Let’s go through how to make a more natural laundry room in your home. It’s one of the first places to consider when starting to swap out your products. Since we are almost always wearing clothes, covering up with sheets or a blanket, or using a towel, it’s the perfect place to start. We are almost constantly in contact with a something that we have washed and dried. So let’s get to swapping out some products for more natural options.
natural laundry room essentials
Let’s take a look at your laundry room and everything that’s in it. From laundry detergent to dryer sheets, we need to take a deeper dive into each product and what to avoid. Then we can take a look for what to buy instead when shopping for better products!
- Laundry detergent most often has several ingredients that we want to avoid, such as fragrance, dyes, optical brighteners and SLS. They can contain allergens that can make things like asthma, allergies, reparatory conditions and skin issues worse.
- Fabric softeners most likely contain fragrance, preservatives and dyes. How most fabric softeners work is that they create a layer of buildup on your clothes so that they feel softer. When in actuality, your clothes are not actually softer. Instead, your clothes have a layer of chemicals that make them feel soft.
- Stain remover often has fragrance and ethoxylated ingredients that you want to avoid.
- Laundry boosters are heavily scented with artificial fragrance for the sole purpose of making your clothing smell for an extended period of time.
- Dryer sheets also contain fragrance as well as softeners to make our clothes smell good. They can also help to have less static when take out clothes our of the dryer.
avoiding fragrance in our natural laundry room
Yes, fragrance is everywhere. When creating a natural laundry room, you will need to avoid the term fragrance, perfume, parfum or anything else that can mean the synthetic fragrance. Any time you read the word fragrance it means that the company isn’t disclosing what is really in the product due to “trade secrets”. There are up to 3,000 chemicals that are included in the fragrance ingredient category. Rule of thumb – avoid it all together. Read more about fragrance on the EWG’s website.
is unscented the same thing as fragrance free?
Unfortunately, no it’s not the same thing. Products that are labeled as unscented can still contain the ingredient fragrance, but instead it’s using the chemicals in fragrance as a way to mask the odors of other ingredients. Alternatively, fragrance free products are no made with any masking chemicals or scented fragrance. When looking at packaging, make sure to select the product that says fragrance free. But the only way to know 100% for sure is to take a look at the label and read the ingredients yourself.
my natural laundry room recommendations
Laundry detergent
Detergent can be an easy swap to make when starting to make changes in your laundry room. Unfortunately, there are not a lot of low tox options sold in the store. My personal favorite is Thieves laundry soap. It lasts my family of four around 5-6 months using this laundry detergent recipe that splits the detergent into two smaller containers (or one larger container) using this recipe. The best part is that is does not include artificial fragrance, SLS, optical brighteners or surfactants and it still works so well!! Read here about more things to avoid when buying laundry detergent.
thieves laundry soap recipe
Ingredients
- 1 bottle thieves laundry soap
- 2-4 capfuls thieves cleaner
- 10-20 drops lemon essential oil
- 2 32 oz pump bottles (or 1 64 oz. pump bottle)
Instructions
- Split thieves laundry soap into 2 pump bottles (32 oz size) or 1 pump bottle (64 oz size).
- Add 1-2 capfuls of thieves into each pump bottle.
- Add 5-10 drops of lemon essential oil into each pump bottle.
- Fill the rest with warm distilled water. Shake gently to mix.
Notes
Fabric softeners
Are they really not necessary? No, at least the typical ones you see in stores. If you find that you need something to help soften your clothes or towels, go ahead and use white vinegar instead. It might seem like it won’t work and then you’ll end up with clothes that stink like vinegar. Trust me, I thought the same thing and then did it anyway! I use up to a 1/4 cup in the fabric softener spot of my washing machine and have NEVER had an issue.
Stain removers
Now stain removers are a 100% necessary item for most us! Especially parents with kids who tend to spill or drop something on what seems like every single piece of clothing. I like to make my own stain remover using thieves laundry soap, thieves cleaner and lemon essential oil. Save the recipe here to use later.
Laundry booster
I used to think of a laundry booster as an optional item in my laundry room, but that is no longer the case. I am constantly making and using this recipe. Mostly because it’s so good for things like stinky exercise clothes, sporting gear, work outside clothing and pet bedding. And it was a game changer! Do yourself a favor, and start making this homemade laundry booster recipe now. It’s such a simple and easy recipe to make, you will never not want to have this in your house!
Dryer sheets
These ones are a simple no, even the ones that seem like they are better. Instead of using dryer sheets, you can opt to use wool dryer balls instead. Your clothes will start to feel like clothes again, instead of having a layer of chemicals on the outside. Depending on the size of your load of laundry, you can use between 3-5 wool dryer balls per load. I often will add 1-2 drops of essential oils directly a few of the wool dryer balls to add a light natural scent to the laundry.
If you have any issues with static when using your wool dryer balls, then I would consider making the following changes to see if it helps. Turn down the heat on your dryer. Put your clothes in for less time as over drying causes static. Add a clothespin to the wool dryer ball before you toss them in. Usually one of those tips (or all of them) will solve the problem!
Read more about my homemade laundry scent booster including the recipe!
simple way to make a natural laundry room
Changing out your entire laundry room might seem intimidating, but it will be 100% worth the effort. My best advice for swapping out any area of your home is to start with ONE item. Pick the item that you are almost out of and buy something better. Or simply buy the wool dryer balls and toss the dryer sheets! Anything is a great step in the right direction, and once you get started you won’t want to stop.
shop my favorite natural laundry room products
- Thieves laundry soap
- Thieves cleaner & lemon essential oil for the stain stick recipe
- Clear glass spray bottle for stain stick
- Wool dryer balls from amazon
- Washing soda for the laundry booster recipe
- Hinged glass jar for laundry booster
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Looking to start swapping out your home and personal care products?
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