Back when I was trying to figure out laundry, I had learned that the conventional detergents weren’t eco-friendly, so I was determined to move away from that. Plus, lugging detergent bottles up three flights of stairs into my apartment wasn’t fun either.
First, I tried making my own powder with: washing soda, borax, and grating Fels-Naptha bar soap. I had a nice glass jar with a metal wire holding the cover to it. After a while, it got tedious to make it because of the grating. The metal on the jar was rusting too!
So, my husband found TruEarth paper detergents and bought a whole box of them! It lasted a few years till now. I am glad it is done, because I didn’t feel like it worked. It doesn’t work on stains, and after a while some of the clothes smelled funny as if they haven’t been washed when they were! What was good about it though, was it was fragrant-free.
My mother found ECOS detergent. It works well getting out grease in my dad’s jeans, and it isn’t too bad price-wise. So I am using that now unless something cheaper and better comes along.
LINT ROLLER – I don’t personally use one often, but I know people do because of pets. The adhesive rollers are wasteful, but you can find re-usable lint rollers to easily replace it! That’s what I plan to get if I need one.
WASHER AND DRYER – It is so nice to have this and not have to go up and down the stairs to the shared laundry room or my parents! I was even considering looking into a portable washer that I could just spin my clothes in and hang dry. But it wasn’t worth it as I didn’t plan on staying in the apartment forever. I LOVE my washer and dryer. But I hear many people talk of how it is healthier on the clothes to line-dry outside instead of a dryer. I have never tried it. Once we get an actual house and privacy, I would love to try! I want to know what line-dried clothes smell like!
FABRIC SOFTENER OR DRYER BALLS – I had read that fabric softener wasn’t good to use with drying cloth pads, so I stopped buying it altogether. It wasn’t until now, that my husband was like, “Let’s try the dryer balls!” I didn’t want the hassle of dealing with them and doing what other people do, but it seems to work fine? I guess the balls fluff out the clothes? I dunno! It’s reusable, but what happens at the end of its life? I still have to throw it away eventually.
