Young Living Laundry Hacks

Most of our grandma’s laundry rooms consisted of a wash tub or river, a wash board, Borax/Vinegar, clothes line/pins.

It did not contain harmful toxins:

Dreft was the first synthetic detergent to hit the market in 1933.

•Sodium Lauryl Sulfate & Sodium Laureth Sulfate/ Sodium Lauryl Ether Sulfate (SLS/ SLES) •Phosphates •Formaldehyde •Chlorine Bleach (mine used it) •Ammonium Sulfate •Dioxane (1,4 Dioxane/ Diethylene Dioxide/ Diethylene Ether/ Dioxan) •Ammonium Quaternary Sanitizers (Quats/ Synthesized Cationic Surfactants) •Nonylphenol Ethoxylates (Nonoxynol, NPEs).

•Fragrance (Unspecified/ Parfum) •Dyes.

•Benzyl Acetate •Dichlorobenzene (P-Dichlorobenzene/ Benzene) And a whole lot more….

•America washes roughly 35 billion loads of laundry each year. •This equates to 17.5 billion cups of laundry detergent moving through our homes!

Some residue clings to our favorite jeans and bed sheets, being absorbed by our skin. The rest is being discharged into our waterways and eventually our ecosystem.

By using plant-based, fragrance-free, non-toxic products in your laundry, you’ll have clean clothes without the dangerous chemicals that spend countless hours against your skin, causing allergies, headaches/migraines, cancer, autoimmunity and a whole lot more. You’ll also be:

Environmental Friendly Budget Friendly Body System Wellness Friendly Emotional Wellness Friendly

•Detergents are cleaning products manufactured from synthetic chemical compounds, as opposed to soap, which originates with natural substances.

•Detergents don’t completely biodegrade and they contaminate our water supplies, rivers and oceans with toxic heavy metals like cadmium and arsenic •Phosphates, a common ingredient in detergents, builds up in waterways and lead to eutrophication — a process by which a freshwater aquatic ecosystem slowly dies due to continual oxygen depletion that can starve fish and other plant life of oxygen.

Save Mother Earth – Use HER Natural Resources In Your Laundry

•In a freshwater environment, Surfactant-containing detergents break down the protective mucus layer that coats fish (protects them from parasites and bacteria) which makes it easier for aquatic life to absorb pesticides, phenols and other pollutants in the water.

Seafood dinner anyone?

•Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) emitted from dryer vents after using popular brands of laundry detergent and scented dryer sheets included chemicals like acetaldehyde and benzene, which are considered carcinogenic and hazardous air pollutants (HAPs).

White vinegar Washing Soda Baking Soda Essential Oils Concentrated Thieves Laundry Soap Concentrated Thieves Household Cleaner Reusable Dryer Balls Reusable Dryer Sheets When combined together to get your clothes naturally clean, they cost less per load then a gumball.

Makeover your laundry room with the money you save on laundry products and doctor bills.

Not to mention all the doctor appointments you’ll be avoiding.

Thieves Laundry Soap: #5349, $30.75 - Thieves Household Cleaner: #3743, $23.50 • Grab 3 empty 32 oz shampoo bottles from Amazon • Split Thieves Laundry Soap into thirds between the 3 bottles (1-1/4 cup/bottle) • Add 3 capfuls Thieves Household Cleaner • Add 15 drops Purification essential oil (I also add Tea Tree or Thieves or Lemon) • Top off with water and tilt side to side to mix •Peel off the YL Laundry Bottle label and apply to your pump bottle.

Use three to four pumps in each load depending on how much you are washing.

(You will find your perfect amount over time.)

Photo cudos to Lindsey Rae

• 1/4 cup Washing Soda • 1/4 cup Baking Soda • 1/4 cup Thieves® Laundry Soap • 1/8 cup Thieves® Household Cleaner • Hot Water: distilled water (1 gallon) to avoid impurities that are naturally in tap water (of course, your washer uses tap) • 4 Drops Thieves essential oil (optional): • 4 Drops Lemon essential oil (optional): • Drink Dispenser – at least a one gallon dispenser (If you don’t use a citric oil like lemon, you can use a plastic drink dispenser, but if you use any citric essential oils I recommend using a glass container since the citric oils will eventually eat through plastic.)

• Glass container for mixing (I use an extra large glass measuring cup for this.)

TIP: Add your empty essential oil bottles to a jar full of washing soda to enhance the scent of your laundry soap.

Don’t forget the instructions! 

Instructions: Add 2 cups of distilled water to a glass measuring cup or bowl and microwave for 30 seconds on high. Stir in 1/4 cup of Washing Soda and stir until dissolved. Add 1/4 cup of Baking Soda and stir until dissolved. GOT TOUGH STAINS ALL THE TIME? Boost the efficiency of the cleaning by doubling the of the Thieves Household Cleaner.

TIP: Place the Drink Dispenser in the spot where it will live because it’s going to be heavy. You can position it so it’s right above where the soap goes in the washer. Pour the mixture from the glass measuring cup into the Drink Dispenser. Pour in the remainder of the distilled water. Add 1/4 cup of Thieves Laundry Soap and the 1/8 cup (2 Tablespoons) of Thieves Household Cleaner. Add your choice of essential oils to the drink dispenser. Use the blends we mentioned already or come up with your own blend.

Now, gently stir to mix it up good. If using an HE washer, use 1/4 cup per load.

NOTE: After the laundry hack has settled in the dispenser, it might separate and settle at the bottom. Just give the mixture a little stir before using it (you may want to tie a long handled spoon onto your dispenser.)

Thieves Laundry Detergent Hack Cost Breakdown 1/4 cup Washing Soda: 15¢ 1/4 cup Baking Soda: 08¢ 1/4 cup Thieves Laundry Soap: $1.84 1/8 cup Thieves Household Cleaner: $1.56 4 Drops Thieves EO (optional): 56¢ 4 Drops Lemon EO (optional): 20¢

Total Cost: With optional essential oils added: $4.39/gallon Without optional essential oils added: $3.63/gallon When using 1/4 cup per load, this equals 5-6¢/load

COMPOUND EFFECT A little bit of something doesn’t have a big effect on you. But compounded daily, has A HUGEMONGOUS effect on your health.

Makeover your wellness with plant-based products.

Research studies of toxins in detergents have shown links to irritation of the skin and eyes, organ toxicity, developmental/reproductive toxicity, neurotoxicity, endocrine disruption, ecotoxicology, and biochemical or cellular changes along with possible mutations and cancers.

They are toxic to your brain, central nervous system, kidneys, liver, and respiratory system. They are an endocrine disruptor due to their ability to mimic estrogen and disrupt the body’s natural hormonal balance.

Mediterranean Seaside Get away from it all by turning your pile of dirty laundry into a fresh stack of vacation-inspired fluffiness.

2 drops Orange essential oil 1 drop Rosemary essential oil

Dreamy Drops Wash or dry your sheets and pajamas in this luxurious, on-point blend of spa-like floral and fruit.

2 drops Bergamot essential oil 1 drop Lavender essential oil

Citrus Refresher When life gives you lemons, put them in your laundry for a fabulously fresh citrusy splash that goes everywhere you do!

2 drops Lemon essential oil 1 drop Grapefruit essential oil

Pure and Simple

Makeover your emotional wellness with YL Essential Oils.

Incorporating some of our best odor-busting scents, this blend offers a crisp, clean fragrance that’s perfect for everything in your gym bag and beyond.

2 drops PurificationÂŽ essential oil blend 1 drop Tea Tree essential oil

Fabric softeners help our clothes and linens to smell fresh and feel cozy— and eliminates wrinkles and static.

However, commercial fabric softeners not only penetrate the fibers of your clothes and can irritate your skin, they can reduce the effectiveness of waterproof or water resistant materials, effects the absorbency of towels, and can clog the pores of your athletic fabrics breaking down its wicking abilities.

But using all natural, DIY Fabric softeners keeps your clothes soft, static free and fibers strong.

Step 1: Fill a quart-size container with white vinegar Step 2: Add 10-15 drops of YL essential oil: Lavender, Lemon, Orange, Lemongrass, Eucalyptus, Purification, or Raven or …..

• 10 drops lemon + 5 drops lavender • 6 lavender + 6 lime + 2 spearmint • 5 cypress + 4 tangerine + 2 lime + 2 bergamot • 10 lemon + 2 basil + 3 spearmint • 7 eucalyptus + 7 spearmint • 5 orange + 5 bergamot + 5 lemon Step 3: Stir to mix well and apply a label to your bottle/jar.

Avery Labels #22806 Shake well before use  Add fabric softener to rinse cycle  Use about 1/2 cup for small to medium sized loads, about 1 cup for large loads  For HE Washers: Use ¼ cup for small or average loads and ⅓ cup for large loads.

Put a few drops of lemon essential oil on the grease stain, gently rub the essential oil in to start to break up the grease and toss it into the wash.

Be sure to check the clothes when they come out of the wash to make sure that the grease stain is all gone. If it is, great! Put it in the dryer as normal.

15 mL Lemon Essential Oil: #3578, $12.00

But if a little grease remains, repeat with a few drops of lemon essential oil, rub in and rewash before putting it in the dryer.

Tough stains: Squeeze a little Thieves Dish Soap on the stain and two drops of Lemon EO on the spot.

Scrub the spot and let sit for 5-10 minutes before putting in the washer

Super Easy Spray •½ cup white vinegar •20 drops Lemon Essential Oil •8-ounce glass spray bottle Combine white vinegar and essential oil in a glass spray bottle.

Spray remover on stain and wash.

If stain remains, spray again and rewash before drying.

NOTE: You can also add a few drops of unscented castille soap or Thieves Dish Soap.

https://www.youngliving.com/blog/diy-stain-remover-with-essential-oils/

You don’t need bleach and harsh chemicals to get stains out.

Thieves Bar Soap: #3679, $11.00

“I scrubbed the rug with the Thieves Bar Soap in the mudroom sink then popped it in the wash with Thieves Laundry Soap & a splash of white vinegar and baking soda.” @katelynvirnig

• Wool dryer balls are balls of wool that have been ‘felted’. The woolen balls have had their fibers disrupted, usually by being placed in hot water, agitated, and dried.

•Wool dryer balls work by separating clothes so that warm air circulates better. The felted wool gently rubs against garment fibers, softening clothes naturally. They fluff by separating clothes that would otherwise clump together. This is especially helpful when doing comforters, towels and heavy jeans.

Add 4-5 drops of an EO on several dryer balls.

Stress Away + Peppermint Purification + Lemon Lemon + Peppermint Lavender + Lemon + Peppermint Thieves + Peppermint

•Wool dryer balls allow clothes to dry faster, thus reducing your energy costs, and time between loads. Use 4 dryer balls for a medium load.; 6 wool dryer balls for larger loads and can be used 1,000+ loads.

It costs approximately 45 cents to dry a load of laundry in an electric dryer, based on a 5,600-watt dryer, 40-minute run-time, and a 12-cent-per-​kilowatt-hour rate. And that is just ONE load! Wool dryer balls can cut that time by as much as 20%, simply by improving the air flow in your dryer.

TIP: Add empty EO bottles to a jar filled with dryer balls (will absorb the oil molecules) to enhance the scent of your laundry.

DIRECTIONS: • Cut 24- 4-5” cotton/knit fabric squares (old cotton t-shirts are great.)

• Place the fabric squares in a cute glass container (makes laundry bearable) • Add 10 drops Lavender essential oil and 10 drops Lemongrass essential oil to 1 cup of distilled vinegar. Pour over squares.

• Swirl to coat all the squares. The fabric could be pretty damp. You can cut the recipe in half if you like.

To use: Take out one square of fabric and throw it in your dryer with a load. When the load is dry, set the dry fabric aside or just throw it back in the container and swirl since it’s clean.

Click HERE for more ways to use these dryer sheets in your home. (If you use the wipes for other cool ideas, you’ll want to wash and dry them before placing them back into the glass container.)

Chlorine Bleach. It’s not surprising that bleach is a skin and lung irritant, but most people do not know how common it is in laundry products or exactly how harmful it can be, not to mention, many people add at least an additional cup to every load of whites. The material data safety sheet from a major bleach manufacturer tells us exactly how dangerous this substance is.

(This belies their cheery ads depicting completely unprotected models happily pouring bleach in the direct vicinity of their toddlers.)

CHLORINE BLEACH DISCLAIMER: Chlorine bleach causes severe caustic burns to skin and eyes, blindness, pulmonary edema (fluid in the lungs that restricts breathing), respiratory failure, and more; use of personal protection equipment is required when using bleach, including a chemical resistant apron, chemical resistant gloves, safety goggles to protect eyes from fumes, and even air respirators! WHAT???

Hang your clothes out in the sunshine until dry for extra whitening power. You know, like Grandma did.

NOTE: Hydrogen Peroxide can bleach clothes if dried in the sun. You know, like when we sprayed hydrogen peroxide and lemon juice in our hair to create highlights when we sat in the sun.

TIP: This recipe also makes a great linen spray.

To Use: Turn down the covers, sprits a little on your pillow and sheets.

Go brush your teeth and when you climb into bed, you’ll be greeted with a wave of calm and drift off to dreamland.

If you have a front-loading washing machine, you will need to clean it more frequently than with top-loaders.

Thieves or Tea Tree works too.

Washing Machine Cleaner Recipe 2 cups baking soda 1 cup of water 10 drops Purification essential oil 10 drops Lemon essential oil (Can also use Thieves and/or Tea Tree) No-scratch sponge Small tile brush

For complete instructions on how to use this recipe, click HERE: TIP: Wipe out your washing machine after several loads with Tea Tree EO to keep your laundry fresh. Just add a few drops of oil to a damp cloth and wipe out the inside drum of your washing machine – then leave the lid or door open to air out for an hour or so. You can also rub it along the inside of the rubber casing for good measure.

Click HERE for instructions

TWO MORE IN SEPTEMBER!