Most of us have at least a few articles of clothing that need to be dry cleaned. All that dry cleaning really adds up- especially if it is something you wear a lot! If you’re just sending stuff to the dry cleaner to be pressed and starched, the good news is- you can do it at home for about $1. Oh, and that $1 will last you at least 20 articles of clothing. This green, easy, DIY spray starch is not harmful to the environment or your health!

Enter DIY spray starch! It is inexpensive, easy to make, and most importantly- effective! And it isn’t limited just to dry clean only clothes. I also like to use it to help with some shirts that just always seem to wrinkle, even if I don’t let it sit in a pile of clean laundry for a long time (whoops).

Not to mention all the chemicals you are avoiding! Some of the stuff that dry cleaners use are WAY more harmful than you think. Perchloroethylene- or perc for short- is a carcinogen, and is one of the most commonly used dry cleaning chemicals. It is not only harmful to you when it’s on your clothes, but also the dry cleaners that handle and breathe it in. You may not be exposed to levels that will cause cancer- but it is also known to cause headaches, impair vision, and motor skills. Let’s just all agree that it’s better to avoid it!!

I thought this DIY spray starch would make a great addition to Green Cleaning Month!

For this DIY, you will need:

• Hot Water
• Corn Starch
• Essential oils (optional)

And that’s it! Gotta love simplicity!

So how do you make it? I’ll tell you!

I always recommend using a little test patch before you use this on an entire garment- I can’t see why it would be a problem, but better safe than sorry.

Some other DIY spray starch tutorials I’ve seen tell you to boil the water, but I found that unnecessary. The corn starch dissolved perfectly well for me in hot (not boiling) water. Less work is always preferred for me, and a little shaking or stirring is easier than boiling.

I have found this starch to do a good job! The only downside is you need to give it a little time to dry, since it is water based. But still- for the price, and because it is only natural healthy ingredients, I really can’t complain.

If you’re a fan of this DIY, you should definitely check out my homemade laundry detergent tabs!

Let me know how making your own spray starch goes for you!

supplies used in this post

The post DIY Spray Starch appeared first on Pins and Procrastination.

There’s nothing worse than trying to trug along through your day when you have a miserable cold. Even just some sinus congestion can feel so uncomfortable and just distract you all day. Sure, it’s winter, but it doesn’t mean you have to just sit in discomfort and blow through 10 kleenex boxes a day. These easy to make shower soothers will help you breathe more easily when you feel sick.

You know how good it feels just to take a shower and breathe in some steam when you have a cold? These shower soothers make that feel ten times better than that, if you can believe me! They are so refreshing and really do ease that icky congestion.

They’re so simple to make too!

Ingredients:

• Baking soda: The main body of the disks, helps keep them fresh and retain smell
• Citric acid: Creates the fizzing effect
• Corn starch: Makes the shower disks hold their shape
• Epsom salt: Helps you feel more hydrated and helps relieve sore muscles
• Eucalyptus essential oil: Opens your airways and helps with congestion
• Water: Binds everything together

You can see in the picture above an example of the clumping you should see when you add water to the mixture. If your mixture looks this clumpy- you’ve gone slightly too far! So use this as a precaution- stop slightly before this point.

All right, I think you’re ready to find out how to make these suckers.

You can see in the picture above how much my shower soothers puffed up. I definitely added too much water, which made them expand more. So make sure to use your water sparingly. If you use too much all the fizziness will be used up before you even get a chance to use these in the shower!

And let me just say, you want the chance to use these in the shower. Using one of these made me feel like I was in a spa. The eucalyptus is so relaxing and refreshing.

I’m not saying I’m looking forward to getting a cold, but I do love having an excuse to use these. Eucalyptus is definitely one of my favorite essential oils. It is really great stuff. I always use it to help me breathe when I have a cold.

So there you have it. I bet you didn’t realize how easy these would be to make! So you really have no excuses… go out and make some yourself!

Supplies Used in this Post

The post Homemade Shower Soothers for Colds and Congestion appeared first on Pins and Procrastination.