Thursday, January 26, 2012

2012 Personal Challenge #3 - Green my laundry room

Well I started off the year with making my own laundry detergent and fabric softener sheets only to be disappointed in the detergent and not liking the messy softener.

The detergent worked great on everyday clothing without a lot of dirt but didn't do much for work clothes or my 2 yr old clothes so I have decided to try and find an inexpensive but good natural/green laundry detergent.

In my search I was able to find Sun and Earth laundry detergent at our Giant, regular price $8.99, on sale for $7.99 for 100fl oz and doing 52 loads. I love the light citrus smell and hope that it works well.

As for fabric softener I will be using white vinegar in a downy ball and sprinkling arm and hammer baking soda in the wash. I only use fabric softener in the winter as I hang my clothes to dry during warm weather.

After reviewing a ton of information regarding the use of oxi-clean I have chosen to forgo using this product and instead use Arm and Hammer washing soda which can be found in the laundry section next to the borax.

I already reuse the dryer lint to make homemade fire starters, I only use water when I iron, I use a timed setting on my dryer and I wash clothes in cold water. Not too sure if I can do anything else to make it greener except maybe vent the dryer into the basement during the winter to add some extra heat. Hmmmmmm that's a good idea so I guess I will be researching that also.

Updates for this challenge will posted in the future.

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