The Never-Ending Load: Making Peace with Laundry—Naturally
We’ve all heard the saying that 2 things in life are inevitable: death and taxes. I’d like to add laundry to that list! It’s a household chore that never ends. The larger and more active your family, the greater the task. Hardly a day goes by in my house that I’m not doing at least one load to try to keep up with my family of 4. In an age of greater access to information, many households are making the switch from conventional laundry products to natural toxin-free options that are better for their family and our environment.
When making the switch from mainstream, conventional products to more natural ones, switching out your laundry products can seem like an overwhelming task. So many options exist, where to start? Thankfully, Poofy Organics now offers a comprehensive laundry category to meet the needs of your family!
What are some of the main reasons to ditch the conventional laundry detergent? If you’re reading this, your gut is probably telling you that the blue liquids that come in huge plastic jugs might not be the healthiest option for your family, or our planet. But did you know that many brands marketed as natural still contain ingredients of potential concern? Take the time to read the label of what you’re currently using, and especially zero in on the preservatives used. Some ingredients that I prefer to avoid that are commonly found in brands marketed as natural and healthy options include: Sodium Lauryl Sulfate, Laureth-6, Propylene Glycol, just to name a few. Preservatives are of special concern because not only can they be associated with triggering allergies such as contact dermatitis, but they also have implications for our environment.
Check your label, and if you see synthetic preservatives such as Methylisothiazolinone, Octylisothiazolinone, Benzisothiazolinone, which are quite commonly found in brands marketed as natural and healthy choices. I urge you to look up these ingredients for yourself so you can become more familiar with the potential concerns associated with them. An environmental implication in their use is acute aquatic toxicity, which basically means they are terrible for our waterways. The manufacturers will try to negate this detail by claiming the percentage used in each product is very low. That might be true, but there are many top name brands using these ingredients. Imagine what happens when millions of people are using them each & every day? I live on the banks of a gorgeous river, and any products using these preservatives are a hard NO for me.
Let’s look at the ingredients in Poofy Organics laundry detergent. It comes in unscented or Fresh Linen scent: Organic Saponified Coconut Oil, Organic Saponified Olive Oil, Organic Saponified Jojoba Oil, Sodium Bicarbonate, Glycerin, & Rosemary Extract (Fresh Linen scent adds the following: Organic Fresh Linen Fragrance Oil (Organic Sunflower Oil, Organic and Natural Flavors). I cannot tell you how incredible the peace of mind is when you use a product with natural and organic ingredients you can pronounce. I also feel good every time I select a product made with organic ingredients because I know that the organic farmer who specializes in growing that crop gets to grow more of it! There are so many reasons to support choosing organic products! Of course, we need to use products that actually work too. The ingredients can be great, but if the products don’t work, we won’t reach for them. I can tell you from personal use, and from the feedback of many customers, that it works very well!
One thing that is very important to help get you good results is to pre-treat anything that you know is prone to staining. And luckily, Poofy Organics has you covered there as well with a Laundry Pre-Spray! Check out these safe, organic and all-natural ingredients that really, truly work: Saponified organic oils of coconut, olive & jojoba, vegetable gum/glycerin extract, organic aloe vera, rosemary extract, soda ash, baking soda, epsom salt & sea salt. One customer even reported to me that she was using a tiny bit of the laundry detergent to spot treat her stains, using a toothbrush to work it in and letting it sit at least ½ an hour before laundering, and seeing good results. Yay for another multi-purpose Poofy product!
Okay, we’ve pre-treated stains, we’ve washed our laundry, now comes time for the dryer. Just like you might have a gut instinct that those conventional, blue laundry detergents might not be the best for you or the environment, you may have a hunch that fabric softeners and dryer sheets likely have some reasons to opt for a more natural solution. You’re right! There are quite a few reasons that you might want to skip dryer sheets. By design, they are coated with chemicals that transfer to your clothes while drying them. These chemicals have the potential to irritate the skin of some users. In addition to not wanting those chemicals on your clothes or skin, this coating can create a barrier and actually slows down dry time. The fragrances used are typically synthetic, which is something many prefer to avoid. The sheets themselves are designed to be single use, and once discarded can take many years to break down in a landfill. So, what is a natural solution to them? Wool dryer balls!
Dryer Balls have many benefits. The process of bouncing around the inside of your dryer helps separate clothes which softens them naturally and reduces wrinkles, all without chemicals! It also helps get more heat between them quickly, thus reducing dryer time. To say they are reusable is an understatement. I have been using dryer balls for 12 years now, and I’m 100% serious that I just tossed 1 from my original set last night. That dryer ball has been through thousands of loads of laundry. From my cloth diapering days to countless loads of everyday wash for my family of 4, they keep on doing their job. I like to keep about 9 dryer balls on hand. If you’re like me, you have a few loads of laundry spread out across the house, waiting to be put away. It’s inevitable that your dryer balls will get caught up in articles of clothing and you’ll find them when you put that load away. So, if I have 9 balls, I can count on at least 4-5 actually being in the dryer at any given time. A minimum of 3 is a good start, and that’s what you’ll find in the set offered by Poofy Organics.
So, what about those who like their clothes to come out with some fragrance on them? Do you have to give that up when you ditch the fabric softener sheets? Thankfully, no. Poofy has you covered there as well, with dryer ball oils! Just spritz 3-4 sprays of your favorite scent on a dryer ball at the end of the cycle to add some scent to the entire load. Since heat can diminish their potency, the best practice is to set your dryer on an air fluff cycle once your clothes are dry and just run for another 5 or so minutes. Poofy offers a 4 pack of dryer balls oils so you can switch them up.
Since endless loads of laundry are a fact of life, finding a routine that is safe for your family, safe for the environment, works well, leaves your clothes smelling and feeling great is important! Poofy Organics has spent years developing all the products we need to make laundry time stress-free. I hope you’ll give the line a try and join myself and the many other happy fans of the Poofy Organics laundry line.
-- Jess Brandt is a mother of 2, blogger, and label-reading advocate who lives in WI. She has been a Poofy Organics Guide since 2014.