No 'Poo and deodorant free.

No poo. Wouldn't that be nice? No more poopy diapers.. ahhhh.  A mama can dream. Or stop making babies. But, since the latter isn't likely to happen, dreaming it is.

This post isn't about poop. Or diapers. But about getting rid of shampoo. I had a frugal fit last year and began stocking up when there was a sale. Mostly on personal care items. So I now have a big box of shampoos, body wash, etc. Guess who's developed sensitivities to all of it? I've even tried some hypoallergenic snake oil type products, to no avail. I'll spare you the photos, but I broke out in a an oozing, gross rash from mid arm, down my arm pits, and onto my breasts and belly from a supposed hypoallergenic deodorant.

Lovely.

What fixed it? Coconut oil, a few drops of tea tree oil, and keeping my arms in the air for days. Though that last part is more due to the pain of lowering my arms. So, I stopped wearing deodorant entirely. Mostly of fear of the rash coming back. Since then, I've noticed something weird/good. I don't stink. Well, not right away. As long as I wash out my pits, apply a dab of coconut oil, and remember to do that daily, no smell. Sweat is how the body flushes toxins. So I don't mind a little sweatiness here and there. Coconut oil is anti fungal and anti microbial, among other things. So, no more buying deodorant. My plan for if I know I'll be getting sweaty and gross is to also use some baking soda.

The no 'poo method I'm using a simple. I filled a spare peri-bottle (basically a water bottle with a pop top) with 8oz of warm water, 1 tablespoon of baking soda, and shook. It's hanging out in the shower. Every few days, I "shampoo" my hair with that. Followed by a similar dilution of vinegar and water as a rinse. Conditioner is the tiniest amount of coconut oil applied to damp hair. Done and done.

My hair is in the "ewwww greeeeeeeasy" mode currently while it figures out what to do with its own oils. This phase is temporary. and given that my current hair style is 'pin my bangs out of my effin face', not noticeable at all to anyone but me.

So, there you have it. 4 more products gone (deodorant, shampoo, conditioner, leave in treatment), and replaced with things that cost pennies per month.

Green & Frugal Laundry, Part 3: Detergent

You can try the following, or just take my word for it:

Take your freshly laundered clothing out of the dryer (or off the line, you thrifty gal) and put them directly into the washer. Seriously. Run a typical cycle, and watch during the wash and rinse portions. You'll see suds. If you repeated that cycle anywhere from 2-5 more times, you'd still see suds. Why? Because your laundry detergent is leaving residue on your clothes.

If you have dry skin or irritation, it could very well be related to the detergent residue rubbing onto your skin 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, for however many years you've been alive.  Even if you use less than the recommended amount, you'd still have some residue. Using detergent, I'd use about 2 tablespoons for a large load of clothes- and would STILL get suds during the suds test.

So, how can we avoid washing our clothes in chemical water? You could buy special detergents that contain no fragrance or dyes, or hunt down overpriced eco-friendly laundry soaps and that's a step in the right direction. But the best option would be avoiding detergents all together while saving yourself a ton of money. We cloth diaper, so we know dirty laundry. I firmly believe that if I can get poopy diapers clean, I can get anything clean.

So, for a large load of laundry, I add 1 cup of Arm & Hammer baking soda, 1 cup of white vinegar, and wash on warm (or hot for diapers). That's it. If you want some scent to it, mix some essential oil into your baking soda. Mine is done up in a glass jar. I just add 15 drops of oil to the full jar of baking soda, then shake it all up.

Some people have advocated for using Dr. Bronner's Castile soap for/with laundry soap, but reports from users have said it does leave oil spots on clothing, so I cannot recommend it for that use. But, we will have a post soon about the many uses of the soap- just not related to laundry use.

NOTE: The highlighted links in this post will take you, via referral, to Amazon.com, where you can purchase these products.