I had always been weary of using commercial laundry products because of all of the chemicals in them. I also found it unnecessary to buy all of these products: detergent, bleach, fabric softener, dryer sheets. It was all pretty wasteful to me.
Our first step was cutting out fabric softener mainly because we cannot use it on our uniforms but also because it doesn't really do anything. It is a waste of money and resources.
Our second step was to switch to dryer balls once our dryer sheets ran out (they make silicone versions if you want them to be vegan). These dryer balls do the same thing (keep your clothes static free), but they also bounce around to help keep your laundry more separated and dry a little more quickly. The down side (can you even call this a downside?) is that they have no scent so your clothes won't come out smelling like dryer sheets (but, a quick fix is to add essential oils!). The best perk? We have this set of six, we have been using them for months, and we have only been using two and they show no signs of falling apart. They last a very long time. And at the end of their life, they can be composted.
Our third swap was soap nuts. I was actually gifted these by my sister-in-law this Christmas. I was so excited to try them. Once we ran out of our chemically filled plastic container full of laundry detergent (bad for your health and our waterways), we began using our soap nuts. Like dryer balls, they don't have much scent but they last a long time. You can use the same 4-5 nuts for about 4 loads of laundry. And, once they are done producing suds, you can compost them.
Both of these options have very minimal waste and are completely natural.
The last thing you can do to make your laundry routine more sustainable is to air dry your clothes. I try to do this as much as possible without a drying rack. We will definitely be getting one one day but for now, we do what we can.
A last tip, use your washer on eco-mode or on cool/natural temperature water. More energy needs to be used to cool or heat your water!
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