On the Blog

Life Hacks, Tips, Tricks... Just For You.

toxins


Tackle Dust & Dirt with the All-Purpose Cleaner!

Posted on

At Nellie’s, we want you to be able to clean your whole home with eco-friendly products – we couldn’t just stop at laundry! Our lemongrass-scented All-Purpose Cleaner gives you exceptional cleaning power against household dirt and grime, but without any harsh chemicals, phosphates, dyes, or perfumes, and contains no SLS or SLES. Just what can you use the All-Purpose Cleaner on? Keep reading to find out!

Kitchen


When it comes to the kitchen, the All-Purpose cleaner is truly versatile! Wipe down any surface from your counters, stove top, kitchen cabinets, to the inside of your fridge. Wherever there’s a spill or smudge, the All-Purpose Cleaner tackles it like nobody’s business.

Outdoors


Summer is officially here, and that means patio season! Keep your patio furniture sparkling clean by giving it a wipe-down with the All-Purpose Cleaner. You’ll get a fresh lemongrass scent, and won’t have to worry about getting any dirt or dust on your linen pants from your lounge chair. Plus, like all Nellie’s products, the All-Purpose Cleaner is biodegradable and totally eco-friendly – no need to worry about using harsh chemicals outdoors! For any heavy-soiled areas, spray and let soak for 30 seconds before wiping, and repeat if necessary.

Hallway


Hallways get a lot of traction in the home – they often lead to the favourite rooms in the house! That means lots of handprints, smudges, and scuffs on the walls, especially if you have little ones running around. Spray on any smudges and gently wipe away to reveal cleaner walls, naturally! Want to make sure it won’t damage your paint? Just test before using by applying to a small area first.
Read more →

5 Ways to Go Green with Your Clean

Posted on

Earth Day is every day for us at Nellie’s. We’re firm believers in using cleaning products that help you keep the environment as spotless as your clothes! Here are 5 ways Nellie’s helps you get that eco-friendly squeaky clean for your whole home.

Lamby Wool Dryerballs


Our eco-friendly Lamby Wool Dryerballs are crafted from 100% pure New Zealand wool to improve tumble drying. They work to soften your clothes, reduce drying time, and static. This means your clothes are dry faster, saving you money and helping the environment. Plus, the tins aren’t just cute – they’re reusable and recyclable! With a slot at the top, they're a perfect piggy bank to keep all that money you’ll be saving on your energy bill. Traditional dryer sheets are single use and can’t be recycled, but your Lamby Wool Dryerballs are reusable for up to 2 years. These natural alternatives are a no-brainer!

Laundry Soda


Get perfectly clean clothes without sacrificing the environment or your washing machine – Nellie's Laundry Soda's highly concentrated formula dissolves quickly in cold or hot water, rinses thoroughly and never leaves a residue. Plus, it's free from SLS, SLES, gluten, phosphates, fragrance, chlorine, and is HE-efficient, meaning you’re using less energy for your washing machine. Our powder formula is eco-friendly, as more cleaning power can be packed into a smaller space using powder.

Oxygen Brightener


Everyone sings oxygen’s praises for maintaining life on Earth, but do you know its second most popular use (according to us)? We do! Nellie’s Oxygen Brightener harnesses the power of oxygen to penetrate stains to strip away dirt, odor, and grime while keeping your colors bright and your whites white. Our chlorine-free formula is color safe, septic safe, hypoallergenic, environmentally-friendly, and biodegradable! So much better than bleach, don’t you agree?

Dish Powder


Did you think we’d stop at just laundry? No way! Nellie’s Dish Powder easily penetrates grease and food particles, leaving every plate spotless without leaving a residue. Our phosphate-free formula gives you an eco-friendly cleaning experience and is septic-safe, so you can wash the dishes without worrying about the environment.

One Soap


We think it’s easier on you and the environment to keep things simple – not only when it comes to ingredients. Why use multiple different soaps when you could use just one? Our One Soap is safe for hands, dishes, dogs – anything you would use a sudsy soap for! Our formula is colour-free, SLS, SLES, and toxin-free and effortlessly strips away food, dirt, and grime, leaving just a sparkling, hypoallergenic clean. Do you like yummy-smelling soaps? The One Soap is available in four options: Peppermint, Melon, Water Lily, and Fragrance Free.
Read more →

When to Wash? Here's Our Laundry Guide

Posted on



We wash our clothes to keep ourselves, our families, and our favourite items smelling and feeling fresh, but there is actually such a thing as washing too much or too little! There are downsides to both: laundering your clothes more than necessary can shorten their lifespan and ultimately wear them out more quickly, and washing them too infrequently can be unhygienic and lead to bacteria growth. Yuck! Here are our general laundry guides for you and your family:


For your clothes


Bras: After three to four wears


Underwear: After every wear, of course!


Stocks and stockings: After every wear


Sports and swimwear: After every wear


Jeans: five to six wears, although some advocate washing as little as possible


Tops: One to two wears


Dresses: One to two wears


Pants, skirts, and shorts: Three to four wears


Jackets and blazers: Five to six wears


Coats: Once every two months of wear, and before storing away for the season


Pajamas: Three to four wears


Get your clothes fresh and clean, but don't sacrifice your health and the environment! Wash clothes (and towels, bedding, etc.) with Nellie's Laundry Soda, and remove tough stains with the WOW Stick. If your clothes need some extra brightening or whitening, choose Nellie's Oxygen Brightener instead of toxic bleach.


For your kids' clothes


Washing your kids' clothes doesn't need to be a massive chore! Most experts say you can wash their clothing along with yours anytime you see stains or they don't pass the sniff test. The problem is that kids tend to get dirtier more often than adults do, so those stains and smells come up more frequently. Here's a handy guideline: the lighter and softer the fabric, and the closer it hugs the body, the more you need to was it. But as long as you don't notice dirty patches or stains, kids can wear clothes multiple times before they're ready for the laundry pile, just like you.



For your baby's washing


It seems like the hamper is constantly overflowing with onesies, blankets, burp cloths, bibs, rompers, and tiny adorable socks! Unlike grownups, who typically wear one or two outfits per day (not to mention wear an item of clothing more than once before washing), babies are mess machines with their spit up, drool, diaper leaks, or the dreaded blow out. Because of this, it's not uncommon to change their clothes as much as 5 times per day! So when it comes to washing your baby's clothes, there are two schools of thought:


1) Wash one load every day because it can be done quickly and won't pile up


2) Wash everything once each week so that you only have to spend one day dealing with laundry


Whichever one you choose, make sure you're washing with Nellie's All-Natural Baby Laundry Soda, which is formulated with baby's soft skin and messy mishaps in mind. Thanks to a concentration of sodium percarbonate for natural brightening, as well as the addition of pure vegetable soap, there is no need for an additional whiteners or brighteners. The stain-fighting formula is effective on cloth diapers and removes stubborn baby stains such as milk, baby formula, and spit-up. The formula is derived from plant-based and mineral-based ingredients and is non-allergenic, leaves no residue on fabrics, and contains no fragrance.


In the dryer


When drying your laundry, use the Lamby Wool Dryerballs to cut down on drying time, soften fabrics, and reduce wrinkles, naturally! Then, smooth out any remaining wrinkles and creases with the new Wrinkle-B-Gone.


Of course, these guides don't apply when excessive sweating or accidental spills occur, or to those that have different hygiene preferences.

Read more →

The Healthy Way to Soft Laundry

Posted on


Unless you live in a nudist colony, wearing and washing your clothes is a part of regular life. Of course, some of us hang our clothes on a line to dry, but it’s safe to say that the majority of us choose the convenience of the dryer. As a result, one of the most toxic things we do on a regular basis is use fabric softener or dryer sheets. These products are full of toxic chemicals! Exposure to such toxins have been linked to skin irritations, neurological disease, cancer, hormonal imbalance, and ultimately your overall health can be impacted. Yikes!


Chemicals infiltrate the clothing we wear, which in turn gets on to our skin and is absorbed by our bodies. Some reports show that the occurrence of brain disease is growing, as well as the levels of industrial chemicals being found in human bodies. Some suggest the two are linked! Since manufactures are not legally required to include a list of ingredients on their dryer sheet packages, we have no way of knowing what kind of chemicals are being used.


Get Soft Laundry Without Toxins


Don’t worry  - you can still have super-soft and scented laundry, without subjecting your body to horrible toxic chemicals thanks to Nellie's Lamby Wool Dryerballs. Our dryerballs are made with 100% pure New Zealand wool, so no nasties! They reduce drying time by helping dry your clothes faster, so you’re saving energy and money. They also reduce static and wrinkles, all while softening your clothes, but the best part is that they’re chemical free and will last about 2 years.


If you prefer your laundry to have a fragrance, the Scented Wool Dryerballs are infused with pure essential oils and available in Citrus, Lavender, and Simply Fresh. The scent will last about 50 loads, so you can enjoy the chemical-free natural scent. We recommend tossing one scented wool ball with your four unscented wool balls to enhance your drying experience.

Read more →

Bag the Bleach and Breathe Life into Your Whites

Posted on


Skip the Bleach and Switch to Oxygen


Bleach is often the first product most of us think of when we need a product that can brighten white clothes, remove stains, disinfect objects, and more. It may get your clothes and linens looking bright, but it poses dangerous risks for your health and the environment.
Bleach is a chlorine-based corrosive substance, and even when it has been diluted it can cause burns, irritation, and damage home surfaces. Since bleach is strong enough to kill even the worst bacteria, it makes sense that it poses a danger to those who use it and anyone exposed to it. It can be especially harmful to infants, young children, and pets because their immune systems can’t fight off the harsh chemicals.
The serious effects of bleach can include skin burns, respiratory problems, damage to the nervous system, asthma flares, headaches, and vomiting. Bleach is not only toxic to humans, but to animals and our environment! It's a known contributor to water pollution. When it makes its way into our water systems, it reacts with other minerals and elements to create a host of dangerous toxins that can take years to break down. Even the Occupational Safety and Health Administration has banned the use of bleach in restaurants, hotels, hospitals, and schools. We should do the same in our homes!

Thankfully, Nellie’s All-Natural Oxygen Brightener brightens your whites and penetrate stains without hurting you, your family, or the environment. The power of oxygen strips away dirt, grit, odor, and grime. The chlorine-free formula is color-safe, septic safe, hypoallergenic, environmentally-friendly and biodegradable, like all of Nellie’s products.
Why powder? Liquid detergents are made up of at least 50% water. At Nellie’s, we don’t believe selling you water and moving water around the planet is a very good idea. The fact is, more cleaning power can be packed into a smaller space using powder.
Read more →