Homemade Fabric Softener - Cheap/Easy/Better than store bought

I made my own fabric softener with the help of Frugal Living Now. It was super easy, cheap, and supposedly it works better than the store bought stuff. My daughters will be doing laundry tomorrow so I will update you all on how well it works. But for now I thought I'd copy and paste the recipe for all of my readers :)

Homemade Fabric Softener Recipe

Making your own homemade fabric softener is easy and will save you money on laundry supplies. It is also environmentally friendly, and non-allergenic. I have noticed that a lot of people I know are sensitive to commercial fabric softeners, so I decided to find a recipe to make my own fabric softener so that I could still have soft, fresh-smelling laundry without the expense and chemical scent that goes along with using the commercial products. I found this one - it uses readily available, inexpensive ingredients; is easy to make; and leaves the laundry soft and fresh-smelling.

An added bonus of this fabric softener is that you can use it to soften and freshen your towels - if you try this with commercial fabric softeners, you will find that your towels are not as absorbant any more. This is because the commercial products contain silicone which coats the fabrics so that they feel softer without actually being softer.





Fabric Softener Recipe

Makes about a gallon of fabric softener

• 1 cup baking soda
  
• 6 cups distilled white vinegar
  
• 8 cups water
  
• 10-12 drops essential oil of your choice (optional)
  (Click on Mountain Rose Herbs ad at the bottom of this page to order essential oil)
  
• a plastic gallon jug with a lid (an empty vinegar jug works well)

1. Mix the baking soda and water in a large, deep mxing bowl or pot
   
2. Stir it until the baking soda is disolved
   
3. Slowly add the vinegar, one cup at a time. The mixture will fizz up, so stir it carefully until all the bubbles are gone before adding the next cup of vinegar.
   
4. Add the essential oil and stir.
   
5. Wait a few minutes for it to go "flat" before pouring the mixture into the empty jug. If you put it into the jug and cover it while it is still fizzy, the mixture will expand and may blow the lid off!
   
6. To use, shake the bottle and add 1 cup softener to the final rinse water

Once again, Thanks to Frugal Living Now for the wonderful recipe!!!