Stephanie Cuesta

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DIY - Homemade Natural Household Detergents

My baby girl Diane is definitely making me a better person…

Long before she arrived, I was thinking of doing my own wash-machine, dish washing and hand soap products. Yes, I have been using/buying clean natural organic ones for a while, but I know I can do better and as efficient by myself. Better in terms of quality and toxicity… so yes, essentially MUCH better :-)

But why would I do that, you must wonder?

1.       Clean your environment

Today unfortunately, we live in a world that is quite polluted: the air, the water, the materials we use, our house cleaning products, the cosmetics and skin care products … Our daily environment is contaminated with toxic chemicals that inexorably accumulate in our body. Every day, our body does its best to get rid of these toxins. But for reasons like poor lifestyle choices and bad health status, these toxins often accumulate, and it can become quite hazardous and has been proven to be the root cause of many ailments. It is HIGHLY IMPORTANT that you help your body by decreasing the amount of daily toxins it is exposed to. Starting with your household products is an easy way to reduce considerably this amount of harmful chemicals that you ingest.

2.       Respect the Earth

This is not a secret: we are excessively polluting the Earth with lots of toxic garbage everywhere. And all the harmful chemicals we use often finish in our soils, rivers and oceans. I like the concept of “conscious living”. If there are easy solutions that are as efficient and that don’t kill our plant life and wild life, why wouldn’t one use them? Realizing this and being aware of the damage you are doing to yourselves is a first step towards a better healthier you.

 

3.       It is cheaper

I often hear how much organic food is expensive. I don’t totally agree with this but it is another topic. Here, I am going to show you how in 2 min you can have very efficient easy-to-do and completely toxin-free wash machine, dishwasher and hand wash products. And yes, this will be much cheaper than those commercial products that, on top of being more expensive, put your health and your family’s at risk.

Ok, now that we are convinced of WHY we should all be doing our own natural soaps and household products, let’s see HOW we can do it:

1.       Your Laundry detergent DIY

At the beginning of the cycle:

-          2 Tbsp Dr. Bronner’s Sal Suds

-          ¼ cup Baking Soda

At the rinse cycle, add ¼ to ½ cup of White Vinegar.

I like to add Essential Oils for extra freshness: lavender, tea tree, citrus or orange oils work very well.

 

2.       Your Hand Soap

Mix in a foam dispenser:

-          300mL water

-          100mL Dr. Bronner’s liquid Castile Soap

-          1 Tbsp Almond Oil

-          Essential Oils: Lavender, Tea Tree, Rose…

 

3.       Your Hand Dish Washing Liquid

Now that you bought Dr. Bronner’s Sal Suds, dilute some in water, and there you have it: an amazing hand dish washing liquid!

 

4.       In the bathroom

I like to use a mix of (in proportions) :

-          1/3 Citric Acid (100g for example)

-          1 Baking Soda (300g respectively)

Finishing up with Hydrogen peroxide is a good way to kill all extra bacteria.

 

5.       On mirrors

An equal mix of White Vinegar and Water… Yes, that’s it.

 

6.       On all surfaces

This mix makes wonders everywhere at home:

-          ½ tsp washing soda

-          1 tsp Dr. Bronner’s liquid castile soap

-          Essential oils: lavender/orange/lemon

 

Honestly, once you buy the 2-3 products you will be continuously using, it takes 2sec for each one of those products. Our laundry is super fresh and clean, bathroom and kitchen as well, without the toxic chemical fragrance of industrials, but rather with the delicate touch of the natural essential oils scent.

Your body and mind will thank you for that.

In Health and Happiness,

Stephanie