Conventional laundry detergents contain sudsy chemicals that are created to leave a good smelling film on our clothes, but they also create a buildup in our washers that produce a breeding ground for toxic mold and bacteria. There are so many other toxic chemicals in our laundry detergents today that are known to cause cancer, environmental damage, skin conditions, organ damage, and more that I can’t believe that some of them are still on the market. When I was struggling the most with my chemical allergy, and I would receive hand-me-downs, it would take me 7 rounds of washing and hanging clothes outside before I could wear it or put it on one of my kids without severe coughing. It took at least 6 months when we received furniture from a home that used these products before I could tolerate it. I was very thankful for these things, but at times wondered if it was worth the suffering. When I bought a used, modern washing machine, with an extra rinse for people with sensitivity to laundry soap, (just by chance) I had to laugh because I knew from experience that those extra rinses didn’t do much good. It’s a waste of water, because those chemicals don’t come out easily! You may be thinking, well she just has an “allergy,” and while I believed that at the time, I have to say that after my research and change in lifestyle, I don’t agree with that anymore. I believe that my exposure to toxins in the past, along with my nutrient deficient, highly processed diet that I ate, and was addicted to, simply overwhelmed my body to the point that I couldn’t handle any more chemicals. As I have healed my gut, I have noticed a significant improvement when I am exposed to them, but I still have some work to do.

Let me confess that I loved the smell of our clothes when we used commercial laundry care products, but once I started observing the health consequences, I learned to use essential oils instead. Now that I have started using and loving essential oils for everything, I really hate the smell of those fragrances. I changed my laundry soap out of desperation, because I couldn’t find anything that didn’t bother me, and while I really like this recipe, it has been a steep learning curve for me. I have learned that the strong fragrances often cover up bad smells that tell us something is wrong with our clothes, and this recipe helped me to understand that my laundry routine wasn’t good. Cloth diapers have been a great example of this. We also work physically on the farm every day and don’t use air conditioning so our clothes need extra care. This recipe may be too much work for some people, but I share it because I know there are a growing number of people struggling with health problems and chemical sensitivities, and they are desperate to get the toxins out. I have been there. I do believe that I could improve this recipe by adding plant material to the soap, and I hope to do this in the future, but it still works well for us. A few months ago, a customer started using my recipe and asked me how many washings I could get with one bar of soap, so I kept track and was surprised to learn that I could do 45 loads with one bar! I was also shocked by the fact that I had done those 45 loads in a week and a half, and this was during the summer when my laundry is less! No wonder I have to do laundry every day! Not only is this recipe natural, it’s also very frugal. Here is how I got the toxins out of my clothes and the air we breathe.

Our family has learned to slow down, make careful observations of what heals/damages, get rid of the distractions, take a little more time preparing our food, and most importantly to seek the Lord’s wisdom. It’s a daily struggle and it never goes perfectly, but we just keep trying to do the best we can. If you are working toward a more traditional, clean, whole foods diet, and would like to take small steps to get there, then you are at the right place. Week one was get your salt right, week 2 was get your sleep right, weeks 3, 4, 5, 6, and 7 were get your fats right, we had several weeks about seasonings and herbs, some important discussion about natural sweeteners, talked about Forgiveness, hopefully we got our eggs right, learned about the benefits of pastured, clean meats, considered getting mercury removed, we got the toxins out of our mouth, skin, and hair, our cleaning products, and this week we will focus on our laundry. Join us next Tuesday for Get Your . . . Right.