Cleaning without the nasty stuff!

We have replaced many of our detergents with natural "non nasty" types with great success!

In the laundry i am using soap nuts. I thought the washing powder and fabric softener would be the hardest to "give up" but alas, I like the smell of soap nuts. Also, our clothes are the softest they have ever been, and the nuts are equal for stain removal, amazing! And you can compost the soap nuts and reuse the water on the garden etc. bonus!

In the kitchen I don't use a lot of chemicals aside dishwasher detergent and liquid detergent. We are in the process of using up leftover dishwasher detergent, but I have has a lot of success with simply bicarbonate of soda and vinegar as the rinse. I love it! Now there is no foul taste when I touch my lips to a coffee mug or smears on my glasses. So we will continue with this. Soap nuts as dishwashing liquid experiments have been good. But I plan on making natural liquid soap from my "bar" soap scraps etc. Will see how it goes!

In the bathroom we are experimenting with bicarb and apple cider vinegar as shampoo and conditioner too. My sister is having great success with it. She has scalp "issues" too, so I am pleasantly surprised. I on the other hand I am finding I miss the lather, so will be trying to make my own natural liquid soaps to get that squeaky clean feeling. I plan on making a leave in balm too, as a conditioner so I can still get the occasional highlights or foils, and still be able to brush my hair! I have tried a coconut oil based one, but it was a little too much, the fragrance was divine though! The kids are still using up their shampoo's etc. so this allows me a little more time to find out what will work for them, and some bottles I can reuse! but no more buying chemical laden rubbish! I am aware this looks remarkably "raging hippie-ish" but I assure you I shave my armpits and wax my legs! Haha! I just want the best for my family, and my precious earth.
Almost forgot....I have made some of our own luscious lip balms and hope to experiment with make up at some point in the future.. But next on the list making my own deodorant and toothpaste! No nasties! Stay tuned for for those recipes/ experiments!