Stuff Parents Need

Easing the chaos in the nest, one find at a time.

Best Natural Laundry Detergent: Charlie’s Soap

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Yesterday we talked about the fact that Darah is holding nothing back when it comes to putting anything and everything in her mouth. Today I wanted to talk about one thing she is especially fond of chewing on: her sleeves. I suspect that this is not something unique to my baby. My child is a big fan of her pacifier, but lately I’ve noticed that she will frequently take out her binky in favor of chewing on her sleeves.

Natural Laundry Detergent to the Rescue!

As I watch her gnaw away, I feel very relieved to know that her clothes are not full of icky and dangerous chemicals. This brings me to our next Planet Earth is My Valentine review and giveaway! Lately I’ve been using the best natural laundry detergent called Charlie’s Soap. From their website, “Our Laundry Powder is a revolutionary approach to laundry care. It does not cover up stains and odors with scents and brighteners – it really cleans. It is made with a unique blend of biodegradable coconut-based detergents and high-grade, completely soluble, Green River washing soda.”

Charlie's Soap best natural laundry detergent best natural laundry detergent I have had the privilege of trying their laundry products in both the powder and the liquid form. The powder form requires 1 tablespoon per load…that’s it!!! One bag retails for $15.50, and it will do 80 loads of laundry. That’s just 19 cents per load for a soap that will clean your clothes beautifully and not harm our environment in the process. That’s a downright bargain, folks! If you prefer liquid, know that you only need to use 1/8 of a cup per load. This reduces the amount of plastic that gets used on the bottles, because a little bit goes a long way.

Charlie’s Soap also carries an all-purpose cleaner. Now when they say, “all-purpose,” they REALLY mean it! The spray bottle itself says that it will clean anything from false teeth to diesel engines. On their site, they have a great breakdown of how to dilute the solution properly depending on what you are wanting to clean. Again, this product comes in a concentrated formula of 17 ounces, but it will last you a good long while. It retails for $13.35, but you can also buy it by the gallon for $21.67!

I really love how well these soap products have worked in my own home. I also really loved that the products came in recycled cardboard. This company is really showing that it cares about the environment! But what I love most of all about Charlie’s Soap is the fact that the people who make and sell it have a real sense of humor. On the laundry products, they write that there is really nothing better than the scent of honestly clean clothing. They state, “If you want flowers, go pick some.” Ha! That really is a good point, though, that sometimes these perfumes added to our detergents are only there to cover up the fact that our clothes didn’t get REALLY clean. With Charlie’s Soap, you don’t have to wonder. You know!

best natural laundry detergent
Buy It: Charlie’s Soap is so confident that you will love their natural laundry powder products, that if you don’t, they’ll refund your money (but not gladly!)….hey, at least they are honest about it! I love that!

EDIT: This giveaway is closed: Congratulations to #196!

 

Disclosure: I received product samples for review purposes. The opinions expressed in this post are strictly my own.

How to Remove Yellow Stains in Baby Clothing

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 Every new parent knows that laundry is the source of much stress and anguish. The pile of dirty laundry keeps growing despite your best efforts to throw clothes in the washer on a daily basis. The extra money you are spending on detergents is impacting your grocery budget. The yellow stains (from formula or breast milk) are your arch nemesis, and you are defeated by them constantly. I had no idea how to remove yellow stains like these. It was a mess!

how to remove yellow stains Before Darah was born, we did 2 loads of laundry each week. Oh how I long for those days! Now we do anywhere between 4 and 7 loads of laundry each week for our family of 3. I remember doing a load of baby clothes for the very first time back in August. I was absolutely horrified that Darah’s precious little onesies were coming out of the wash with yellow stains set in them after being worn only once. This was well before the introduction of serious poo or of solid foods, too! Fortunately, my mother-in-law came to visit a week after the birth and she taught me how to make sure that all the stains in our laundry came out

how to remove yellow stains What is her secret? It’s simple….Biz
Biz is a stain fighter that is aavailable in liquid or powder form. It can be applied directly to clothes to pre-treat them, or just added to your load of laundry along with your detergent. It has been around for over 40 years, and now I know why: because IT WORKS.

>How does it work? Well, I can’t get into all the scientific details with you, but the trick isn’t bleach or phosphates, because Biz doesn’t contain either of those. It does contain natural enzymes, though, and that makes it one heck of a stain fighter. Those enzymes break down the proteins that make up all those nasty stains; they basically don’t stand a chance!

I add Biz to every single load of laundry that I do in my house (it is safe for colors as well as whites and it works well on delicates). Here’s my personal method:1. Add regular laundry detergent and 1 scoop of Biz into the washing machine (I typically use about 1/4 of a cup of Biz for each load).
2. Add water and clothes to the machine.
3. When the washer begins to agitate, let it run for 1-2 minutes, and then stop the machine.
4. Let laundry soak for as long as possible (anywhere from 30 minutes to 8 hours, with longer soaks being best).
5. Turn the machine back on and let it finish the cycle.6. Open the machine to find TOTALLY clean clothes. Woo hoo!

Variation: My mother-in-law soaks her clothes in Biz alone, and then adds regular detergent when she starts the washing machine back up. She also has great results with her method. I do it differently because I often forget to add the detergent with this method!

You may think that soaking laundry for 8 hours isn’t practical, and it definitely isn’t for every load. But if you get in the habit of starting a load before you go to bed and finishing it when you wake up, or of starting a load before you head out the door for work and finishing it up when you get home, you’ll find it to be very doable, at least for some of your laundry!

Use Biz detergent to remove yellow stains from baby clothes Did you notice that my routine doesn’t include spraying down the stains with something like Shout? That’s because Biz does the work for me; I don’t have to seek out the stains! I have had success with removing blood, butter, sweat, all sorts of baby stains (I think you know what I mean!), food and juice (think raspberry Kool-Aid!). The truth is that since I started using Biz in August, I have not had a single stain set in on our clothes. Not one!!!

I can’t promise you that Biz will remove that year old wine stain from your cashmere sweater, but that’s because I’ve never tried this combo. Here are a few quotes from other satisfied customers who HAVE had success getting out some really old stains:

“I’ve been an antique dealer for as long as Biz has been in existence. I bought some of the ugliest lots of linens that came clean with overnight soaking. Victorian whites were blinding. I had other dealers crying for my ‘secret formula.’ I’ve tried newer products as they come into (and disappeared from) the marketplace, and always return to Biz.”

“I cannot believe what an incredible product BIZ is. My daughter-in-law brought over a box and asked if I could get a formula stain out of a red and white onesie that someone gave her. The stain was over a year old. I made a paste and it lifted the stain. Unbelievable!”

Edit: This giveaway is closed. Congratulations to #250!