how to make a more natural laundry room

Why would you want to make your laundry room low tox? It’s one of the first places to consider when starting to swap out your products. Most likely because you are almost always wearing clothes, covering up with sheets or a blanket, or using a towel. It’s the perfect place to get started, since you are almost constantly in contact with an item that you have washed and dried. Let’s start 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.

did you notice a theme in what you want to avoid in your laundry room?

Yes, it’s fragrance. When creating a low tox 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 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.

Fabric softeners are really just not necessary, 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 are 100% needed 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.

Laundry booster used to be an optional one for me, but that’s more of what I thought before I started using this one. Then I started using a laundry booster 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 recipe now.

Dryer sheets are just a simple no. Instead of using dryer sheets, we opt to use wool dryer balls instead. Depending on the size of your load of laundry, you can use between 3-5 wool dryer balls. I often will add 1-2 drops of essential oils directly to 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 booster including the recipe!

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. Or simply buy the wool dryer balls and toss the dryer sheets!

shop my favorite natural laundry room products

• Thieves laundry soap
• Thieves cleaner & lemon essential oil for the stain stick recipe
• Wool dryer balls from amazon
• Washing soda for the laundry booster recipe

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Looking to start swapping out your home and personal care products?

Join my SEVEN SIMPLE SWAPS email series to get started in the right direction. This lifestyle can be frustrating to know how to find products and know what to even start with. Each email will focus on specific areas of your home, including a few that you completely free lifestyle changes!