When my first child was born, I was able to use whatever in the world I wanted to use during bath times, for washing his laundry, for cleaning my home... I figured I'd had it totally made with a kid who it seemed couldn't be in any way bothered with allergic reactions to anything, and so on.
However, when my second little boy was born, my world turned upside down. His precious baby skin, which was much lighter in complexion and seemingly thinner than our first son's skin, couldn't handle Baby Magic baby wash, or laundry detergents or softeners with any fragrances... I had to change so much about how we washed things, including how we washed ourselves!
All in all, the change wasn't too bad, and life easily fell back into a normal groove, with only an occasional eczema patch. And yes, I also took into account his diet and my own.
When my daughter was born, though she seemed to have the same hardy skin as my first son, she had the same allergic reactions to products that my second son had. Fortunately, I'd just spent two years mastering the art of rash evasion, so all was well with us. And, now that I am very aware of the harm that many big name products pose, I am happy to say that we were a little ahead of the game as far as going more and more basic and natural in our home cleaning and self cleansing.
What I missed like crazy, though, was the smell of laundry fresh from the dryer that had been tumbled with a fabric softener sheet. I still had the soft laundry, because I used unscented softener sheets (though I don't even use them anymore for more than a few reasons), but I didn't have the fresh laundry smell.
Enter these babies:
Very recently, during a trip to Trader Joe's, I discovered these little bags of lovely scented lavender. Here are two other reviews on them (one by apartment therapy and one by green clean review who both use the same image I did so I'm not sure who used it first or where it really came from), but in short I will say that they may not completely scent my clothing and whatnot (I always use a low heat when I dry but I am guessing they'd be more effective on a higher heat setting), though my dryer and laundry room smell heavenly the whole time. (Update: adding two of the bags does, indeed, scent your clothing just perfectly - not too much, not too little) They are good for about 10 uses as far as I can tell and come in a pack of 4 for about $3.If you don't want to buy from Trader Joe's for whatever reason (say you don't have one in town or you'd like to support someone who makes them at home or you want a different scent), how about trying these out:
I found these in lavender and mint on Etsy at a little shop called Soft & Cozy that wonderfully gives old clothing and bedding new purpose through items like these. I like the idea of the mint... At least I think so. They come in a variety of different colors and the seller has great feedback.If you do try any of these things out - or if you already have - please let me know what you think.
Blessings on this rainy Tuesday afternoon,
Susan
2 comments:
I haven't used dryer sheets in years, and I miss that smell - the sheets sort of have a nice warm cotton smell when they first come out, but the clothes are just blah. No Trader Joe's around here (the closest Target is almost 1 hr away!), but I love to shop on Etsy - I'll have to give them a try :)
Alanna,
I have been fortunate enough to live near a Trader Joe's everywhere I've ever lived pretty much ever since I've been married. I don't know what I'd do without it! However, that also means that I pretty much have always lived near a university or something like it, which has it's ups and downs, as you can imagine!
If you do try the bags out, though, let me know if you have success, please!
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