Happy belated fourth everyone! A long weekend is just what the doctor ordered. I can't think of a better way to end the Zero Waste Challenge than a long weekend full of pulled jackfruit, eating tons of cake with the love of my life (and getting it all to-go in our own container!!), puppy parties, a girls night making homemade deodorant, trips to the farmers market, tap dancing to Hamilton, and a literal ton of sangria!
Ok - so it wasn't a literal ton.... but it may have had something to do with all of the tap dancing. You can follow me on snapchat to see all of these shenanigans live. I also got to meet the Zero Waste Guy. You should definitely go check out his blog!
Tap dancing + Sangria = spills. When you spill on your white shirt, do not panic. All natural bleach to the rescue.
I love white clothes. In fact, I love white linens, towels, napkins, handkerchiefs, and the list goes on. I'm not sure if I'm afraid of color, (My mother was very, very strict when it came to matching) or I just like white. Either way it gets dirty easily. Dingy, yellowy, stained, or whatever you want to call it - it doesn't stay white very long.
Before: The Strawberry Explosion
After: Nice and Clean!
And, if your white linens are dingy people definitely judge you for being dirty. I mean, maybe they don't... that's just how I feel. So, natural bleach to the rescue!
Sangria, dinginess, plums exploding in your farmers market tote - it can handle the mess.
all natural bleach:
- The Juice of 1 Lemon: Typically, I pick one rolling around the sidewalk from one of the many neighborhood trees, but you can get them package free at your farmers market or any grocery store.
- 2 Tablespoons of Hydrogen Peroxide: This is one of the few things I still buy in packaging.
- 1 Tablespoon of Castile Soap: I really like Dr. Bronner's Peppermint soap. You can get your bottles refilled at Whole Foods, Berkeley Bowl, or Rainbow.
- 1 Gallon of VERY hot water
Place your stained items in a bucket. I have a two gallon bucket I like to use. Mix all of the ingredients and submerge your stained items. Leave them be for 15 minutes. After 15 minutes the water should be cool enough to agitate the clothes. Agitate them and let them sit for a couple of hours. Ring them out under cool running water and hang to dry in the sun.
You'll be left with very white clothes!
why does this work?
Hot water helps brighten whites. Lemon juice and hydrogen peroxide are natural bleachers. Combined with the whitening power of the sun - you have a win, win combo.
If a stain has been set in for quite sometime, it may not work. But, it certainly doesn't hurt to give it a try.
How do you whiten your clothes?
