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A clean house is so important to prevent getting sick and just for your overall sanity.
I NEED to have a clean house either wise my anxiety gets the better of me. I don't just mean tidy, it needs to be clean. I need to know that if my children decided to lick the floors they would be okay! Meaning I need to know my cleaning products are actually cleaning and are not filled with toxins and strange unknown ingredients!
I know a lot of zero wasters use vinegar to clean everything... I HATE vinegar.... it stinks.... and even when I soak orange peels in it for a month ... it still stinks...
I do use it sometimes but honestly I avoid it if I can.
Castile soap is my go to for most my cleaning needs! You can use it for everything!!! Not even kidding. Its AMAZING....
( Ps. Don't mix Castile soap and vinegar... it's a base and an acid... it just doesn't work)
What is Castile Soap?
Castile soap is a vegan, non toxic, biodegradable , and multipurpose cleaner that you can use for almost anything. It is made from vegetable oils such as coconut oil, sunflower oil, and hemp oil. It is safe for the environment , pets, and kids. Castile soap is a concentrated soap so you don't need a lot to get a good clean.
What Can I Use Castile Soap for?
The answer is EVERYTHING!
HAND SOAP
1 part soap to 3 parts water
DISH SOAP
2 small drops in your dish water
BODY WASH
A drop on your wash cloth or loofah
FACE WASH
1 part soap to 3 parts water
I wash mine and my kids face with the soap in our hand soap dispensers. Get your cloth wet and squirt your hand soap mixture on your cloth.
FLOOR CLEANER
2 tablespoons in a bucket of water.
ALL PURPOSE CLEANER
1 part soap to 3 parts water
I fill a spray bottle with this and use it to clean my table, counters, windowsills, doors, sinks, bathroom counters and surfaces , and tons more!
FRUIT & VEGGIE WASH
1 part soap to 2 parts water
Again I put this in a spray bottles and use it to spray all my produce, I then rinse with water.
CLOTH WIPE SOLUTION
1 part soap to 3 parts water
I mix this into a spray or squirt bottle , squirt your cloth wipes with it, then wipe babes bum. Simple and gentle for baby.
STOVE TOP CLEANER
1 part soap to 3 parts water
Baking soda
I use the same spray bottle as I do for my all purpose cleaner.
Spray your stove top with the soap mixture, sprinkle baking soda , scrub, and wipe away!
BATHTUB , SHOWER, & TILE CLEANER
1 part soap to 3 parts water
Baking soda
Spray soap mixture, sprinkle baking soda, scrub, wipe away.
TOILET BOWL CLEANER
1 part soap to 2 parts water
Baking Soda
Spray soap mixture inside toilet bowl, sprinkle baking soda, scrub with toilet brush or cloth, flush toilet.
These are just some of the way you can use castile soap!
I've even heard of people using it as a laundry detergent , shampoo, toothpaste, carpet cleaner, pet wash, and more!
If you need something clean I can almost guarantee you there is a castile soap recipe for it!
How to Pick a Castile Soap
Most Castile soap brands use palm oil as an ingredient. I like to avoid palm oil when I can as the demand for palm oil has lead to acres and acres of the rainforest being cut down.
Not all Castile soaps are made the same so be sure to read the ingredients!
You want to avoid:
Triclosan- chemical preservatives
Sodium lauryl sulfate - synthetic soap
any artificial fragrances and dyes
& of course Palm Oil if you can
The Green Beaver Company
I use The Green Beaver Company's Concentrated All Purpose Castile Soap! Their Castile soap is made with Canadian Sunflowers.
They are certified with ECOCERT proving they are truly a natural and green company.
Their bottles are a recyclable BPA free plastic. They use Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) paper made from trees that have been sourced in an environmentally friendly and responsible manner.
It Comes In a Plastic Bottle, How is That Zero Waste?
The thing about zero waste is it isn't achievable. Not right now in this day and age.
But we can make a huge impact by avoiding any unnecessary waste.
Because Castile soap is a concentrated soap and you need very little, it lasts a long time. You are not paying for any unnecessary ingredients or water. I like to buy my Castile soap in the largest container possible to avoid waste.
I buy a The Green Beaver Company's 4 Litre Bottle . It lasts me almost a year! 1 large bottle instead of tons of small plastic bottles, that's a big zero waste win for me. Even if you are not able to buy it in a large container the smaller containers will last you much longer than the same sized bottle of hand or dish soap.
I have heard of people making liquid castile soap out of bar castile soap. I have never tried this and I am skeptical about if it is as concentrated after.
When it comes to zero waste DIYs there will be ingredients you need to buy that will come packaged. This is still zero waste. You are drastically reducing your waste by making your own products.
Remember zero waste is a journey. You can only do your best.
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