DIY Laundry Care Products

Even though I make lists, I forget things when I go to the store.  Every. Single. Time.  I'm also fairly cheap. I despise spending money on cleaning products when I could use that same cash to do something fun with my family instead. And I feel like we all need to try a little (a lot?) harder to think about how our choices effect our health and the health of our planet.

Knowing that, It's not hard to imagine that I've looked into a lot of DIY products for my home.  Making your own cleaning products is almost always cheaper than buying the commercial versions.  It is invariably less toxic and, often the home-made stuff can be whipped up from ingredients I already have in my kitchen cabinets.

My family is hard on our clothes.  We are messy eaters and the 2-year-old is drawn to mud like a little baby piglet.  My husband works in fine dining so his clothes have to look sharp every evening, despite having had red wine or grease spilled on them the night before.  There are certain laundry products that do a great job tackling our grime but, often, because of all those reasons I listed above, they really just aren't an option for us.  These home-made versions are a fabulous substitute:

Fabric softener

Adding 1/2 cup of white vinegar in your washing machine's final rinse will not only soften your clothes but help reduce any lingering odors that the detergent wasn't able to tackle alone.  It's a great way to shave a few dollars off of your grocery bill on those weeks when cash is extra tight.  I notice the difference most when I hang my clothes on the line.  Line-dried laundry can be stiff but the vinegar goes a long way toward keeping your fabrics pleasant to the touch.

Stain remover

Lemon juice and sunshine will do an admirable job removing stains.  Treat the spot with a bit of lemon juice, slightly diluted with water. Rub it in very well and lay it in the sunniest spot you can find to dry. If it's winter, a sunny windowsill will work.  Over the course of a few hours the stain will lighten and fade away.

I'm especially fond of this trick because the ingredients in commercial stain removers can be terribly irritating to the skin - especially for babies - but lemon and sunshine will keep even cloth diapers looking clean and white.

Odor Neutralizer

Teenagers smell funky. It's a fact. It's not their fault-raging hormones and all.  My teens take a ridiculous number of showers.  They lather themselves in lotions and saturate themselves with cologne and they're still fairly stinky.  All that stinkiness seeps into their clothes.

TIP: By soaking especially pungent items in a solution of baking soda and water for 30 minutes or so before washing even the stinkiest stank fades away.

The next time you forget something or if you worry about using too many chemicals, if you are concerned about skin sensitivities or if you just don't have the cash to spend on commercial laundry care products don't panic.  Just head to the pantry for the items you need!

Elizabeth Comiskey has a true passion to care for the planet, promote world peace and raise her children to be productive citizens. She's also a normal working mom - exhausted and constantly pressed for time - so she seeks out the most efficient possible ways to do these things.  Her blog, Lazy Hippie Mama, was born of her certainty that she couldn't possibly be the only one who cares a great deal about improving the world around her and connecting with others in meaningful, inspiring ways but lacking in time and energy. Visit her blog, Lazy Hippie Mama or join her on Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest.

Elizabeth is also a Sverve Influencer - connect with her here.