I started learning a few years ago about just how much the ingredients in everyday products can affect your overall health, and I ended up going down a rabbit hole of checking the ingredients in my products and slowly making swaps for products that were better for my overall health. I think of it as a small investment in a healthier future for myself and others living in my home.
I’ve compiled a list of products that have passed my effectiveness test and have also passed the ingredient check.
Kitchen
My Favorite Dishwasher Tablets!
These Blueland tablets are the best dishwashing tablets I have ever used! I love that they are completely plastic free and are nontoxic. It’s hard to find dishwasher tablets that aren’t wrapped in plastic. Washing your dishes with plastic free dishwasher pods is important if you don’t want your dishes coated in microplastics.
Blueland also has a really cute reusable tin that can be used to store the tablets, which I love because of its space saving qualities and streamlined look. It makes me look forward to loading the dishwasher for some reason. I’m always surprised by how long it takes me to use up all of the tablets. The bag is small and compact, but there are a lot of tablets in each bag despite the small size. However, I also happen to be a stickler for trying to fit as many dishes in the dishwasher as possible before running a load like I’m playing a game of Tetras.
I choose the fragrance free dishwasher tablets because it scores really well on EWG.com, which is a resource I have used to check products and their ingredients. I’m skeptical of fragrance when what is used to fragrance a product isn’t explicitly listed. Plus, who needs fragranced dishes? Sounds to me like something that could interfere with the taste of your food.
Dishwasher starter kit (tablets and reusable tin): https://amzn.to/3KrA6FO
Dishwasher tablets on Amazon: https://amzn.to/4iy76IQ
Kitchen Hand Soap
I bought a big jug of this hand soap a long time ago, and I still have not finished using it. It’s completely natural, and it’s great as a kitchen hand soap when you’re dealing with stuff like oil, raw meat, and other greasy and hard to wash off things. It’s also great for pretreating oil stains on clothing if you rub a drop directly into the grease spot on a clothing item. I
I, again, get the unscented, but the scented soaps are actually fragranced with essential oils. I like that they’re very transparent about the fragrance used.
All natural castile hand soap link: https://amzn.to/4pMpGiR
Dish Soap
I chose Blueland’s dish soap for my kitchen. It’s EWG verified as free from harmful chemicals and ingredients, and it’s in a powder form, which I think is so fun!
It reminds me of the rare occasions that my family and I would go eat at Ted’s Montana Grill when I was growing up. I thought that restaurant was so cool and unique as a child because of the paper straws, bison burgers, and the powder hand soap in the bathrooms.
The soap truly works really well. I think because it’s in a powder form, it’s able to help soak up grease and scrub off stuck on food better than a liquid dish detergent would.
For this soap, you really need to get the refillable silicone container to be able to use it most easily, but I’ve included both the link to the soap with the container and the soap without in just the bag.
Link to soap with container: Blueland Dish Soap w/ Container
Link to soap refill: Dish Soap Refill Pack
General Cleaning Products
For all around the house, I am a believer in keeping things simple. Baking soda is amazing and cheap, and I use it to clean my stovetop, sink, and whatever else needs a good scrubbing. It’s great at cleaning up grease and stuck on food. It’s also great to sprinkle on carpets and other fabrics to let it sit and deodorize before vacuuming it up.
About six years ago, I decided to buy my first vacuum! I did a lot of research to make sure I was making a wise purchase before deciding to get a Shark vacuum. The vacuum I chose has a HEPA filter, which is important to keep the vacuum from blowing dust particles right back out into the air as you vacuum. This is especially important for anyone with asthma or dust allergies. I’ve also recently realized the value in having a vacuum that can easily be opened up in several areas when things get clogged. Since getting a puppy, my vacuum has been working overtime to vacuum up hair, pieces of sticks and pinecones, leaves, and various trash that my dog decides to get into and tear up. When I accidentally vacuum up something a little too large, I can just locate the clog, open up the compartment and pull the pieces out. This vacuum has proven to stand the test of time and has been absolutely worth the money.
Shark vacuum with HEPA filter: https://amzn.to/4ovEdhR
I also have a couple of refillable glass spray bottles that I fill with a couple of different cleaners. For windows and other glass, I have a bottle filled with ½ white vinegar and ½ water. It works really well, and is again, very cost friendly. I know vinegar isn’t the best smell initially, but believe me, the smell goes away quickly. Plus, you don’t have to worry about breathing in harsh chemicals, like ammonia or heavy fragrances.
Glass spray bottles: https://amzn.to/49SMetG
If you need a disinfectant, you can do the same thing with rubbing alcohol or flavorless vodka (which doesn’t have a smell). You can fill a spray bottle with ½ alcohol and ½ water and use wherever. This spray also works well for removing many odors from fabrics.
For an all-purpose cleaner, I like to use the Branch Basics cleaning concentrate. You only need a small amount mixed with water to create a cleaning solution. The concentrate lasts a really long time.
Branch Basics Concentrate: https://amzn.to/48uCjbj
I also love my reusable Swedish dish cloths. I got two cloths about 5 years ago, and they are still going strong today. I use these for cleaning instead of paper towels. They dry really well and can be thrown in the dishwasher or washing machine to be cleaned.
Swedish Dish Cloths: https://amzn.to/3MaHy8R
Laundry
Detergent
If you’re making the swap to nontoxic products, laundry products are one of the things I would recommend prioritizing to swap first. All day everyday you’re wearing clothes and using towels and laying on sheets that were all washed in your detergent. If your detergent is having a negative effect on your health, it’s constantly doing so. You might not even realize your detergent is causing headaches, brain fog, acne, skin irritation, etc. until you swap to something with cleaner ingredients.
I love the Blueland unscented laundry detergent. It cleans my laundry without leaving any residue or just covering up stink with heavy fragrances. I use the unscented detergent, and I add scent by using essential oils added to wool balls in my dryer. Wool balls are incredible at naturally preventing wrinkles and static, and you can add a few drops of your favorite essential oils to the wool balls before drying a load to naturally fragrance your laundry. I’m a huge fan because they’re natural and reusable. They help me save money and limit waste because they last for years unlike single use dryer sheets that are loaded with harmful chemicals.
If I have a particularly dirty load of laundry, such as muddy clothes from my puppy, I’ll add a small scoop of the Blueland Oxygen Boost, and that does the trick!
Here are some links if you’d like to try any of these products for yourself!
Blueland Laundry Detergent Starter Set: https://amzn.to/3YfzrdB
Blueland Oxygen Boost Starter Set: https://amzn.to/4pq6VSu
Wool Dryer Balls: https://amzn.to/4pVHIiJ
Lavender Essential Oil: https://amzn.to/44WJFmS
Hopefully this article helps relieve some of the stress of picking out quality and safe cleaning products for your home! I know when I was picking out cleaning products for the first time it started to stress me out because I had a difficult time finding products that had both effectiveness and clean ingredients.
Thank you so much for reading my article! These links are affiliate links, which help to support my blog just a little bit. I hope you found these tips helpful. As always, feel free to reach out with any questions or comments!