To reduce waste associated with laundry, here are a few things I do:
Laundry soap
I buy Bionature ultra concentrated liquid detergent in bulk from Épicerie LOCO. Refilling this 32 fl. oz. bottle costs only $4.75, which is enough for 38 loads. That comes to only 12.5 cents per wash! 😲 And check out my repurposed glass jug 😉
Bionature laundry detergent is safe for humans and the environment 💚🌎 And they sell their locally made cleaners in bulk at eco-friendly stores across Quebec 🙌
If you can’t find package-free laundry detergent near you, you can easily make your own liquid detergent or laundry powder with just a handful of ingredients.
You can also try soap berries (or soap nuts) as a natural alternative to soap. They contain saponins, which are a natural soap-like substance that produce a lather when mixed with water. Not only do they clean my clothes well, they’re also chemical-free, super cheap and zero waste! 🙂
To use, I simply throw five soap nuts in a small muslin bag then put the bag directly in the drum of my HE washing machine with all my dirty clothes. After washing the load in warm water, I remove the bag of soap nuts so it can dry out. That’s it! The soap nuts are good for several washings (7-10) before they need to be composted.
I buy my soap nuts in bulk at Bulk Barn, but you can also buy a brand of soap nuts called Eco Nuts on Amazon, which is packaged in a cardboard box.
Stain remover
To pre-treat stains, I use a stain remover laundry bar from The Soap Works, which you can get at Bulk Barn.
I’ve never heard of soap nuts but would like to try them. My husband made a good point…. how do the clothes get rinsed if the nuts are in the washing machine for the duration of the cycles?
That’s a great question! Since soap nuts work best with warm or hot water, I don’t think they’re releasing their “soap” during the cold rinse cycle. If you decide to try soap nuts, don’t overload your washing machine since soap nuts need a fair amount of agitation to work their magic. And be sure to pretreat extra soiled clothes with a stain remover since soap nuts don’t remove grease or oils well. Let me know how it goes!