Review of MamaSuds NEW powder laundry detergent!

24 Sep 2025 1 Comment

by ecofriendlymamausa in Eco-friendly living, Resources

I LOVE trying new products with safe ingredients, and I LOOOOOVE even more when they work for me and I can recommend them. Also extra loveable is when they’re made by a small, woman/mama-owned business in my neighboring state of MI (I live in WI). I have worked with Michelle Smith, the fabulous mama behind MamaSuds for over a decade now. I did my initial review of her brand and shared my thoughts way back in 2013, the year I had my daughter who is now 12 (for those mathematically challenged 🙂 Since then we have worked together to offer her products to the buying club that I organized for 10ish years, and she was always fabulous to work with (which isn’t something I can say for each & every vendor unfortunately).

So I’m thrilled to do this review for the newest addition to her line. I’m sure we can all agree that the search for the best possible laundry detergent is never-ending. To me, these are the criteria I’m looking to find: safe ingredients (natural and organic as much as possible), effective formula (it actually works), eco-friendly packaging (no huge plastic jug), and affordable (definition varies individually).


Let’s dig into those criteria one-by-one:


1– Safe ingredients: sodium carbonate (soda ash/washing soda), sodium percarbonate (oxygen powder which is a combo of sodium carbonate and hydrogen peroxide), and sodium olivate (saponified olive oil). 3 ingredients, yes THREE, ingredients! And you’ll see in point 3 below that it actually worked well for me! The main concerns with the above ingredients and the fact that this is a powder is: you don’t want to inhale them. Same with any/all powders. Don’t inhale them. I appreciate that she offers unscented or peppermint (scented with EO). You can do a deeper dive into her ingredients and the ethos behind what she chooses here: https://www.mamasuds.com/pages/ingredients.

2– Effective: Safe ingredients are great, but if they don’t work, they’ll not be a viable option. Michelle kindly sent me 2 bags to try and from the time I started using it until my last scoop I was happy with it! No complaints, it did what it’s supposed to do– how awesome is that?! I only know one other person who has tried it, also named Jessica, here’s what she shared with me: “I’ve tried several other ‘natural’ and ‘safe’ brands that have good ingredients, but I always felt like my laundry wasn’t actually getting clean or came out of the washer/dryer with a smell. Since I’ve been using MamaSuds, my laundry doesn’t smell at all, which is a big win for me, and I feel like the items come out cleaner. I have been really happy with it!”
Also, how cool is this: it won the Silver Award from the Mom’s Choice Awards®!

3–Eco-friendly packaging: NO plastic jug, how I loathe those things! It comes in a paper bag. It has a very small footprint. Enough said on that one.

4–Affordability: For a 32 oz bag the cost is $25 or $21.25 if you enroll in subscribe & save (pretty big savings there). Directions state 128 loads for HE (1/2 TBSP) vs 1-2 TBSP for regular. One ounce of powder is equal to 2 TBSP, so that’s 64 scoops (TBSP) per bag. I used 1 scoop per load which so got 64 loads per bag= $.33/load (at subscribe & save price). If you were able to use 1/2 a scoop, the cost would be just $.16/load. If you use 2 scoops, the cost is $.66/load. Shipping is FREE on orders over $75.

Conclusion: I think this is a great option that everyone should try! I have quite a stash of what I had been using previously left. But when that is gone, I do think I’ll switch over to MamaSuds! I hope you’ll give it a try, and check out my review below of other great, safe products Michelle is offering. It sure has been great to watch her line grow at a slow, but steady pace. Keep up the great work Michelle!

**TO PURCHASE: please use my Affiliate link. MamaSuds is in a very small handful of companies I’ve chosen to work with as an Affiliate. That speaks to the trust I have in Michelle and her products: www.mamasuds.com/ecofriendlymama


**My review of a bunch of her other products: https://ecofriendlymamausa.com/2025/01/28/mamasuds-review-updated/

**And I will be adding this product to my entry for MamaSuds liquid laundry soap which is on my Best-of-the Best list for laundry solutions: https://ecofriendlymamausa.com/2025/04/25/my-safe-laundry-list-looking-for-safe-effective-and-affordable-solutions/

Laundry recommendations: the never-ending search for safe, effective, and affordable solutions!!

25 Apr 2025 1 Comment

by ecofriendlymamausa in Eco-friendly living, Resources

My criteria for selecting the safest laundry products are similar to those I use in selecting the rest of my products. However, due to the fact that these products aren’t being applied directly to our skin, I feel I can be a little less stringent in what I deem acceptable. But on the other hand I feel the environmental impact of these products is greater than say, the effect of ingredients in a face cream we might choose for ourselves. Many people use minimal personal care products, but since laundry is something many of us do every day, or at least several times/week over decades of our life I truly feel what we choose does have a definite impact on our environment. Our wastewater ends up going somewhere.  You won’t find top, conventional name brands on this list. The focus is what those of us trying to make more natural solutions are finding and choosing where we shop. The brands below were requested for me to look into from my Eco-Friendly USA Group Page. It drives me batty that if you search “organic laundry detergent” you will see brands such as Seventh Gen and many others that WANT you to believe they’re organic, but I assure you they are far from it.

Here are a few criteria I really value and look for when finding my top recommendations in this category: Made in USA, the most minimal amount of plastic use as possible, refills are awesome, organic and/or all-natural ingredients: all important to me. But then the caveat is: the products need to work too! Something can have amazing ingredients, but if you’re not happy with how it performs, it doesn’t matter. Our machine type, water type, expectations, all play a huge part in that. I have only used a few of the below options personally and will comment when that is the case. It would be FANTASTIC if you comment below this post if you have tried any of these and what your experience was. Personally, I do not have luck with pods, either in my washer or dishwasher. They just do not dissolve, I don’t know why. I’ve also never tried any of the laundry sheets. I’d love to hear from some of you who have!  

When I looked into the suggested brands, I always went for the scent-free option to gauge their base recipe. Many of the brands do have scented options available. Some use only natural scents, some use synthetic and natural.  I do not use, or recommend, synthetically scented products. But I tried to focus on the base recipes and leave it up to you to look into the fragrances if you’d like to go that route.  

Budget is a huge concern too. As I just mentioned, while we can choose not to wear expensive make-up, perfume, etc, opting out of laundry really isn’t possible. There has never been a time in my life that I haven’t been on a budget. So I include cost/load in my stats below too. Many of the brands offer a variety of sizes and typically the larger the size you’re buying, the more cost savings you’ll see. So I generally went for the smallest size available when including the price/load cost. **Note on usage. When figuring out the price/load, of course it depends on how much you use per load, whether you have an HE or standard machine, how dirty your clothes are, etc. So when calculating cost/load I generally went with what they suggest on their website as a standard load. Some people might use double or triple that amount, some might use half. So just take the numbers with a bit of a grain of salt, they’re a base number. 

Environmental concerns. There are a few ingredients that are an absolute NO for me and send a product straight to my NOT RECOMMENDED list, and they include: Benzisothiazolinone, Methylisothiazolinone, Methylchloroisothiazolinone.  In addition to being very common allergen triggers (which is more of a concern for products you’re coming into contact with like dish soap) they carry the concern of acute aquatic toxicity as an environmental implication. Manufacturers say: well, it’s only a tiny amount per product. True. But when millions of people are doing millions of loads daily, 365 days/year, decade after decade…. Enough said. I encourage you to ditch any/all products that you see include these ingredients on the label. You will find them in liquid products as a preservative. Many laundry options are powdered, which does make it easier to avoid preservatives which are often some of the ingredients of most concern.  Potassium sorbate and sodium benzoate I really try to avoid in food or personal care, but I don’t consider them as much of a concern with laundry products.  

On EWG cleaning database scores: as always I take them with a grain of salt. It’s a good reference, a good start. But I ALWAYS check out the full ingredient list, not just their overall score. They will give an A score, but when you click the product, sometimes ½ the ingredients get a C. So that matters to me. What those ingredients are and why they get a C, even though they ultimately give the product an A, is what matters. And I use PubChem a lot when researching a new to me ingredient, it is fascinating and a wealth of info! 

All that being said, let’s look at what I found. Please forgive any weird formatting. I did so much copy/pasting from each site and at some point I just have to stop worrying about formatting. I want to present the info, and my opinion, without staring at a screen any longer 😊 Here it is: 

Recommended: Best-of-the-Best 

MamaSuds- $22/ 64oz $.34/load. Ingredients: water, potassium olivate (saponified olive oil), sodium carbonate, and sodium borate 

**I love lists of minimal ingredients when they are still effective. My personal experience was that I felt 2 oz worked better than 1 (in my top-loading, non-HE machine). So that is only 32 loads/ 64 oz jug, making it costly at $.50/load. However, as I LOVE that she offers a concentrated refill pouch which uses less plastic, and is a bit cheaper at $18 for 64 oz. Again, obviously if you need to use less soap, the cost will fluctuate greatly.  

Since I no longer offer my buying club, I have affiliate links with the vendors I used to offer, for those who wish to purchase please follow this link: www.mamasuds.com/ecofriendlymama   

You can read my thoughts: My review

ADDED 9/24/25: Thoughts on her new powder offering (spoiler alert, I really like it!): https://ecofriendlymamausa.com/2025/09/24/review-of-mamasuds-new-powder-laundry-detergent/

———————————————- 

Meliora- $20.99/128 loads= $16/load Ingredients: Sodium bicarbonate (baking soda), sodium carbonate (washing soda), vegetable soap [sodium cocoate, glycerin, organic cocos nucifera (coconut) oil, water]. 

**I have never used this, but the ingredients look great! 

—————————————————————– 

Molly’s Suds Original Powder $14.99/70 loads=$.21/load  

Ingredients: Sodium Carbonate, Sodium Bicarbonate, Magnesium Sulfate (Heptahydrate), Unrefined Sea Salt, Essential Oil(s) and/or 100% Natural Fragrance(s)* 

**I used this for many years and offered it via my buying club. It contains minimal ingredients that are not concerning and I felt it worked well. It also has a reasonable cost/load.

Unscented Super Powder Ingredients:  Sodium Carbonate, Sodium Bicarbonate, Sea Salt, Disodium Lauryl Sulfosuccinate, Active Enzymes 

**I remember when she 1st came out with the Super Powder I wasn’t thrilled with the addition of Disodium Lauryl Sulfosuccinate. However, I did spend quite a bit of time reviewing the info on it and it is not suspected to be an environmental toxin, be persistent or bioaccumulative in the environment, nor is it expected to be potentially toxic or harmful to our bodies. And after looking at lots and lots of other formulas, I appreciate the minimal ingredient list so feel fine about recommending this with no concerns.

———————————– 

Poofy Organics– $30/64oz $.47/load.

Ingredients: Organic Saponified Coconut Oil, Organic Saponified Olive Oil, Organic Saponified Jojoba Oil, Sodium Bicarbonate, Glycerin, & Rosemary Extract. Dislike plastic jug 

**I truly have not laid eyes on a smaller, more organic ingredient list for this category. And I have personally used this product as I have been a Poofy Organics Guide for almost 11 years now. I had been urging them to come up with a safe offering for this category for years because I truly want Poofy to be a one-stop shop. So, this was a long time in the making! And I’m thrilled to say, it works really well! It is fantastic. Downside=cost. At $.47/load it is one of the more expensive ones on this list. However, I have heard from others who use a ½ oz instead of 1, so obviously if that works for you, that cuts your cost in ½ to $.23. Like all things Poofy Organics offers, it’s hard to find a safer ingredient list. They truly offer THE best of THE best of the best. If cost wasn’t a concern, I would never look for any alternatives!

Shop during one of the 3 sitewide sales/year to bring cost down. Save 15% during Earth Day, Labor Day, Black Friday. You can check out all Poofy’s laundry offerings here. If you’re reading this and are a 1st time customer, you can use the code ECOFRIENDLYMAMA10 to save 10% on your 1st order. I offer a 5% rebate on all orders, all the time too. You just order, then email me for the rebate: ecofriendlymamausa@gmail.com

————————————————- 

Rosey by Thrive, Free & Clear powder- $9.99/70 loads= $.14/load 

Sodium Carbonate, Sodium Sulfate, Sodium Chloride, Sodium Carbonate Peroxide, Sodium Citrate, Protease Enzyme. 

**Nothing concerning, great value, plastic pouch not a jug! I’ve not tried this myself.

—————————————— 

Rowe Casa, unscented powder- $17/50 loads- $.34/load

Ingredients: SODIUM CARBONATE (SUPER WASHING SODA), SODIUM BICARBONATE (BAKING SODA), SODIUM PERCARBONATE, SODIUM TALLOWATE (ORGANIC SOAP FLAKES).

**Minimal ingredients with no concern!

**I’m writing them to get more info on their liquid formula. They’re not fully disclosing what is in it, I’ll update this after I get a response: UNSCENTED INGREDIENTS: PLANT SUGAR (DERIVED FROM COCONUTS), DISTILLED WATER, ORGANIC VEGETABLE GLYCERIN, FERMENTED SUGAR (DERIVED FROM BEETS), SODIUM BICARBONATE.

——————————————

Tangie- $23/128 oz. I use 2 oz/load cost/load for me is $.36.

Ingredients: Coconut Oil, Olive Oil, Soap Nuts Liquid, Saponified Lye, Yucca Powder, Sodium Carbonate, Baking Soda, Oxalic Acid, Salt, Rosemary Oleoresin.   

**LOVE: that it is a concentrated bar that you dissolve in water so there is NO waste! This is my top choice! It’s what I have used for many years and will continue to use due to it being more affordable than Poofy’s, and no plastic jug which I absolutely LOVE!!

Affiliate link: https://tangieco.com/  Use code: ECOFRIENDLYMAMA for 10% off your order! 

You can read my review

———————————————- 

Zum Liquid Laundry $12/32 loads= $.38/load (64 oz is $18).  5 ingredients water, potassium cocoate (saponified 100% coconut oil), sodium bicarbonate (baking soda), fragrance (essential oils & fragrance) and glycerin (vegetable glycerin) 

**No ingredients of concern. It is in a plastic jug. I’ve not tried it.  

SO-SO. Not terrible, not the best-of-the-best either 

9 elements- unscented- 95% plant based.  $12.97/ 35 loads= $.20/load via Walmart (only spot it linked me to purchase). 

WATER, CITRIC ACID, C12-16 PARETH, SODIUM C10-16 ALKYLBENZENESULFONATE, PROPYLENE GLYCOL, SODIUM CITRATE, VINEGAR. 

**SODIUM C10-16 ALKYLBENZENESULFONATE is a synthetic surfactant that gets a C from EWG due to ‘some’ high chronic toxicity and impurity concerns. Overall I don’t think it’s concerning enough to be in my absolutely not recommended group, but I don’t love it either. So-So at best. Scented uses synthetic fragrance.

——————————– 

Attitude, Unscented- $19.95/40 loads (plastic jug)= $.50/load. Made in Canada.

Ingredients: 5-15% anionic surfactants, (Sodium Coco-Sulfate), 5-15% non-ionic surfactants (Lauryl Glucoside, Myristyl Glucoside, Caprylyl Glucoside),Water, Citric Acid, Sodium Chloride, Sodium Gluconate, Sodium Benzoate, Potassium Sorbate, Glycerin, Camellia Sinensis (Tea) Leaf Extract. 

**I love that they offer larger sizes in cardboard refills (with a plastic bladder inside, much like a box of wine). I wish it were made in the USA, but it’s definitely not terrible.  

———————————————- 

Blueland- laundry detergent tablet refills $21/60 tablets= $.35/load 

Ingredients: Sodium Carbonate, Citric Acid, Microcrystalline Cellulose, Lauryl / Myristyl Glucoside, Subtilisin, Fragrance (natural/synthetic), Amylase, Water/Aqua, Maltodextrin, Mannanase, Hydrated Silica, Monosodium Citrate, Cellulase, Magnesium Stearate (Synthetic) 

**Fragrance-free available. Love the paper pouches and plastic-free concept with refills. They’re certainly not terrible, but not “clean” enough to be on my best of the best list either. 

————————————— 

Dirty Labs, scent-free detergent- $16/32 loads= $.50/load.  

Ingredients: Lauryl glucoside (110615-47-9), Water (7732-18-5), Caprylyl/Capryl glucoside (68515-73-1), Glycerine (56-81-5), Capryloyl/Caproyl methyl glucamide (1591782-62-5), Coconut fatty acid (61788-47-4), Protease (Subtilisin) (aep) (9014-01-1), Sodium citrate (6132-04-3), Potassium hydroxide (1310-58-3), Propanediol (504-63-2), Alpha-Amylase (aep) (9000-90-2), Cellulase (aep) (9012-54-8), Mannanase (37288-54-3), Pectate lyase (9015-75-2), Sodium hydroxide (1310-73-2), Propylene glycol (57-55-6). 

**I like that they offer refill bottles. They use a combo of natural/synthetic fragrances. None of the ingredients are hugely concerning. Typcially Propylene Glycol is something I would avoid in personal care, but for a product like this it doesn’t have huge concerns. 

————————————— 

Ecos pods= $.26/load via Amazon.

Ingredients: Sodium Sulfate (mineral-based builder), Sodium Carbonate (mineral-based water softener), Sodium Bicarbonate (mineral-based stain remover), Sodium Coco-Sulfate (plant-derived surfactant), Polyvinyl Alcohol (water-soluble coating), Enzymatic Blend (stain remover). 

**Better than their powder or sheets that I looked at (and placed down below in the not recommended section). However, pods do not work well for me in the washer or dishwasher.  

——————————— 

Laundry Lady Co- Fragrance Free Laundry Sheets- $23.99 60 sheets= $.40/load 

Ingredients: SODIUM DODECYL SULFATE, DECYL GLUCOSIDE, COCAMIDOPROPYL BETAINE, GLYCEROL, FATTY ALCOHOL POLYGLYCOL ETHER, WATER, POLY (VINYL ALCOHOL), TRISODIUM CITRATE. 

**SODIUM DODECYL SULFATE is a synonym for sodium lauryl sulfate (SLS) which gets a C via EWG and is something I prefer to avoid. However, of all the laundry sheets I looked at this one has the most minimal ingredients and nothing of huge, huge concern. I don’t love them, but they’re not awful either. So-So at best. 

———————————————————- 

Truly Free- $19.95/50 loads= $.40/load 

Ingredients: TetraSodium Salt , Sodium Polyacrylate , Sodium Carbonate , Sodium Lauryl Sulfoacetate , Precipitated Silica , Lavandin Grosso-Plant Based , Eucalyptus Oil-Plant Based , Fir Needle Oil-Plant Based , Sodium Citrate , Sodium Cocoate , Hypromellose , Clove Leaf Oil-Plant Based , Lime Oil-Plant Based , Sodium Dodecylbenzenesulfonate , Cinnamal (Cinnamon) , Citral (Citrus) , Coumarin (Cinnamon) , Limonene (Citrus) , Alkyl Polyglucoside , Citronellol , Eugenol (Clove Leaf Oil) , Evernia Furfuracea (Treemoss) , Evernia Prunastri (Oakmoss) , Farnesol (Lemongrass) , Geraniol (Geranium) , Citrus Aurantium Dulcis (Orange Peel Oil) 

**Sodium Dodecylbenzenesulfonate: Evidence of chronic aquatic toxicity; acute aquatic toxicity; developmental/endocrine/reproductive effects. Sodium Polyacrylate: Evidence of biodegradation; respiratory effects; cancer. The rest of the ingredients are pretty good.  

———————————————- 

Molly suds Liquid- $37.99/200 loads= $.19/load 

Ingredients: Water, Sodium C14-16 Olefin Sulfonate, Amine Oxides, Glycerin, Sodium Chloride, Sodium Carbonate, Caprylyl/Capryl Glucoside, Natural Fragrance* (Note: only in scented products), Protease, Mannanase, Sodium Gluconate, Phenoxyethanol, Ethylhexylglycerin 

**I have the powders on my Approved list, however the liquid and sheets listed below are So-So. Not awful, but not good enough to be on my Approved list.  

SHEETS- $14.99/70 loads= $.21/load 

Ingredients: PVOH, Caprylyl/Capryl Glucoside, Cocamidopropyl Hydroxysultaine, Cocamidopropylamine Oxide, Sodium Citrate, Tetrasodium Glutamate Diacetate, Sodium Lauroyl Glutamate, Sodium Lauroyl Sarcosinate, Glycerol, Starch, Protease, Amylase, Citric Acid, Sodium Alkenyl Sulfonate. 

NOT RECOMMENDED:  

Azure Clean Powder Laundry Detergent (hot & cold), Fragrance-Free- $30.83/120 loads (8# pouch)= $.26/load (available in up to 50#) 

Ingredients: sodium sulfate (mineral), sodium carbonate (mineral), zeolite (mineral), lauryl methyl ester sulfonate (plant), alcohol alkoxylate (plant), sodium percarbonate (mineral), methylglycinediacetic acid-sodium salt (synthetic, EPA safer chemical listed), sodium silicate (mineral), sodium citrate (plant), sodium metasilicate (mineral), protease (plant), TAED (synthetic EPA safer chemical listed), carboxymethylcellulose (plant), sodium polyacrylate (synthetic, EPA safer chemical listed), biodegradable polymer (synthetic), amylase (plant), cellulase (plant), and natural fragrances (plant) unless package is “fragrance free”. Any fragrances used are ISO 9235 certified as natural. 

**Numerous synthetics, several ingredients of concern in terms of toxicity to aquatic life. 

——————————————— 

Biokleen liquid (powder N/A) $17.99 for 128 HE loads or 64 standard loads. Standard load= $.28 

Ingredients: Citrus Essence laundry liquid: Contains: water, C12-16 pareth-7 (plant-derived), sodium lauryl sulfate (plant-derived), cocamidopropyl betaine (plant-derived), lauramine oxide (plant-derived), sodium citrate (plant-derived), limonene (plant-derived), glycerin (plant-derived), sodium carboxymethyl inulin (plant-derived), sodium chloride (mineral-based), and phenoxyethanol. 

Sheets, Free & Clear 50 sheets/100 loads for $29.99= $.30/load 

Ingredients: water, C12-16 pareth-7 (plant-derived), sodium lauryl sulfate (plant-derived), cocamidopropyl betaine (plant-derived), polyvinyl alcohol, sodium laureth sulfate, palm kernelamide DEA, sodium C14-16 olefin sulfonate, trideceth-4, hydrated silica, fatty acid sodium methyl ester sulfonate (MES), sodium bicarbonate, bentonite, subtilisin, sodium acetate, oxirane-polysiloxane copolymer, glycerin (plant-derived), and sodium citrate (plant-derived). 

**Both contain too many ingredients of concern for me to be able to recommend them. 

———————————- 

BRANCH BASICS—ethics are hugely important to me. I like to keep my feedback centered on ingredients and only ingredients. But when a company goes through a scandal such as described in the following blog post, I just can’t give them a 2nd chance. In my opinion, they don’t deserve it and nothing they can say would earn my trust. Although this was almost a decade ago, I will always keep them on my Not Recommended List. There are plenty of brands with safe options, scandals of this magnitude are non-negotiable to me in terms of my support. Branch Basics found to contain synthetic ingredients | Eco-Friendly Mama: Safe product recommendations with a focus on organic and Made in USA! 

——————————————————— 

Charlie’s Soap- natural liquid laundry powder $20.99/100 loads=  $.21/load.

Ingredients: Sodium Carbonate (497-19-8) [water softener]; C12-16 Pareth-9 (68551-12-2) [surfactant]; C10-14 Alcohol Ethoxylate (66455-15-0) [surfactant]; Sodium Metasilicate (6834-92-0) [drying agent]; Water (7732-18-5) 

**The Pareth and Alcohol Ethoxylate’s carry numerous concerns (in the liquid and powder listed below). I can’t recommend these. Sodium Metasilicate gets an F via EWG’s cleaning database, that’s saying a lot. They don’t give many ingredients an F! 

Liquid detergent $20.99/100loads= $.21/load

Ingredients: Water (7732-18-5); C12-16 Pareth-9 (68551-12-2) [surfactant]; C10-14 Alcohol Ethoxylate (66455-15-0) [surfactant]; Sodium Carbonate (497-19-8 ) [water softener] 

————————————————– 

Clean People Laundry Strips- $33/ 96 loads= $.34/load- made in Canada 

Ingredients: Starch, PVA, Vegetable Glycerin, Sodium C14-16 Olefin Sulfonate, Glycereth-6 Cocoate, Cocamidopropyl Betaine, Caprylyl/Capryl Glucoside, Lauryl Glucoside, Sodium Gluconate, Propylene Glycol Dicaprylate/Dicaprate, Potassium Sorbate, Residual Water 
*Fresh & Clean contains fragrance 

**I love the idea of strips, there are just too many ingredients in here that are not great. I can’t recommend these. Also not made in USA. 

———————————————————– 

Doterra- $48/ up to 64 loads= $.75/load. They do have wholesale pricing which is cheaper ($36), I’m assuming that’s the distributor price. But this is by far the most expensive of all the options I looked at. This product aligns with my general, overall feelings about this  brand: WAY overpriced, and lack of disclosure, making it a brand I do not recommend. 

SUPER frustrating. Under ingredients on the main page it lists 5 EO’s. That’s it. I found a Product Information tab, I also don’t see a complete list there. It says: contains. I emailed them for a complete list and had this response:  

EMAIL: Thank you for your email regarding the On Guard Laundry Detergent.  We understand how important it is to know what’s in the products you use. While our full formula is proprietary, we can share a few ingredient highlights: The ingredients are listed below.  

Surfactants: Naturally derived for effective cleaning. For example, Caprylyl/Capryl Glucoside is sourced from coconuts.  

Enzyme Blend: On Guard Laundry Detergent includes bio-based enzymes Protease, Amylase, Cellulase, Mannanase, and Lipase, which help break down stains and enhance cleaning performance.  

On Guard Protective Blend: Wild Orange, Clove, Cinnamon, Eucalyptus, and Rosemary essential oils combine to create a powerful blend with surface cleaning properties. 

**I can’t recommend anything if I don’t know what’s in it. Proprietary recipes with highlights aren’t good enough to make an informed decision.
 

———————————————————- 

Ecos- $11.48/120 loads= $.10 via Amazon

Free & Clear: Water, Cocamidopropyl Betaine (plant-derived surfactant), Cocamidopropylamine Oxide (plant-derived surfactant), Sodium Coco-Sulfate (plant-derived surfactant), Phenoxyethanol (preservative), Sodium Citrate (plant-derived water softener), Caprylyl Glycol (plant-derived preservative), Sodium Formate (enzyme stabilizer), Enzymatic Blend (stain remover), Sodium Hydroxide (mineral-based pH adjuster) 

**Both the Cocamidopropyl’s and the Sodium Coco-Sulfate carry concerns such as: High chronic toxicity to aquatic life, severe burns and eye damage, acute oral toxicity, known to cause cancer, probably carcinogenic. Those ingredients, combined with phenoxyethanol make me not feel its worthy of being recommended. I like that the laundry sheets below are an option that avoids the big plastic jug, but there are just too many ingredients of concern to be able to recommend them.  

Free & Clear Laundry Detergent Sheets: ~$.30/sheet via Amazon 

Water (solvent), Polyvinyl Alcohol (polymer), Sodium Lauryl Sulfate (plant-derived surfactant), Kaolin (mineral-based builder), Caprylyl/Capryl Glucoside (plant-derived surfactant), Silica (mineral-based builder), Cocamidopropyl Betaine (plant-derived surfactant), Glycerin (plant-derived solvent), Sodium Citrate (plant-derived water softener), Cocamidopropylamine Oxide (plant-derived surfactant), Phenoxyethanol (preservative), Dimethicone (polymer), Saponins (plant-derived surfactant), Citric Acid (plant-derived pH adjuster), Protease Enzyme Blend (enzyme stain remover) 

———————————————————– 

Melapower by Melaleuca- I’ve not ever seen anything from Melaleuca I’d use or recommend. However, I cannot even find the ingredients for this product on their website. I’d be happy to share my thoughts about what’s in it if someone can get me an ingredient list. I will share these thoughts on the brand overall though: Re-blogging my post on Melaleuca, THE definition of GREENWASHING! | Eco-Friendly Mama: Safe product recommendations with a focus on organic and Made in USA! 

—————————————————– 

Nellie’s Laundry Soda- $12.60/50 loads= $2.25/load 

Ingredients: Soda, ash, linear alcohol ethoxylate, sodium chloride, sodium metasilicate. 

This is a great example of how EWG drives me insane sometimes. This product gets an A overall in EWG’s Cleaning Database. However, if you look at the  Sodium Metasilicate scores an F in EWG with concerns such as: causes severe burns and eye damage, may cause respiratory irritation, and it has moderate acute toxicity to aquatic life.  Alcohol Ethoxylate scores a C, but when you look at the concerns, they are VERY serious: may cause genetic defects, may cause cancer, known to cause cancer, known to cause reproductive toxicity to females, reasonably anticipated to be a human carcinogen. It is on CA’s Prop 65 list. What in the actual?!?! How does EWG give this product an A overall? I can’t recommend. 

———————————— 

Oasis Biocompatible Super-concentrated Laundry Liquid (via Amazon, wasn’t available directly) $35/128 loads= $.27/load 

Ingredients: Water, Alcohols C12-15 ethoxylated, Alcohols, C9-11 ethoxylated, Benzenesulfonic Acid, C10-16 alkyl, Potassium Hydroxide, Potassium Chloride, Benzisothiazolinone, Methylisothiazolinone, Methylchloroisothiazolinone, Limonene.

**A definite no on this one. It has not 1, but 3 of the nastiest, most harsh preservatives that send a brand to my not recommended list instantly.  This is the worst of all I looked at (that fully discloses what’s in it)

—————————————- 

Rockin Green- $22.99/ 90 loads= $.26/load 

Ingredients: sodium carbonate, sodium percarbonate, natural chelating agents, sodium sulfate, biodegradable surfactants, natural fragrance oils. Surfactant: It is a proprietary coconut-derived biodegradable surfactant between 16-23% 

**I can’t recommend any product that doesn’t offer full disclosure. The surfactant probably isn’t awful, but if they’re not going to tell me what they’re using, I’m not going to use or recommend it. 

——————————————- 

Rosey by Thrive, liquid free & clear- $9.99/100 loads= $.10/load 

Water (Aqua), Laureth-7 (Plant-Derived Cleaning Agent), Sodium Methyl-2 Sulfolaurate (Plant-Derived Cleaning Agent), Disodium 2-Sulfolaurate (Plant-Derived Cleaning Agent), Sodium Bicarbonate (Mineral-Based pH Adjuster), Sodium Chloride (Mineral-Based Viscosity Modifier), Methyl Soyate (Plant-Derived Cleaning Agent), Cocamidopropyl PG-Dimonium Chloride Phosphate (Plant-Derived Cleaning Agent), Cocamidopropyl Hydroxysultaine (Plant-Derived Cleaning Agent). 

**Cheap but Laureth-7 carries a high concern of acute aquatic toxicity, concerns this ingredient might cause genetic defects, cancer, reproductive toxicity. Cocamidopropyl’s aren’t fantastic either. 

Alternate suggestion that I’m not familiar with:

Laundry ozone machine- from the person who suggested it: It has worked well for us so far. The only thing I’m curious about is if it will work well in the summer time – we live where it gets really hot so even the water in the pipes gets warm. Ozone works best in cold water. But yes, I’ve maybe only used laundry detergent 5 times in the last 6 months. 

************That’s it so far. Do you have a brand that you’d like to see on this list? Comment below. Also please comment if you’ve used any of these and share your thoughts on how well they work, or don’t!!

For additional reading, here is an article I recently shared on Poofy Organics blog. Yes, I’ve been thinking about laundry a lot lately 😊 The Never-Ending Load: Making Peace with Laundry—Naturally – Poofy Organics 

Why I’m willing to pay more for USDA certified organic products!

08 Feb 2024 3 Comments

by ecofriendlymamausa in Resources Tags: , , , , ,

I’ve been meaning to write about this topic for quite some time: the costs associated with becoming a USDA certified organic brand in the personal care product industry, and why I place such great value on brands who are willing to go the extra mile to become certified. Also, some pet peeves of mine such as when companies say: trust us, we’re using organic ingredients and/or we’re better than organic.

The most basic reason I value the USDA certified organic seal is I really do appreciate some degree of oversight. Some checks & balances. Especially when it comes to the word organic. Brands can charge a lot more if they’re using organic ingredients. And they should, because organic farming is more labor-intensive, thus the ingredients cost more. So when I see brands charging top dollar for their products, but then not carrying the USDA seal, and sometimes even getting a snarky response like: we’re BETTER than organic, it doesn’t sit well with me. We need a set of standards we can rely on. You can tell me x, y, z about how “clean” your products are, but unless you’re a family member, or my best friend, you’re asking me to have full faith in what you’re promising me. And in my 44 years on this earth, I’ve learned that people will say anything to make money. A small example of what I’ve heard myself from an elderly farmer at my local farmer’s market. I heard someone ask if she used organic practices to grow her vegetables, her response: no. I later heard someone else ask her the same question, her answer: yes. This is just a tiny example of how we have to trust what people tell us, or not. And I’ve been through enough in my decade+ as a label-reader and advocate for organic products that I’m extremely jaded. I’ve seen fraudulent products on the market. I’ve demanded answers from companies when ingredients didn’t add up. And one very large company even went out of business when their products were found to be fraudulent (Ava Anderson Non-Toxic). They were charging big bucks for products labeled as using organic ingredients, when in fact, that was not the case at all. So those are some of my reasons for valuing a system of checks and balances to make sure the products you’re telling me contain x, y, z organic ingredient actually do. Is it a perfect system, no? There is always room for human or technology errors, as well as corruption, with any system.

Let’s talk about cost. I hear this a lot as an excuse: it’s too expensive for my small business to get certified. I call BS! The USDA WANTS more businesses to attain their certification, there is a sliding scale, and even a reimbursement program that might reimburse up to 75% of your cost!! I’ve seen very small businesses do it and not find it prohibitive by any means. I feel that if you’re going to talk the talk of valuing organic, you should walk the walk too. Yes, it entails quite a bit more work for business owners/employees, but this is why they are justified in charging more for their products. What really irks me is there are small brands charging more for their non-certified products than brands who ARE certified. So personally, I will put my money where my mouth is and support those who are jumping through all these hoops to give us, the consumer, the assurance that they are going above & beyond to give us the peace of mind that they are not only using organic ingredients as they say they are, but appropriate cleaning supplies and methods, etc.

I recently wrote to Poofy Organics, the line making more USDA certified organic products than any other brand that I’m aware of (if you know of a brand offering more, please let me know), to gain some current insight on this topic. I asked specifically about the cost of becoming certified.

Response (12/28/23): “Regarding your question I don’t know that there is a simple answer because it is dependent on a number of factors. The specific certifying organization that is licensed by the USDA to administer the process, the paperwork, the audit, etc. The size of the organization being certified (based on actual organic products volume) plus, other costs a business has to incur to meet the stringent guidelines of the USDA. This is important because the cost is not just about the certification fee. From our knowledge just the certification fee can range from $500 to over $15,000 but that is based on volume of organic sales and of course $500 would is for a very small sales volume. Again, that is only one step because business have to meet a number of specific criteria and it can be costly for companies to get their operation ready for those guidelines. This includes things like:


–Record Keeping: System in place to track important information every step of the process, from organic certified suppliers, supply receiving and logging, appropriate storage and separation of organic from non-organic, tracking supplies, production logging, quality checks, etc.
–Ingredient compliance information
–Cleaning and sanitizing procedures – to avoid contamination, etc
–Pest control measures – using a professional organization that only used organic supplies, and logging all services provided and incidents
–Plus, others
This is to provide context that in order for an operation to get certified, they must be willing to invest in its ability to meet the business operation requirements. Before an entity can get its products certified, the business itself must first become certified to be able to manufacture and sell organic products.”


To go into more depth on the procedures and checks/balances involved, because I really appreciate knowing all this and hope you will too, I’ll share the following which was written by Kristina, the former owner of Poofy in 2017. It’s about more than JUST the ingredients.


“What does it take for us to become certified? I will try to make this as simple and EXCITING as possible lol. First, we needed to fill out what seemed like an eternity of surveys/questionnaires. The questions were extremely detailed down to the most minute piece of information. We were asked about our water supply, how we clean & sanitize work stations, how we clean & sanitize our equipment. Meticulous records needed to be maintained from start to finish of ANY product being manufactured. (If a facility has pests, only certain pesticides may be used. Luckily, we have not had that issue.) Back to keeping records, for instance, a record of each ingredient we use is kept. When we order an ingredient, it goes in our record. We need to list who the supplier is (and of course they must already be certified as acceptable to use by the USDA certifying company. In our case, it is Baystate Organic Certifiers). We need to track what date the product was ordered and when it was received, who received it, the lot # and where the ingredient was stored. Another record we keep is our manufacturing record. On it, we list what product we are making, the date it is being made, who is making it, ALL the ingredients AND units of measurements for those ingredients, all lot numbers associated with the ingredients and how many products were yielded. Then our products are assigned lot numbers. It is quite a process for every time a product is made, especially because Poofy Organics has over 100 organic products. it can become quite hectic! Another record that is kept is the cleaning/sanitizing record. Every time a product is manufactured, we must document how we cleaned & prepared the equipment and how it was purged. Lastly, we have a cleaning/sanitizing record for our facility. This includes when and how we clean our floors, etc.

Anytime a new product is created, we have to send an OPP- Organic Product Profile to our certifying company. On it, we need to list all the ingredients, the supplier and the concentration of those ingredients. Any non-organic ingredient that is allowed in the organic product (and those are very few and minute percentages), needs to go through another process which maintains that the ingredient has not been manufactured using sewage sludge or ionizing radiation and has not been created using GMOs (genetically modified organisms). An example of such an ingredient would be baking soda. Because baking soda cannot be found organically, a company like Bob’s Red Mill is a staple for organic companies. It upholds the highest standards in the industry. A new product considered for certification also needs to go through a rigorous “label” certification. Even the labels have standards and rules. Each label is sent to the certificating agency to make sure it is in compliance with those rules.

We are inspected annually. Each year a new application for certification needs to be completed- some of the information is stored so it makes things a bit easier. During inspections, records are sifted through to make sure all ingredients, products, manufacturing, labels and cleaning/sanitizing is in compliance. Batches are randomly picked to make sure the ingredients and numbers add up to the number of units sold. It is quite a heavy-duty process. It is often misunderstood that once a company is certified, the job is over. It is a CONSTANT process- always keeping records, always turning in new documents.”

So I don’t know about you, but I really value that companies are willing to go above & beyond, create more work for themselves, but give me the peace of mind that they are following best practices and not just asking me to trust them, it’s all good….


Recently I’ve been going through my personal care recommendations, starting with my Approved List and working my way down. To be on my Best of the Best List, the company must be certified organic. There is a subsection down below that for brands that aren’t certified but still good, based on what they are claiming they use, and as long as they don’t contain ingredients from my Ingredients to Avoid list (a work in progress). 2 companies moved from my Best of the Best list, a place very few companies hold.


Trillium Organics moved to my So-So List: “We held the USDA organic certification from 1999 to 2020 We let it go during the chaos of Covid So no we are no longer certified. But we have not lowered our sourcing standards or production practices. So it’s really just a matter of whether you trust trillium. We sure hope you do!!” Again, this issue of trust. You want to charge top dollar, and I’m just supposed to trust you’re using the finest organic ingredients and doing the right thing, even with no oversight or accountability whatsoever? Sorry, just can’t do that. While it’s a very small line, the products are quite pricey, quite a bit more than their certified organic counterparts. This, in addition with adding potassium sorbate to one or more products led me to move them from my Approved (best of best) list to my So-So List

Then there’s Lovely Lady. I noticed their products no longer carried the seal either, and wrote in to inquire. From their customer support (12/26/23): “after approximately 10 years of operations with the USDA certified organic program, we decided to discontinue that relationship a while back. While we do continue to source certified organic ingredients from our base of suppliers, the additional operational costs to maintain the seal compliance vs the benefit to Customers no longer made sense for us. So, like many others in the health and beauty sector industry who once had, or once actively pursued such certification before ultimately reaching a similar conclusion, we also decided to part ways with them. Please let us know what other questions or concerns you may have. We are pleased to report that when that decision was made and shared with our subscriber base a few years ago, they well understood the decision and rationale and have remained loyal knowing that we have not waivered in our mission nor commitment.”


Me: “Very interesting. So did your prices go down once you ended your certification? Can you help shed some light as to how much it costs to be certified? It has always been my understanding that it’s proportional to annual sales, so that smaller businesses don’t pay as much as larger ones. I would love some insight to help me understand the situation a little better.”


Response (2/2/24): “Respectfully, the aperture of the lens needs to be much wider when speculating on the downstream impacts with this kind of decision. Operational costs in the way you have referenced would mean looking solely at the charges to be paid annually to whichever organization provides the seal. You are correct in that there is a sliding scale. However, there are exponentially more things to consider when taking on or maintaining a program like that as it involves additional staff time for more frequent inventory checks, significantly more time spent on reconciling documents and reserving additional facility time for annual inspections, opportunity costs for needing to submit new product concepts months in advance for review with no guarantee of approval, having to scrap packaging that was once approved and then having to reinvest in replacements, not to mention a lot of unprofessional conduct by the certifier itself which led to the ultimate decision to discontinue and you can be sure we did not take that lightly nor did we do it in a vacuum. Hope this context is helpful as it is purely aimed at being constructive and enlightening.”

In my opinion, everything they just listed is precisely what I want them to be doing! My response (to which they have not responded, but we all know the answer): “So this begs the question, did you lower your prices once you no longer had to spend all the additional money on staff time, etc?”

Finally, let’s look at Toups & Co. They’ve said they’re working on their organic certification for years now. I wrote in to ask about the status and was told: “We have found the certification to be a rigorous process, however we are still working towards it with some of our products.” Looking at some labels I found they list organic coco-glucoside in their baby & men’s wash. To my knowledge, that ingredient can’t be certified organic. I wrote in, and was sent a certificate from their supplier as proof it was organic. Well, it didn’t even list coco-glucoside, it listed potassium cocoate. I responded with: what am I missing here, this isn’t even the same ingredient. The response: “I’ve confirmed that we are indeed using potassium cocoate and not coco glucoside. That has also been corrected on the website as that is not the correct ingredient. We changed that some time ago and the correction was never properly made so it’s great you brought that to our attention.”

Mistakes happen, I get that, I’ll give her grace there. But it just begs the question: what else changed and wasn’t updated? There is absolutely no assurance that anything is accurate on the labels, and/or that she truly is using organic ingredients at all. Also, the certificate she shared with me lists the potassium cocoate as made with organic ingredients, which means it’s 70%+ organic. She lists it as organic, which would mean it’s 95%+. These details matter to me. It’s an example of trust, when I find errors like these, my trust goes out the window. Egregious enough to move off my Approved list, I guess not. But you will not find me making any purchases for these products, especially at those prices.

In conclusion: yes, I think it’s possible to regulate an industry to death. But I also know for a fact that some people will do and say anything to take our hard-earned dollars. Consumers are trying really hard to make good, healthy choices, and ARE willing to pay more money. That’s a fact. We vote with our purchases. If you’re willing to pay as much, or more, for a brand that tells you they’re using organic ingredients, just trust them, so be it. If you’re willing to trust a brand that tells you they’re BETTER than organic, for x,y, z reason, again, your choice. Can they prove it? No. Personally, I will stick with the brands who are going above and beyond to prove that they believe in all things organic. Actions speak louder than words, something I find myself saying pretty much daily in my house (with a 10 & 13 year old!)!!

https://www.ams.usda.gov/services/organic-certification/becoming-certified
https://poofyorganics.com/blog/526-the-rules-of-being-usda-certified-organic-and-why-its-important-for-your-family.aspx
My Best of the Best/good list (almost done updating the brands on there: https://ecofriendlymamausa.com/product-reviews/safe-products/
My So-So List: https://ecofriendlymamausa.com/product-reviews/so-so/

If you’re new to Poofy Organics and want to save on your purchases, contact me for details on my rebate program, as well as a 10% off coupon code! Email: ecofriendlymamausa@gmail.com. And be sure to visit my Approved list shared above for other options as well!

If you’d like to join me in offering these great products to your friends and family, you can read about the opportunity here: https://ecofriendlymamausa.com/2024/02/26/looking-for-like-minded-motivated-dedicated-people-to-join-my-poofy-organics-team-2/

Wild, Sustainably caught, Alaskan seafood delivered to your door!

25 Feb 2022 Leave a comment

by ecofriendlymamausa in Eco-friendly living, Resources Tags: , ,

Facebook advertising got me again. But this time, I’m realllllllly happy I checked the ad out. It’s the Wild Alaskan Seafood Company. Upon Googling it, I see there are numerous companies along the same lines. This is the only 1 I have experience with. And being I’m very happy with it, I don’t feel the need to try others. Living in Wisco, we are surrounded by water. But honestly, I won’t eat anything out of the MS River. And fish out of Lake Superior or Lake Michigan is rarely seen in this part of the state (SW corner). My Hubby catches trout from local streams during the times of year that is happening, but we usually eat those immediately, and there are catch limits, etc. I have to drive an hour+ to get to a store that has any decent fish or seafood. Of course, it’s not cheap, and had to go through quite a journey to get to WI from wherever it came from. We really love seafood, and want to make it a more regular part of our diet. And now we are able to!

I can’t recommend the Wild Alaskan Company highly enough, for awesome fish/seafood delivered to your door! For our 1st order we got a sample pack of 12 filets (you can also get 24). It included Coho (4) & Sockeye(2) Salmon, Halibut (2) & Cod (4). They are 6oz filets, which honestly I feel is the perfect size! From there, they offer add-ons. I chose a 6pk of Sablefish + a pack of Prawns. Honestly, the Sablefish isn’t my favorite. Mainly, it’s a texture thing. I’ve tried it twice now and it’s just a bit soft for my liking. I really like a firmer, flakier fish. But that’s another reason I love this opportunity. I LOVE trying new things, have never seen Sablefish in Wisco in my life, and now I know I don’t love it. However, I learned that Wild Pacific Halibut honestly might be my favorite fish of all-time. White, flaky, absolutely delicious in 3 minutes per side. I enjoyed it with some sauteed broccoli + rice, the whole meal took minutes (rice was leftovers). I seriously, seriously love it and cannot wait for the next order, I will definitely be adding on more of that (there are many options for add-ons to your base box). The Prawns were very good, and I used the shells to make stock, which I turned into a seafood chowder. It was REALLY good!

There are some base boxes (like a 12 or 24 pack of this & that), and a bunch of add-on options. Also, their website is full of recipes & detailed info on each fish, the areas it is caught in, tips for cooking, all sorts of good info!! You can cancel at any time of course.

From their website:

What’s in the Box?

We proudly ship a wide variety of wild-caught species from Alaska and the Pacific Northwest including sockeye salmon, coho salmon, pacific cod, pacific halibut and wild Alaska pollock.

  •  12 to 24 Individually-Sealed Packs
  •  Ready-to-Cook
  •  Sustainably Harvested
  •  Caught & Processed in the USA
  •  Wild Caught
  •  Never Farmed or Genetically Modified
  •  No Antibiotics
  •  Flash Frozen & Shipped With Dry Ice
  •  Free Shipping

Here’s a pic of my 1st order. This all came to $200. Not cheap, no. It averages out to about $10 per serving. I always remind myself that if we were ordering the same serving in a restaurant it would be 2-3x the price. If you go with just the base 12 assortment, it comes to $10.99/portion. If you go with the base 24 assortment, it is $9.99/portion, and then you can add-on from there, if you choose to. I really, really am enjoying being able to reach into my freezer and pull out some seafood:

Comments from others in my group, when I reached out to ask if anyone else had tried them:

Nadine: “They’re a great company. Family owned & operated and the quality is great. I highly recommend. Especially if you eat seafood often.”

Kelly said: “We gifted this to my mom for her birthday. She was thrilled and spoke highly of it!”

From Anne, who ordered at the same time I did: “We’ve had two pieces of white fish, and 2 pieces of salmon. Very tasty! I like the portion sizes, too. Hubby has a hearty appetite and he finds the pieces large enough. For me, it was almost more than I could eat.”

Right now I have delivery set to every 2 months, but you can modify what you’re getting and/or change frequency. I ordered on a Monday, and had it by the end of that week. Once I got a ship notification, I had the order delivered the following day! Also, a fun bonus is it comes packed in dry ice. Which can lead to fun projects and experiments with kiddos 🙂

The random Fb ad I stumbled upon when I learned about them included a $15 off 1st order coupon. Once you order, you get a coupon for $25 off to share with others. So if you’d like to try it, use this & get $25 off your 1st order of any amount. Then you will get a coupon code to share with your friends/family too. And you get $25 of future orders if they use it!

Coupon for $25 off: https://wldaskn.com/w/Z6uRM4

Reminder on the power of being needed as a Mama

23 May 2021 Leave a comment

by ecofriendlymamausa in Resources

I have to admit, it’s been really nice getting used to being at the point in my motherhood journey that my kiddos frequently have sleepovers. For many years, until my Son was at least 7, they rarely happened, usually 1 night a few times/year, and he wasn’t super excited about it. Now, at 10, at least a few nights/week, their friends are here, or mine are at 1 of 2 of their best friends houses. One week, my Son had his friend over 2 nights in a row, then my Son was there 3 nights in a row! Us Mamas have a hard time saying no as long as the kiddos get enough sleep so they aren’t crabby, and the kids continue to get along well and help around the house as asked to. My Son and his bestie just can’t seem to get enough of each other. Often during the days and nights that my kids are away I’m working, either in the greenhouses during the day, or just getting stuff done around my home at night.

This weekend I had plans to see some friends from out of town who would be in my neck of the woods for the weekend only. I hadn’t seen some of them in close to a year. One of my friends is moving out of state next week so it was a good bye party for him as well. I had it on my calendar for weeks. None of them have children, and a few short years ago I would’ve said sorry, I’ll be home with the kids, hubby will come, you guys have fun. So it felt so wonderful to be able to say YES, my kiddos can go to their friends, I’ll be there. I’ve been missing this crew so badly. A couple of the guys I went to school with since kindergarten and they truly are like brothers to me. I worked during the day and my son was so anxious to go to his friends house I dropped him off in the morning, and said I’d bring his sister after work (they have 1 boy & 1 girl, same age as my kids, it’s so perfect!), then we’d go to the party. I was SO excited to see my friends, I was truly giddy. I pack up a bunch of snacks and other things for the kids, and go to drop my daughter off, and my Son is lying on the couch at friends house looking miserable. Oh no, what’s wrong I ask? I have a terrible headache 😦 And he looked just awful. He used to get headaches semi-frequently, and they would just take him out. I’ve never had a migraine, but it’s what I imagine a migraine would do to you. He seemed pretty hot so I grabbed a fan and asked if he could try to take a nap on their couch, but he broke down in tears and said can I please go home Mama? My heart sank. But there was no way I could make him stay there, nor could I possibly enjoy an evening with friends knowing my kiddo didn’t feel well. He kept apologizing: sorry Mama, I know you don’t get to see your friends often. Sorry Mama, I know tonight meant a lot to you. My heart broke for him. So I left my daughter there, told my Hubby to go the party without me (of course sick kiddos only have eyes for Mama), and went home. My Son took a bath and we snuggled on the couch, I rubbed his temples and he immediately passed out hard on our couch in front of a fan. I looked at the clock, hmmm, it’s only 5:30 (friends were playing yard games so wanted day light hours too), maybe my Son can still recover and I can go, the best of both worlds? We’ll have to see. I laid next to him feeling sorry for myself, but also remembering how powerful it is to be a Mama. He wants ME. No one else. The comfort of our home and his Mamas snuggles. How could anything in the world be more important? And he was just reminded that YES, I will drop anything, anytime, and be there for him no matter what. He’s 10, but I know those teenage years are coming fast, and he needs to know he can call me in the middle of the night and YES I will be there no matter what. He slept for 2 hours, woke up, sat up, and said: Mom, I’m ready to go back. I just needed a nap. And we loaded up, I took him back, where he actually spent 2 nights, he just got home a bit and had an amazing time. And I was with my friends by 8:00, got to surprise them with my presence and we had an epic night of reconnecting and laughing so much our bellies hurt. And not once did I have to worry about how my kids were doing, I wouldn’t have it any other way.

I wanted to share this as a reminder that there will always be struggles, always the need to put ourselves last as Mamas, but there are also immense rewards and joys. As they grow, we are needed less and less, but we are still needed. It felt amazing to put my needs last, but then still be rewarded with the feeling that I did the right thing, and got to enjoy an amazing night with friends too. Heart & soul are fully recharged. At least for now 🙂

Toothpaste deal alert!

05 Apr 2021 1 Comment

by ecofriendlymamausa in Eco-friendly living, Resources

Toothpaste review and D E A L alert! Review: “I really am loving it and I would like to purchase a few more jars. I don’t want to be without it…best toothpaste ever!” She tried the cherry/vanilla which happens to be my favorite too! For a limited time, I’m going to offer this: instead of $9/jar + shipping, which ranges from $4/jar to $8 if you fill the flat rate envelope, I’m offering $10/jar straight up, shipping on me. I want to see how that works out. So, if you’d like to stock up or try it for the 1st time, please let me know ASAP. I’ll whip up a fresh batch between our Easter shenanigans this weekend. Details in the comments below (recipe, flavor options, etc). While supplies last, I know I’m low on some flavor oils, and don’t have a whole lotta jars on hand either. https://ecofriendlymamausa.com/recipes/eco-friendly-usa-homemade-toothpaste/

Adaptogens vs Modulators

21 Feb 2021 Leave a comment

by ecofriendlymamausa in Poofy Organics News, Resources

One thing I want to start doing more of is moving really good Q & A that come up in my closed group page over to this site. This was the question: Anyone who is well studied on adaptogens? I love Poofy’s super shroom… is that considered an adaptogen? I’m looking at CHOQ and wondering what’s the difference and should I take both?

While I don’t necessarily want to give out medical advice here, I wanted to share the info that was shared regarding the topic in general. I wasn’t entirely sure on the difference between modulators and adaptogens myself. But I shared this article that I reference frequently regarding immune stimulators vs modulators, you can read it here. I was glad a college-trained herbalist in my group who is my go-to for advice on topics such as this weighed in. Here’s what she said regarding the difference: modulator refers to the immune system. Adaptogen refers to your adrenals and stress/nervous system response. Nice thing about mushrooms is that they are both modulators and adaptogens.

I’m a huge fan of Poofy’s Super Shrooms myself! I don’t take any supplements daily, but I do take the Super Shrooms several times/week. Growing up, and actually into my 30’s I did not like to eat mushrooms at all, I picked them out of any dish. But I’ve come to appreciate them now! But I was a bit leery of how this tincture would taste, if it tasted like a dried up mushroom I was afraid I wouldn’t enjoy it. But the good news is, it pretty much tastes like alcohol, with a little bit of chocolate flavor even. It tastes nothing like mushrooms. It does burn a bit, but I’ve found I can tolerate it now. I just hold it under my tongue as long as I possible can (about 30 seconds).

I have come to have SO much respect for mushrooms not just on burger with fried onions, but for their plethora of medicinal powers. They truly are amazing little powerhouses! Here’s some info about Poofy’s Super Shrooms blend, and if you click on the link at the bottom you can read more about the particular mushrooms selected. Also, for a LOT more info go to PubMed and do some reading, there is a ton of info.

triple extraction process contains 14 different mushrooms! Take around 100 days to make this tincture!
1. Mushrooms are fermented to make the polysaccharides, triterpenoids and alkaloids more bioavailable. 
2. Hot water extraction, because polysaccharides are only water soluble
3. 90 days in alcohol, because triterpenoids are only alcohol soluble.  

Ingredients: Organic Cane Alcohol, Filtered Water, Mushroom Blend (Organic Reishi, Organic Cordyceps, Organic Chaga, Organic Mesima, Organic Lion’s Mane, Organic Turkey Tail, Organic Maitake, Organic Shitake, Organic Agaricus Blazei, Organic Poria, Organic Agarikon Suehirotzake, Organic Oyster, Organic True Tinder Polypore), Organic Myceliated Brown Rice (food for the mycelium)

I offer a 10% rebate on all 1st time orders as a thank you for registering as my customer., and EVERY order after that earns a 5% rebate! What you do: go to ‘login’ then ‘create customer account’ using my link. Then complete your order, shipping is free over $55. Afterwards, send me an email with your order # and let me know how you’d like the rebate, options are: PayPal, Venmo, check, Poofy gift certificate towards a future order.

https://ecofriendlyusa.poofyorganics.com/products/2004-super-shrooms-mushroom-tincture-organic.aspx

A change for the Buying Club…

11 Feb 2021 Leave a comment

by ecofriendlymamausa in Resources

This summer will mark 8 years since I started offering a buying club. Way back then I was doing many reviews for products and I’d consistently get feedback such as: oh, I’d like to try that item but shipping is so expensive… And it dawned on me: why don’t I bring together a bunch of my favorite brands/products so you can pay just 1 shipping fee and try a bunch of samples & new items? The 1st orders were tiny, I did them on my kitchen table, at night, while my family slept, trying not to squeak the tape gun while I sealed boxes up. Then I moved to my Mom’s basement for a couple orders. The orders kept growing, and growing! I was doing 4 orders/year at that time & I needed more space. I rented an office in town for several years. At the height of the orders, I had no problem getting 125 orders. I even had to outsource data entry and hire my niece to help me fill the orders in a timely manner.

Fast forward to now. The timing of the orders has been set in stone years in advance: Feb, June, Oct. I send out at least 3 email newsletters before & during each order. I post almost daily reminders on Facebook… And the orders just aren’t coming in. There are numerous reasons, and we don’t need to get into them all.  Also, I just finished up my books for last year and I make so little income once it’s all said & done, and I put a ton of time into it. It has brought me great joy over the years to facilitate getting these great products to everyone, supporting the vendors we do (many are group members) and that joy has kept me going more than the income it has brought in. But honestly I’m feeling burned out by the whole process too.

So, we’re going to try something new: 2 orders/year, Feb & September & see how that goes. I will work on the line-up for Sep soon, so everyone knows. I’ll plan on it being pretty large, offering the most popular vendors. Taking a break may be the death of the club forever, or it may revive interest in it. I pay a considerable amount to host my Pure Play Kids website, and I look forward to having more time to grow that site. While I can’t stock all the personal care products from the vendors I offer via the buying club, I would be able to offer many shelf stable items from the vendors that we’ve all come to love.

All that being said, I will extend last night’s deadline until this Sunday (2/14) at midnight central. Anyone who would like to add on to your existing order, or place one last order before the break, email me at: ecofriendlyusabuyingclub@gmail.com

ALL DETAILS HERE: https://ecofriendlymamausa.com/made-in-usa-2/eco-friendly-usa-buying-club-2/

A new life for this site….

08 Feb 2021 Leave a comment

by ecofriendlymamausa in Resources

While I’m not ready to turn my back on Fb entirely, I still enjoy a lot about the platform, I have been thinking about alternate ways to connect with everyone and most importantly to archive the great info shared there. And I know some have indeed cut ties with Fb entirely, I hear from them with questions via email. This platform is a resource at my fingertips yet entirely underused. I used to migrate info over here regularly, there are extensive archives which link to Fb threads that had a lot of info, but they’re all quite outdated now. My stats here tell me I have at least 200 unique visitors daily, some days many times that. SO, my plan is to try to get more dialogue happening here, as well as to migrate over important topics & info that come up in my Fb group. I’ve had comments turned off for many years (SO much spam, but I’ll deal with it), I’m going to enable those and I look forward to hearing from anyone who cares to participate.

I don’t anticipate daily postings, my goal is a few times/week. But when there is a flurry of activity in my Fb group, expect a flurry of activity here. I’ll work on getting more organized and creating tags & categories such as kitchen, bathroom, personal care, etc. And there is a search bar of course. Think of this as a supplement to what we already have going on in Fb, and I feel like a more permanent cataloging of the great info we share there regularly. In a couple months I will celebrate my 9th Blogiversary. I dislike having all my eggs in 1 basket, and currently, 11/12 of them on Facebook…

So, stay tuned!

If you’re not with us on Facebook but would like to be, here’s the link to my closed group page: https://www.facebook.com/groups/ecofriendlyusagroup

Homemade Kombucha How-To by Jess

04 Apr 2020 Leave a comment

by ecofriendlymamausa in Easy DIY recipes for homemade products, Resources Tags:

So, I’m a newbie to the whole Kombucha world. I honestly hardly ever drank it before I started making it myself. I tried it a few times & thought, it’s okay, but honestly I really didn’t WANT to like it because it’s so expensive. I’m a huge fan of iced tea & have been making that by a gallon or 2 for years, always from loose leaf tea from Mountain Rose Herbs. But when a local friend asked if I wanted to try a couple of bottles of Kombucha that she had brewed, I accepted. One was ginger, one was blueberry. They were SO good! Then from there, she offered me a SCOBY, and the rest is history! That was right before Christmas, and I’ve managed to keep the SCOBY alive & thriving since, and am absolutely loving making this stuff! Now, it’s hard to imagine my life without this brew in it!

Again, let me say I’m a newbie. But I’ve shared my love of this brew with my online group over the past few months, and many of you have asked me to share my tips & experiences with you. So, here’s my post based on my experience. There are TONS of other blog posts out there. So if you want more background on the history,  health benefits, etc, Google away. My goal is to keep this on the brief, basic side. It’s SUPER easy, SUPER cheap, and SUPER delicious!

TO START: Ideally you need to find someone local with the starter SCOBY, it’s a weird-looking gelatinous blob, and it should come with ~1cup of starter tea (remnants from the last batch, you always save a little). I see Amazon and other online sites do have it for sale if you can’t find something locally. I have no idea which brands are better than others (if anyone has experience ordering online, please let me know). I have been doing 1 gal at a time, going to up it to 2 because I love it so much.

Tips on what tea to choose. It’s my understanding the SCOBY does best with some caffeine. I do see that some use green tea, but the advice from my friend who I started from, and the bit that I read before getting started myself was that black tea is ideal. You can do loose leaf, but using bags just makes it super easy.  I’m using Newman’s Own Organic Black. I get a box of 100 for ~$6 at my food co-op. I use 8 bags/gallon, so that’s ~$.50 for tea. The recipe I’m following is this: 8 black tea bags + 1 cup of sugar per gallon of brew. I use organic turbinado (raw) sugar (for everything in my home). I need to weigh/price 1 cup next time I fill up my jar at my food co-op, but my guess is that it’s around $1/cup. So that means 1 gallon of kombucha comes in at around $1.50/gallon. Read that again, especially if you’re buying it regularly in a store. $1.50 PER GALLON!

newmans

DIRECTIONS: Here’s what I do–bring 1 gallon of water to boil in my stainless steel stock pot. Add 1 cup of sugar, stir to dissolve. Add 8 black tea bags, steep for 3-4 hours, until the brew has cooled down to room temp. Temp is important with kombucha, too hot & it can kill the SCOBY, too cool, it will take much longer to brew. Taste it after 1 week, do you like the basic flavor? If you let it sit too long, it will have more of a vinegary bite to it. Room temp is ideal for brewing, 70’s is great. We heat with wood, so parts of our house are frequently in the 80’s. I settled on our back utility room as the ideal spot, and it has worked very well.

It’s a 2 step process of fermentation. The 1st step needs to have aerobic (with air) activity. So you need something like a towel or pillow case as a lid for your container. Fruit flies can get through cheesecloth. 1 of my jugs has a pillow case as a cover, the other has a towel. I let the 1st ferment sit ~1 week. Your 1st brew you might want to let sit a bit longer, as your SCOBY is growing in health.

The 2nd ferment is when you add the flavors you want!  This process requires anaerobic (without oxygen) activity. So after letting the tea sit with the SCOBY for 7-10 days, you transfer it to an air-tight container with some fruit. My friend sent a bunch of Grolsch bottles with my starter SCOBY. I used those several times when I was just brewing 1 gallon at-a-time. Once I decided to up my production, those bottles seemed too small. So I started using quart jars, and they are working perfectly! I started simple, a jar of blueberry, a jar of strawberry. Then I started doing combos: straw/blue. Then I added ginger to those. Basically I do a layer of each fruit. The more brews I do, the more I experiment. I LOVE blue/straw/ginger, then I added pineapple to that, THE best! But I also love ginger/raspberry/aronia.

The sky is the limit when playing with flavors. So you fill your jar to the tippy top and let that sit at room temp for ~3 more days. The longer you let it sit, the more carbonation you will have. Also, certain berries/fruits ferment quicker. Again, temp plays a role too, so a winter brew will ferment slower than a summer brew. My friend told me a story about opening a strawberry ferment & it shooting all over her kitchen, soaking her ceiling. I’ve not had this happen YET. But wise advice is to open with a towel over your lid. The awesome thing is, you can totally customize your brew to your liking. Like it sweeter? Add a bit of sugar to the 2nd ferment. Like it really fizzy? Let both ferments sit longer. I prefer mine on the flatter vs fizzier size.

It is possible to kill your SCOBY. When you handle it you have to make sure your hands are super clean. My friend who I got mine from killed hers once while dividing it for a friend, it grew mold after she separated it. She assumed her hands weren’t clean enough. It is ideal if you have a friend locally who knows what they’re doing, as I was able to have my friend come look at mine several times & assure me that it was healthy looking and as it should be. If you start googling healthy scoby vs moldy ones, there are tons of pics.

I love it on ice. I store it in quart jars, but usually drink it out of my favorite Mason jars, the 22 oz tall, wide-mouthed jars! I rarely drink coffee anymore, this is my morning wake-up. So refreshing, hydrating, delicious!

My 2nd Kombucha jug arrived & is working on its 1st continuous brew. My Hubby & Son are loving these brews so much too, I went from doing 1 gal, to 2 gal, now I’ll alternate between always having a 2 gal batch going and the 2nd ferment of the other happening. I LOVE this stuff, one of those things that wasn’t even on my radar a few short months ago, now I can’t imagine the before time!

Dispenser by Anchor Hocking: https://amzn.to/3aMO3XT

Spigot: https://amzn.to/3dIN2BQ

I’ve had the exact same dispenser since 2014 and it has held up great. I routinely used it for iced tea before my recent Kombucha days. The only thing I wish was slightly different would be that the hole would be down closer to the bottom a bit more. You have to tip it towards you to get the last few quarts out. But it works, and I’ve not had any issues with leakage.

That is my basic how to. Did I leave something out? Still have questions? Let me know! Again, I’m a total newb, but find this super easy, delicious, and cheap!

Previous Older Entries

Design a site like this with WordPress.com
Get started