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Do you ever find yourself at the French Broad River staring at piles of plastic litter wondering what you can do to stop this?  Asheville GreenWorks and our sister page, Going Plastic Free, are here to help you make this happen! Mind Your Plastic May is a month-long campaign to inform you about the grave social and environmental harms that ensue from plastic waste and equip you with the knowledge to reduce plastic in your own life.  

All month long, we will be sharing plastic reduction tips, volunteer opportunities to address plastic waste, educational materials featuring local Asheville businesses, and much more. We aim to foster knowledge and encourage mindfulness around plastic consumption and disposal for individuals and business owners. This month, we hope you will follow us on Facebook and Instagram, where you will gain valuable knowledge about how to refuse, reduce, reuse, and recycle plastics, as well as learn about local waste reduction efforts.

Join our 
Race2Reduce and commit to decreasing your plastic usage for the entire month of May. Sign up here to join the challenge and earn points to win a $25/$50/$75 gift card to Ware!

Many thanks to the businesses and restaurants who supported this effort and are working hard to reduce their own plastic waste. #goingplasticfree

Join us in our love for the planet as we
 address and defeat our global plastic addition.
Donate now for a plastic-free future
Mind Your Plastic May is meant to encourage and challenge us in our journey to live plastic free. These posts are created by GreenWorks staff. If you've found these posts helpful and encouraging, please consider making a donation to support this work. If you have any questions, please email [email protected]

Creating Household Cleaners at Home

5/19/2020

2 Comments

 
By Krista Stearns

Over the past few years, I embarked on a journey to reduce the use of plastic in my home, one of the only places in the world I can control (with the exception of my two teenage daughters).

I realized the most common plastic containers I regularly purchased were health and beauty products and household cleaning supplies. After many failed attempts at creating homemade shampoo and conditioner, I concluded the refill strategy is the best solution. Luckily, we have multiple retailers that provide a good selection of refillable products, though unfortunately, that is not available now because of COVID-related bulk precautions.

I did have success creating a fun styling gel for curly hair made primarily from flax seeds, which I am particularly proud of. I am still working through deodorant and lotion concoctions but have not yet found any that I am crazy about. I am also researching homemade toothpaste recipes and look forward to fun future experiments.
​

There is a wealth of recipes for DIY all-natural, non-toxic household products on the internet from sites like Humbled Homemaker, Everyday Cheapskate, and Mommypotomus.  My strategy is to find recipes with a few simple ingredients, ones you can already find around your house. Most of these ingredients are packaged sustainably, or at least available in refillable or large sizes. After many attempts and failures, I’m ready to share my favorite recipes and an essential list of ingredients:
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The essentials
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Super Washing Soda (sodium carbonate) 
Baking Soda (sodium bicarbonate) 
Coarse Salt
Castile Bar Soap 
Castile Liquid Soap 
Lemon Juice 
Vinegar
Your Favorite Essential Oils 
 
Both Super Washing Soda and Baking Soda come in 3-4lb boxes, which can be purchased from stores like Lowes and Walmart or ordered online. There are bulk deals online for most of these ingredients as well. However, one must be careful about the packaging associated with online shipments. 
 
Dr. Bronner's Liquid Castile Soap is available as a bulk refillable in most natural foods stores. I am a big fan of Dr. Bronner's Sal Suds; it is better for cleaning hard surfaces such as dishes. Luckily, our own fabulous, local French Broad Food Co-op sells this as a bulk refillable. It also makes a great all-purpose spray and mop solution. My other recommendations for all-natural household cleaners include your favorite combination of vinegar, rubbing alcohol, and baking soda as well as the dish liquid below.
Without further ado, here are my favorite tried-and-tested recipes:

Dish Liquid:
1 Tbsp Salt kosher or table
2 cups hot water
⅔ cup liquid Castile soap or Dr. Bronner's Sal Suds
1 Tbsp washing soda
⅛ tsp tea tree oil, lavender, or citrus essential oil
 
In a small pot heat a few Tbsp water and salt until dissolved. Pour into a separate container. Combine the washing soda and 2 cups of water to the pot and heat until dissolved. Add the sal suds and essential oil to the pot and pour into the jar or dispenser. Add saltwater mixture and shake. It will foam and thicken (you can add more for thicker soap).
Dishwasher soap cubes:
1 cup washing soda
1 cup Kosher salt
1 cup baking soda
¾ cup lemon juice
 
Measure all dry ingredients into a bowl and stir to combine. Then add the lemon juice. Let the ingredients foam for a minute. Mix all together and press into molds that will fit in your dishwasher. Peanut butter cup molds and ice cube trays work well. Allow tablets to harden completely overnight. 
Laundry detergent: 
1 bar Castille soap, 
1 cup washing soda, 
1 cup baking soda, 
1 cup Kosher salt. 
 
Grate Castille soap in a food processor, then add in the other ingredients. Make sure to cover the top, so you don’t inhale the particulate. A ¼  cup scoop is perfect for a top loader machine.

Follow this link for a video tutorial where I demonstrate making some of these recipes in my own home!
Please share your favorite DIY recipes, I would love to hear about your successes!






​






​

​Krista Stearns is a longtime member of the West Asheville business community as well as a passionate environmentalist grateful for the privilege of helping to coordinate the GreenWorks Plastic Reduction Task Force.

2 Comments
Jillian Wolf
5/26/2020 03:05:27 pm

Thanks for doing the leg work on these recipes. I love their simplicity and from the ingredients can see that they will work just fine. I'll give them a try!

Reply
moisture shampoo link
1/11/2022 02:57:46 am

This is so awesome and so helpful, especially for those who love DIYs and knowing what ingredients are in their beauty and skincare. Keep up the great work!

Reply



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​Asheville GreenWorks is a 501(c)3 non-profit environmental organization, governed by a Board of Directors. Established in 1973, GreenWorks mission is to inspire, equip and mobilize individuals and communities to take care of the places we love to live.
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    • Youth Environmental Leadership Program >
      • YELP Staff & Alumni
      • How to Apply
  • Programs
    • Bee City USA Asheville >
      • Native Pollinator Plants and Nurseries
      • Pollinator Garden Certification
      • Pollinator Gardens & Meadows Project
    • Education
    • Urban Forestry >
      • Cool Green Asheville
      • Food Tree Project
      • RRI
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