In the course of my normal blog and article readings, I've come across a few recipes for making your own soap (cold-pressed), shampoo bar, laundry (this one has a dish soap recipe, too) detergent (and here), and even your own deodorant. (this link has everything from deodorant to laundry liquid to window cleaner to furniture/wood polish)
Imagine my disbelief, and giddiness at seeing this article in Yahoo Finance Wednesday morning. It starts off talking about how we tend to use too much detergent when we launder our clothes, since as formulas have become more concentrated, people haven't adjusted down the amount they dump in the wash. Another blogger has a great post about this article: Everyday Frugal, Everyday Green.
Aside from wanting to avoid the ingredients in some detergents, there are other reasons to check how much detergent you use versus how much you actually need. If you pour too much into the washer, will you go through the bottle quicker, and end up buying more. This means that you'll be spending more money than you have to, and buying more plastic bottles (or cardboard boxes) to throw away. Also, if you use too much detergent, it may not all get rinsed out, and you will end up with soapy residue in your clothes. This may not adversely affect you, but it may irritate your skin.
What makes me happy about this article is that the author didn't just talk about ways to reduce your detergent usage, she actually tried making her own laundry detergent, giving a recipe to follow should her readers want to give it a go.
I haven't made my own detergent yet, although the prospect intrigues me. I just monitor how much I pour into the wash and try to buy the "good" stuff.
Have you recently re-evaluated your detergent usage? Or have you tried to make/do you make your own laundry soap?
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