What do you know about castile-based soap? Castile based soap is “real” soap: It’s simple stuff, and it’s very simply made. It has a naturally high pH, so it doesn’t need artificial preservatives. Plus it kills germs, naturally, without worrisome ingredients like Triclosan, often found in common antibacterial detergents. It’s detergent-free and naturally sudsy without synthetic surfactants. And Earth Mama’s castile-based soaps, specifically, have NO artificial fragrance, phthalates, parabens or sulfates. Because, yuck. And you don’t need any of that for real soap to get you safely clean.

But real soap’s amazing-ness doesn’t stop there! It’s a multi-tasking marvel that lets you simplify and save money by eliminating multiple household products with a few simple changes.

1) Whip up some all-purpose soft scrubby cleanser

Here’s a non-toxic, safe and super effective DIY scrub that cleans your whole house, stem to stern. You’ll be tackling kitchen counters, sinks, toilets, and tile, plus birdbaths, coffee stains in ceramic mugs, scuff marks on woodwork before you know it! And all without the worrying about any cancer-causing, endocrine-disrupting, asthma-inducing chemicals that might be lurking, undisclosed, in common cleaning products.

Just mix any castile-based soap with some baking soda to a frosting-like consistency and scrub pots, sinks, counters, and tub for a safe sparkle-clean!

2) Make your own diaper wipe solution

Making homemade baby wipes takes just a few minutes of work and saves loads of money. You can make them with cloth, so they are reusable, or with paper towels if you need disposables. As an added bonus, the wipe solution can also be used as a diaper spray!

All you need to make your own wipes are washcloths or a roll of premium paper towels cut in half lengthwise, pure castile based soap, Angel Baby Oil or olive oil, and water.

See the full recipe here

3) Skip antibacterial soaps and wash grimy little hands with real soap

Are you worried about the soap your kids will encounter at school? Many studies have proven that simply washing away the bacteria and viruses with soap and hot water is just as effective as using soaps made with antibacterial chemicals, like Triclosan. So send the kids to school or camp with their own castile-based soap!

4) Mix up a simple all-purpose household spray cleaner

Add 1 tablespoon of your favorite Earth Mama castile based body wash to 1 cup water, mix gently and add to a spray bottle. For extra disinfecting power, you can add ¼ teaspoon tea tree pure essential oil. A simple toxin-free way to spray and wipe clean!

5) Stomp out ants with a non-toxic spray

Before you reach for that can of bug spray, consider what’s really in that killer spray. Do you want your family and pets exposed to chemical-laden pesticides that can cause serious health problems? Yeah, no. Luckily castile-based soap works to kill ants too – safe for you and your family, not so great for the ants.

Fill an 8 oz. spray bottle with water, add 3 tbsp. of liquid castile-based soap and 10 drops of peppermint essential oil. Shake to mix well, then spray it directly on crawling bugs and around the perimeter of your house, even in your flower box. Just be careful not to douse your plants – peppermint oil is too strong to spray directly on them.

Earth Mama’s effective castile-based calendula body wash & baby shampoo is real soap: naturally gentle, detergent-free, and so safe hospital NICUs use it on fragile babies. It’s perfect for a newborn’s first bath, toddler tub time, showers, hand washing and family clean. And all the DIY uses above!