Healthy & cheap DIY: You don’t have to buy these things
Washing powder, deodorant, vegetable broth, dishwasher tabs, or cotton pads: we are used to buying most everyday products in the store. But you can make many of them yourself without much effort. It’s usually cheaper, and you know exactly what’s in it.
Doing it yourself instead of buying it is fun, usually costs less than ready-made products, and leaves less packaging waste. In this way, we can work against corporations that only live by producing completely superfluous things using enormous amounts of resources. Anyone can do it: here are some things you don’t have to buy – you can make them yourself. The only thing you can not do yourself is to create the same joy when playing demo slots.
What you can do yourself
1. do it yourself instead of buying it: Detergent
Homemade laundry detergent can protect the environment, your health, and your wallet—the ingredients for your DIY detergent are curd soap, gall soap, and washing soda. Optionally, you can add citric acid for hard water and an essential fragrance (e.g., grapefruit).
Did you know? Theoretically, you can also make laundry detergent from natural materials, such as ivy or chestnuts. Both natural products contain saponins, which have a similar effect to the surfactants contained in conventional detergents. However, the substance is toxic to fish in large quantities. As relatively few people wash with ivy or chestnuts, the risk is currently low, according to a spokesperson for Berliner Wasserbetriebe.
2. make your dishwasher tabs instead of buying them
Mix the ingredients, and you will have homemade dishwasher tabs.
You can easily make dishwasher tabs yourself instead of buying them. You don’t need a chemistry lab to create your dishwasher tabs, just the following ingredients: (household) baking soda, citric acid, soda, unique salt, water, and – if you want – essential oils for the fragrance. Also, have an ice cube mold ready to be in the right shape.
The tabs also save on packaging, are free from questionable ingredients, and if you run out, you can make new ones. Depending on the brand, this is also much cheaper in the long run than always buying new packs.
3. upcycled baby wipes
Many conventional baby wipes contain problematic ingredients, as the consumer magazine Öko-Test 2016, 2020 & 2023 found out in its baby wipes test.
You can easily make wet wipes from old fabric scraps, bed sheets, or towels. Soaked in coconut oil, they clean your baby’s bottom – and are upcycled simultaneously. Another plus: the homemade wet wipes are washable and reusable.
4. make your aluminum-free deodorant
Aluminum salts, parabens, synthetic fragrances – if you don’t trust conventional deodorants, you can make your deodorant with just a few ingredients without much prior knowledge. All you need is baking soda, water, and essential oil.
5. make your cleaning products instead of buying them
Nobody needs aggressive chemical cleaners and cupboards full of cleaning products: you can replace almost all cleaning products with simple household remedies such as vinegar, citric acid, soda, and baking soda. You’ll save plastic waste and money while protecting your health and the environment.
6. cosmetic pads and cleaning cloths
Also welcome guests in the shopping cart: cotton pads and cleaning cloths. Why not make both yourself? Cotton clothes that are no longer wearable can be turned into helpful cleaning cloths in seconds.
The towel is discolored, and half of the tea towels have been lying unused in the cupboard for years. Perfect, because now they can be repurposed as cosmetic pads. Use a glass to measure the size of the homemade make-up remover pads and cut circular pieces out of the fabric using your glass template. Fold the fabric in half and sew it together either by hand or using a sewing machine. That’s it!
Crocheting make-up remover pads only takes a few minutes.
Don’t throw away your cleaning clothes and DIY cosmetic pads; wash them regularly. When choosing fabrics and crochet thread, ensure they are washable at 60 °C.