With my last post being on laundry rooms, I thought this would be a good time to mention a new fabric softener that I discovered at Naked Naturals, a local health & food store.  A natural alternative to the standard liquid fabric softeners found in most grocery stores was a head turner for me, besides the pretty lavender colour, the company name “Live for Tomorrow” peaked my interest. Looking into it further – it is hypoallergenic, biodegradable & phosphate free, uses plant & mineral based ingredients (of which there are only three), is safe for septic tanks and was not tested on animals. To top off its environmentally friendly attributes, it is in a glass bottle that you return to the store (there is a $1.00 deposit) and they send the empties back to be refilled. Your dollar then goes towards your next purchase of a new one.  A wee bit more work to rinse and return but it states on the bottle that by reusing the bottle it saves 2lbs. of greenhouse gasses!

For a couple of years I have been using a different fabric softener, still tying to use one with less chemicals, they were a “Method” brand of dryer cloths that are plant derived softeners. They have worked well and made great little cleaning cloths but I am happy to have a liquid one again that gets added in the washing machine. With the new front loading machines you add it into a separate compartment beside the liquid soap and it just adds in during the rinse cycle. No more trying to remember to listen for the right moment to run in and add the softener!

Anyway, we are liking the new softener. Like the Method dryer sheets it eliminates the static and softens everything, but doesn’t leave a strong perfumed smell. I am of the strong belief that any way that we can reduce our exposure to toxic substances will help us to remain or become healthier.