I don't use commercial detergents or soaps. I use castile soap with a very light sprinkling of borax and washing soda. For fabric softener, I add white vinegar to the rinse cycle. I consider what I have been doing more eco-friendly than what I was doing before, which is using commercial detergents, but I am still using a washing machine and dryer.
We could go a step further and air-dry our laundry and also hand wash our clothes like this:
http://noimpactman.typepad.com/blog/2007/04/a_grape_stomper.html
But then we are denying ourselves the reality of living in an age of modern conveniences. With both hubby and I working full time with long commutes, who has time and energy to then also stomp on laundry, hang it up, and then fold and put clothes away? When I come home, I barely have enough energy to dust a room after cooking and eating dinner. I have way too many things and projects I want to do and just not enough energy to do it.
I imagine that if I could be actively working on something every waking second, I could get around to doing everything I really want done, but the truth is, I get really tired. Working and commuting takes a lot out of a person. For me, I usually don't get enough sleep so I'm fatigued all the time. Foregoing modern conveniences for the sake of being eco-friendly in a world that depends on modern conveniences can often seem daunting or impractical.
So as much fun as air-drying and laundry stomping seems to be, I just don't think I have the energy for that at my current point in life. Also, I'm not sure how hubby would feel about stomping on laundry.
2 comments:
I've been thinking about making my own detergent. But i'd never ever give up my machines. case in point: http://blog.ted.com/2011/03/21/the-magic-washing-machine-hans-rosling-on-ted-com/
--Nuray
I used to make my own laundry detergent with 1 bar of castile soap, 1 cup of borax and 1 cup or washing soda (or 2 cups baking soda). It works really well, but I was too lazy to make another batch when I ran out.
Post a Comment