 10-15 loads.

Dish Washing Detergent

1:1:1 ratio

Borax
Washing Soda
Salt

Combine these ingredients in a jar and shake until thoroughly combined. I use 2 tbs of this mixture in my dishwasher and vinegar in my rinse compartment. I have had one issue with this method and that is a residue on my dishes. For some reason this only occurs when I am using “heated dry.” I think the residue is a reaction from the heat and vinegar. I can’t swear to it, but it appears to be the case.

I have a few other concoctions I will post at a later date. One thing I would like to mention is how invaluable vinegar is when it comes to cleaning. It is a natural disinfectant so it is great for cleaning counters, floors and mirrors. Of course I do not use straight vinegar. It is heavily diluted with water.

Now when the kids ask if they can help clean I do not have near the concern that they will end up harming their skin and eyes. In addition, I am happy to report that since we have begun using our homemade laundry formulas, my daughter’s skin has yet to break out even once. Which makes both of us very happy!

Filed under: Parenting and Misc Stuff on January 19th, 2008