Imagine this scenario with me. Husband (who sweats profusely when doing any physical activity) goes to hot yoga during lunch break. Husband puts clothes from hot yoga into backpack. Husband empties clothes from hot yoga into laundry hamper the next time he packs to go. He doesn’t go every day.

EWWW!

So your laundry might not be as ripe as 4-day-old hot yoga clothes, but we all have stinky laundry in some capacity. Even if you just leave your towels in the washer for days on end…because life.

I finally stumbled on a laundry routine that is consistently producing de-stinkified loads. Every. Time. #win.

1. Add 2 heaping scoops of OxiClean to your washer when you dump the clothes. Don’t be stingy.
2. Fill your detergent dispenser with my simple, no-need-for-a-5-gallon-bucket, borax-free laundry soap recipe. The new secret ingredient in the dōTERRA On Guard® Laundry Detergent . Between the enzymes and the germ-killing On Guard® essential oil, stink doesn’t have a chance.
3. Fill your liquid softener dispenser with white vinegar. You can also add additional essential oils here, but you don’t have to. Once the clothes are dry all the scent is pretty much gone anyway.
4. Run a looong wash cycle. The Oxi and soap needs a chance to work. I’ve tried shorter cycles and the stink isn’t gone yet. If you have a cycle that soaks the load first, awesome. Our washer doesn’t soak, but I run a cycle that lasts about 2 hours. We have an Eco Warm mode. I use that. I suggest warm if possible because the Oxi works better in warmer water. And no, I don’t sort colors and whites. It all goes in together.
5. Try to switch the load to the dryer as soon as you can after the wash cycle is finished. I’ve had about 2 hour lag time without the stink returning.

Go ahead! Try it. What do you think?

Why stop at laundry balls? We also use safe, natural products in our washing machine.

I was using a recipe that required grating Fels Naptha soap and used Borax. Grating is a pain and the jury’s out on how “safe and natural” Fels Naptha and Borax are. I did a little research and came up with this recipe that we used at a make and take last weekend.

Borax-free Laundry Soap Recipe  

(recipe updated on 10/24/17)

What you’ll need:

1/2 cup washing soda

1/2 cup baking soda

1 cup dōTERRA On Guard® Laundry Detergent 

1 cup liquid castile soap or 1 bar castile soap, finely grated*

*Using liquid soap is much more convenient. Using bar soap creates a thicker textured soap.

What to do:

1. Add enough water to the washing soda and baking soda in a saucepan to dissolve them. Heat on low/medium until all solids are completely dissolved. Stir occasionally. Be patient. This step can take about 30 minutes.

2. Remove from heat and add detergent and castile soap to the pot and stir gently.

3. Funnel the cooled mixture into a gallon jug and top off with water.

How to use:

1. Shake well. Add 1/4 to 1/2 cup of soap to detergent dispenser of washing machine for each load.

Laundry Tips:

• Pretreat stains with this awesome roller bottle.
• Use white vinegar with 3 drops of lemon, On Guard, or Purify essential oils in the fabric softener dispenser to eliminate odors and decrease static cling.
• Boost cleaning power with Oxi Clean or other oxygen bleach. (Spot test for color fastness before using on colored clothes.)
• Washing away dinginess with a tablespoon of citric acid.
• Whiten white loads by washing with hot water and a couple drops of bluing.
• Add 4 to 6 weighted, wool laundry balls to the dryer.

To receive a 25% discount on the laundry detergent, ask me about our simple membership with no monthly minimum ordering quota. It’s like having a Sam’s Club membership!

I successfully detoxed my shower routine. Onto laundry.

When I first saw a post detailing how to create wool laundry balls, I was so excited at the simplicity. I created a set of four, but was not impressed by their weight. I knew part of the way laundry balls work is to tumble with your clothes and, basically, beat them while drying to keep them feeling soft instead of stiff. I couldn’t imagine my wimpy yarn-only laundry balls being effective against a large load of clothes.

I decided to weight them with small glass stones usually used in decorative center pieces.

Here’s how to create weighted, wool laundry balls.

You will need:

1 skein 100% wool yarn

glass decorative stones (I bought a bag at the dollar store)

old pair of pantyhose or thin sock

What to do:

1. Start wrapping the yarn around 2 flat stones.

2. Continue wrapping, working toward a round shape, until the ball is 3 to 4 inches in diameter.

3. Cut the yarn and tuck the end into the ball.

4. Repeat until the skein in used. I got 4 balls out of mine.

5. Place the balls into an old sock or pair of pantyhose. Tie off the hose to create a shape similar to a sausage.

6. Wash the balls with a load of towels in hot water and dry on high heat. This will felt the ball so they won’t unravel.

How to use:

Add 4 to 6 balls to the dryer when drying a load to increase softness and fluff the load.

For scent, add a 3 to 4 drops of essential oils to each ball after the clothes are dry and run for 10 minutes with cool air or the fluff cycle.

Suggested oils:

Cleansing Blend
Lavender + Lemon
Wild Orange + Invigorating Blend
Peppermint + Wild Orange
Protecting Blend
Joyful Blend

We’ve chosen a specific brand of essential oils because of the company’s commitment to safety, sustainability, quality, and support. We believe life (including essential oils) is best done in community and this company has a similar mindset. Unfortunately, to protect myself from scrutiny from the FDA, I’ve chosen to not disclose the brand on my website. It’s crazy world we live in! If you want to learn more about who we chose and why (or find out what is in those blends!), send me a message here. You can also sign up for my newsletter where I send out wellness tips, event invites, and ways to get FREE oils.