I used to be on Etsy. I loved Etsy. The things people made from ordinary items were marvelous. There, I stumbled upon Chase Street Soap Co. and two of my all-time favorite products. She sells bar soap for dogs that soothes the skin and helps release loose fur, and also repels insects. My other favorite is her laundry detergent. She calls herself the Soap Lady. Making all those soaps, one day she found herself with a heap of soap shavings going to waste. Why not mix them into a basic laundry detergent, she thought. Thank you Soap Lady! By the way, she has moved to a new website, away from Etsy.
The original appeal to the detergent was that I only needed a tiny bit per load. The Bentley Six generate a lot of laundry. Additionally, my daycare babies and toddlers spit up, poop, and dump food on themselves. I wash a lot of washrags, sheets, and baby clothes on a daily basis. Originally, the basic formula of this detergent was alluring only second to the cost. I have an H.E. washer, so 1/2 TBSP does a whole load and everything gets clean, every time. I pay $18 plus shipping, and I buy it about 4 times a year. Take a minute to do even the most basic math and it's way, way cheaper than store-bought detergent no matter how you add it up.
Sometimes I procrastinate. A few months ago, I put off ordering more detergent until I was completely out. No worries, Soap Lady ships Priority Mail, so I just had to get through a few days. Spoiled by her cost-effective product, I bought the smallest box of the cheapest powdered detergent I could find, just to get us through.
Then the itching began. Three days later, still itching and now my skin was burning and I had trouble sleeping with the sensation of bugs crawling all over me. I swore I had mites. The detergent arrived after a few days, and I rewashed my clothes. A day later, no more itching. Now I have a new appreciation for cleaning products with minimal ingredients.
I scoured the Web for more information and I found this great list of 10 cleaning products you can make with 10 regular ingredients. Bonus, it's inexpensive.
I primarily clean everything with a mixture of vinegar and water these days. I can spray it on the windows, the toilet, my stove, and the kids' table. It's safe and effective. Yesterday I mopped all the floors and gave the floor cleaner recipe a try. I love it!
My only words of caution are to try these things in small proportions before diving in. The bathroom cleaner worked great but wasn't something I want to deal with again, and for laundry detergent I am going to try a soap bar called Fels-Naptha instead of Ivory. I hear that Ivory has trouble dissolving in the wash, and since I always wash with cold water I'm sure Ivory won't work for me. I'm still a loyal Soap Lady customer, but I've learned my lesson about not having things on hand.
Lastly, the Soap Lady also sells essential oils if you're interested. I was very happy with an orange scent I purchased a while ago. However, I like to keep things basic so I don't even mess with essential oils.
This list is from a website called Living Well and Spending Less. If you're looking for products with minimal ingredients, pay attention to savvy shoppers and thrifty housewives, er, house managers. To download your own 8 1/2" X 11" copy, click on the image below and then scroll toward the bottom of her page.
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| Green and Thrifty Cleaning Products at LivingWellSpendingLess.com |
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