The laundry aisle at your local
grocery store is filled with expensive soaps and solutions all aimed at getting
your clothes clean and smelling good. But many people would prefer to spend
less money and use fewer chemicals on the fabrics they touch and wear everyday.
Fortunately, there is a solution — making some of these products yourself!
Why DIY?
A do-it-yourself fabric softener
can save you money, reduce waste, and offer you peace of mind knowing that
you’re not using any potentially harmful chemicals on your clothes. For Jill
Nystul, author and founder of the blog One Good Thing By Jillee, the venture into DIY products came from a moment of
inspiration in that same laundry aisle.
“I picked up this huge bottle of detergent off the shelf, saw
how expensive it was, and just couldn’t bring myself to do it,” she says. “I
knew there had to be a better, more affordable way to wash your clothes than
buying a huge, expensive detergent bottle at the store, so I set out to figure
out how to make my own laundry detergent at home. That was my first foray into
DIY-ing a household product, and I’ve been hooked ever since!”
The Fabric Softener ‘Recipe’
For Jill’s DIY fabric softener, you’ll need nothing more than:
- 6 cups of water
- 3 cups of white vinegar
- 2 cups of hair conditioner
She suggests mixing all of the ingredients in a
one-gallon container, being careful to stir the mixture rather than shake it (shaking
will result in foam). Then, keep the mixture by your washing machine and use the
DIY softener the same way as you would use a traditional fabric softener.
As an alternative to liquid fabric softener,
Jill says you can also pour the mixture into a spray bottle and spritz it on a washcloth.
Then, throw the washcloth in the dryer with your wet clothes, and it acts as a
dryer sheet.
Another idea from Jill: Keep old dishrags in a
container with the fabric softener. When it’s time to dry a load of clothes,
take out one of the rags, wring it out a little, and toss it in with the
clothes. After the clothing (and homemade dryer sheet) is dry, simply throw the
DIY dryer sheet back into the container of fabric softener.
Customize Your Softener’s Scent
One of the things people like about fabric
softener is the scent. Jill says you can get some of the same smells — or better ones — with her DIY fabric softener.
“The hair conditioner is where you can really
exercise some creative freedom,” she says. “For instance, you can choose a
favorite scent or opt to use an all-natural conditioner, if you want.”
A DIY fabric softener can help you save money,
as well as make laundry day just a little more fun and creative!
Source: healthline.com
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