Homemade {all natural} Fabric Softener

As promised, here is how I make homemade fabric softener!

All you need is:

White Vinegar

An Empty Jug (optional)

Essential Oils (optional)

I just poured some vinegar in an empty fabric softener container and added about 30 drops of tea tree oil.  But, you could just literally pour vinegar into your fabric softener dispenser in  your washer and that's it! I added the oil for some extra scent.  The clothes come out smelling fresh and not in the least bit "vinegary". They are also super soft. So frugal and natural...love it!

Anyone else have other fabric softener recipes? I saw some online involving conditioner, but wasn't sure how all of that would work! I've also seen ways to make homemade natural dryer sheets. Maybe I will try that next!

Homemade {All Natural} Liquid Laundry Detergent

I've made powdered laundry detergent in the past, but I have been wanting to experiment with a liquid recipe.  I found this one and revised it to my liking.   Here is what you need:

Homemade {all natural} Liquid Laundery Detergent

An empty (around 1 gallon) container (I used an old detergent jug)

1 cup liquid Dr. Bronner's Soap

1 cup baking soda

30 drops essential oil (optional)

I started off by taking the spout off the old detergent jug to make pouring and mixing easier

 

voila! It will go back on later.

Break out the Dr. Bronner's Soap and measure 1 cup.

Pour it in.

Add 1 cup baking soda

Add about 30 drops of your favorite essential oil.  I already had tea tree oil on hand, so that is what I used. This step is optional...it's just for nice smelling laundry!

Now, fill it up with warm water (if you use warm, the baking soda will dissolve better)

After you shake it up, you are done! You can use the cap to measure out about 1/4 cup per load!

So, this was an experiment for me...here are my thoughts.  I think that the powdered detergent is much cheaper.  This takes quite a bit of liquid Dr. Bronner's soap which is much pricier than just one bar of natural soap for the other recipe.  But, the powdered is a little more labor intensive as you have to grate the soap up.   Both clean pretty well and the liquid recipe ends up smelling better because you can add the essential oils which you can't do for the powdered kind. So, either recipe would be great, just whatever floats your boat, I guess!!

{natural fabric softener recipe coming tomorrow!}

My favorite natural cleaning product: Dr. Bronner's soap!

I have recently discovered Dr. Bronner's liquid castile soap and it's endless uses! I love that it is all natural, so it's completely safe to use for many different purposes. I have been using it in some various homemade cleaners around the house. You can check out my all purpose cleaner here.  I have also mixed it with baking soda to make a natural abrasive cleaner-it worked great on my stainless steel sink!  The other fabulous thing about Dr. Bronner's, is that it's safe enough to use not only for household cleaners, but for personal hygeine items as well! I use it my cloth wipe solution for Lula. I am sure I will be sharing tha recipe later.  I know it can also be used as a mild facial wash.  Some peopl even brush their teeth with it! I don't love it THAT much...I think I will just stick to my Crest toothpaste for now.

Now, now on where to buy this product: It is sold at Whole foods and some other chain grocery stores, I know my local Hy-Vee has it there. However, I have found it to be MUCH cheaper to buy it online. In fact, I saw a 16 oz bottle at Hy-Vee for about $8, but I found a 32 oz bottle for sale on Amazon for the nearly same price! So, you can potentially pay 1/2 the price if you do a little online research, which makes it very affordable!

I will also point out that Dr. Bronner's comes in a bar form as well. I use that for my powdered laundry detergent. However, since I have just bought a huge bottle of liquid at a cheap price, I'm currently looking into a liquid laundry detergent recipe and will share that once it is perfected.

easy & frugal natural all purpose cleaner

In an effort to save money while using natural cleaning alternatives that are safer for Lula, I've started making my own cleaners. This is one of them that really works and is super cheap!

All Purpose Natural Cleaner

1 gal hot water
1 tbs baking soda
2 tbs liquid soap (I use Dr. Bronner's liquid soap, but Dawn liquid dish soap would also work)

Mix together in a spray bottle.

*all amounts are approximate. My spray bottle is clearly less than a gallon, but I still used the same amounts of baking soda and soap with less water, it's just a bit more concentrated!

homemade laundry detergent

I have found that I go through laundry detergent much faster than I used to! I have started on the quest for a homemade all natural laundry detergent. Here is the recipe that I have been using. It is so easy and saves so much money!

Homemade Natural Laundry Detergent

1 cup borax (can be found on the laundry aisle at your local grocery store)

1 cup washing soda (looks like a big box of baking soda and will be near the borax)

1 bar of grated castile* soap (we love Dr. Bronner's soap in lavender scent but Ivory also works although it's technically not "all natural")

Just mix the the borax and washing soda in a reusable container. To make the soap much easier to grate, just leave it out for a few days (if you can do a few weeks, even better). This dries out the bar which will allow you to grate the soap into a powder. You can also try putting it in your freezer and then grating. I just use the finest side of my cheese grater to make the soap in tiny granules!

Add about 2 tbs of detergent to a medium load of laundry!

For a frugal and natural fabric softener, add a few tbs of white vinegar to the rinse cycle. Your clothes will smell fresh and not vinegary, I promise!

I'm currently on the lookout for a homemade liquid detergent, so stay tuned!!

*The only downside to homemade detergent is that it can't be used on Lula's cloth diapers. I have been using it on her diapers for a year but they have started to be less absorbent and produce an unpleasant odor. After a little research, I found that homemade detergents aren't the best for diapers because they contain natural oils that build up on the fabric. It's better to use something like Charlie's Soap or Soapnuts that don't contain any oils.