Ever since H2O at Home closed in 2022, I’ve been on the hunt for products I trusted as much as H2O at Home. I’d exclusively used H2O at home for 8+ years, and given the lack of regulation and the amount of greenwashing that goes on in our food, cleaning and personal care products, it felt a bit daunting to start over.
I REALLY care about the products we use, because while some may argue it’s not worth stressing over, and may also use the line “we’ll I’ve been using it my whole life and I’m fine”, this is how I see it.
Yes, we are inundated with toxins everywhere. They are literally everywhere. And yes, I agree. We shouldn’t stress (which is EASY to do because when you start digging into subject it gets so disheartening and overwhelming because of how toxic our world is. It’s equally as maddening when you realize how it really doesn’t need to be.).
The stress is toxic, too.
But I focus on the things I CAN control. Like what we clean our home with, what we put in and on our bodies. There’s enough we can’t control. So to lesson the load, I choose to use products that don’t add the the already overwhelming amount of toxins around us. I heard this line a while back that’d I’ve adopted. We aim to be green enough to be healthy, and sane enough to be happy.
Ok, so back to the search for replacing my beloved H2O at Home products. Several months in, I’ve found I’ve started making more and more of my own. We run out of something, I check out Pinterest and find 100s of recipes.
It’s EASY, Inexpensive, and the list of ingredients is minimal compared to even the “clean” lines. Plus, Norah makes it with me, which I’m super happy to instill this self-sufficient skill in her early on.
We now make our own laundry powder, hand soap, counter cleaner, body soap for her, and the latest I’m trying: toilet bowl cleaner.
Here’s the recipe I tried from @MerryMessyLife:
1/4 cup liquid castile soap (I used Dr. Bronner's pure)
1 3/4 cup water
2 tablespoons baking soda
8-10 drops of essential oils (I used more and went with Eucalyptus)
squeeze bottle
Mix all ingredients in a bowl and stir. Pour mixture into a squeeze bottle.
Side note: I "upcycled" a bottle of toilet bowl cleaner I grabbed in a pinch from Whole Foods. As I was rinsing it out, I noticed after the natural fragrance was listed in bold "contains fragrance allergen(s). I could (and may) write an entire post (or more) on the ingredients in our products and what they are linked to.
I am loving this toilet bowl cleaner so far! It cuts through grime so easily, smells amazing, and love knowing Norah can be right there next to me and I don't need to worry about what she's exposed to.
Have you made your own cleaning products? I truly am loving how SIMPLE it is, not to mention way more cost effective. And really, it takes no time at all. I'd love to know if you try it out!
Comments