I’ve said it before and I’ll always keep saying it - the natural world has everything we need to survive and thrive!
The products we use in our day to day lives are all cooked up in a lab using some really toxic substances.
Laundry detergent is something we all use, and it’s packed full of horrendous chemicals that can cause skin irritation, burns, rashes, inflammation, psoriasis, eczema and a wide range of other ailments.
It even warns you on the packaging that should you get any of the liquid or powdered detergent on your skin or eyes, to rinse immediately and seek medical attention.
But there’s a more natural and gentler way of getting your clothes clean...
Ivy.
Not to be confused with posion ivy (which clearly should NOT be used in this instance!), ivy is abundantly common in the UK.
In fact, if you go into any wooded space, you’ll find it growing wild up most trees.
The leaves contain a huge amount of something called sappins. This is a natural soap substance, which can be used to wash clothes in, without the harmful chemicals.
To make your natural laundry detergent
1. Pick about 50 ivy leaves.
2. Give them a quick rinse in cold water.
3. Tear them up and place them in a large saucepan.
4. Cover them with about 3 and a half mugs of water.
5. Bring to the boil, turn off the heat and leave to sit in the water for about 2 hours.
6. Strain off the leaves and decant the water into a clean bottle.
7. Add a few drops of whichever essential oils you like the smell of.
And that’s it!
When you wash your clothes, just pour about half a mug of this liquid detergent into your detergent drawer of your washing machine, and press the button.
The clothes come out soft and smelling fresh, and best of all no nasty chemicals against your skin!
NB - if you're worried about confusing ivy and poison ivy, then do a quick Google Image Search - you'll find they look very different and are hard to confuse.
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