Wash, Dry, Fold – Repeat

Once upon a time, I made my own laundry detergent. It was when we were living in Washington State and I was super proud of it. I continued making it when we first moved into our house in Ohio, but when we got a new washer and dryer, I was too afraid to use it because, “Hello – brand new washer and dryer!”

Here I am super pregnant with our new washer and dryer in 2015. Oh, and for the record, my basement has SO MUCH more junk now. What is it with kids bringing more junk into the house even when they can’t carry it themselves?

I still have some of my homemade laundry soap from 2015. It’s in that giant mason jar on my laundry shelf (see below). It’s a pretty simple recipe to make, and it is very zero waste. As in, there’s no plastic whatsoever involved in making it.

But like I said, I got nervous to use it in my new washer and dryer, which is ironic because I cloth diaper(ed) my children so we got brand new appliances and I literally washed poop filled diapers in them almost right away. Most people wouldn’t do that. My nerves got the best of me though, so enter All Free & Clear laundry detergent – stage right.

I actually have SO MUCH of my All Free & Clear detergent left. I am a sucker for those Target sales, “Buy 5 of these today and get a $5 gift card”. Well, HOT DOG! Of course I’m going to buy 8 of them to get a $5 gift card – I am that gullible consumer who thinks they will ALWAYS want to use this one specific detergent.

Sigh. The universe is playing a massive, cosmic joke on me this year.

Ok, the sale is never to buy 5 laundry detergents, usually just 2 and here is my stockpile in my basement (along with the paper towels that I have banished to the basement – oh, and there’s a corner of my 2nd bread machine!):

It’s going to be a long while before I need to get zero waste laundry detergent. It’s true. But I’ve been reading up on it and recently found what I think will be my zero waste (or minimal waste) laundry detergent.

First of all, IF I had unlimited funds, I would try the O3 Pure Professional Laundry Washer. It’s $300 and from what I’ve read, it blasts oxygen into your washing machine and cleans all your clothes without any detergent at all. And it only uses cold water.

It sounds so cool! I had a friend say that their aunt and uncle use it (…I think that’s how it went…), but I’m finding myself wanting some firsthand review from someone I know before I purchase it. Which is ironic, because I feel like anyone who is reading this blog is reading it for my firsthand reviews of zero waste stuff.

It’s definitely being mulled around in my mind. A LOT. And who knows, I may save up my Amazon rewards points to purchase it later. I wouldn’t put it past me.

However, recently I was listening to the radio and I heard them talking about this product – the Eco Egg. Now, it looks like it’s made of plastic, and the little detergent balls inside come in a plastic bag but I did notice the recycle symbol on them, so I’m assuming I can recycle those with my plastic bags.

This is one of those times where I’m still debating, is a little reusable plastic OK, for the sake of saving larger amounts of plastic? #firstworldproblems Eh…I dunno if there’s a solid answer. In this case, I’m leaning towards this little plastic egg is probably totally worth it.

But…regardless of that plastic….it’s cutting out harsh detergents (better for water), the plastic bags can be recycled and it’s a smaller amount of plastic than a large container of detergent, and I believe you can purchase refills for it. There’s probably other benefits to it that I just don’t know too.

It’s $35 and lasts 720 loads, which they say for a family of 4, could last 3-4 years. It sounds like such a good deal…and it seems to have good reviews on Amazon too. Here’s a review video if you’re interested:

I’m thinking this will be the laundry detergent I try. I am planning to wait until I use up at least one of those All Free & Clear containers I have in my basement, so it’ll be later in the Spring.

Unless I get stressed and do some retail therapy. That could happen too. Zero waste items have replaced my previous shopping of junk on Amazon.

And if you’re wondering, here’s the recipe I used for the homemade laundry detergent (as far as I remember, it was a decent detergent, but I haven’t used it in about 6 years):

1 grated bar of Dr. Bronner’s soap (I used lavender); 1 Cup Baking Soda; 1 Cup Washing Soda; 1 Cup Borax; and I added in lavender Essential Oils.

I would just use my cheese grater to grate the Dr. Bronner’s soap on the finest side possible, mix it all together, and put in a scoop for my laundry.

Wash, Dry, Fold – Repeat.