Friday, September 13, 2013

Make Your Own All Natural Fabric Softener ~ Free Printable


Making your own fabric softener is so simple, frugal and a healthier alternative to the chemical solutions in the store. All you need is household vinegar and essential oils.  Consider your laundry room a private laboratory! Today we are sharing three different recipes depending on what you are looking for in a fabric softener. Consider making all three and having them on hand for all your wash day needs.

Base Ingredient:
  • Plain White Vinegar ~ Removes soap/detergent residue and reduces static cling. 
Here are the essential oils I recommend and why:
  • Lavender Essential Oil ~ It is antibacterial and antiseptic while being a delightful deodorizer. I use this in my daily laundering. It is a nice rinse for all of your general washing needs because it kills bacteria along the way. This is my personal favorite (surprise, surprise).
  • Lemon Essential Oil ~ It is antibacterial, antiseptic, and anti-fungal. With its disinfecting properties, it is my choice for washing kitchen linens. It also has mild bleaching capabilities making it a nice choice for whites (I wouldn't recommend using this for darks).
  • Eucalyptus Essential Oil ~  While it is antiviral and antiseptic, what interests me most is that eucalyptus oil is a deterrent for fleas and ticks. This makes it an excellent choice for articles used by pets or household items in jeopardy of infestations. If you are washing pet beds, etc., I would include a few extra drops of essential oil directly into your fabric softener receptacle for added strength. Another good choice for pets is Orange Essential Oil because of its ability to kill fleas! (source)


Simple Recipe

For every 4 cups of vinegar, add 20 drops of your chosen essential oil. Shake well and let sit for 24 hours to allow the fragrance to spread. A glass bottle is a good choice for essential oil projects because it doesn't leach like plastic (however, if you want to add the drops straight into your vinegar bottle for ease, you could, I won't tell...). Shake prior to each use. 

How to use?

Add 1/4 cup of your fabric softener to each load on your HE washer and 1/2 cup per load when using a top loader.

Though the fragrance fades as the laundry dries, the properties of the essential oils have done their duty and doing your wash day duty was far more pleasant, don't you think?

Warning: Do not mix with bleach in your washing machine.


We also included some printable labels for you. One is "general" so that you could make your own fabric softener using the essential oil of your choice. The other four feature the fragrances we discussed in this post. Simply download and print them from HERE.

You may also be interested in a Look Inside Our Laundry Room and a Frugal Fabric Softener Recipe.

Note: You can purchase doTERRA *quality* essential oils here (which helps to support this site).


"Let’s go to that house, for the linen looks whiteand smells of lavender,

and I long to lie in a pair of sheets that smell so."

~ Izaak Walton, Excerpt from The Complete Angler, 1653


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49 comments:

  1. Now this I will have to try. I don't use fabric softener very often, but I would definitely use it more if I made some :) Your photos are so pretty, JES! Thanks for sharing and have a great weekend.

    Hugs to you!

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  2. I have started using plain vinegar but have not added essential oils to it. I can't wait to try!

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    1. It does add a bit of romance to your wash day :)

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    2. I did this and love it. Used the lavender. Thanks for this!

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    3. Thanks for following up! That made me a smile :)

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    4. I shared this as my favorite from last week on this week's Farmgirl Friday Blog Hop at farmgirl-unleashed.com. I noticed this was a favorite on From the Farm also! Thanks so much for sharing. I am enjoying this with every load I wash!

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    5. How sweet! Thank you for the follow up and feature! Have a wonderful weekend!

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  3. I love these labels.... I am redoing my laundry so I may have to use these.

    Blessings,
    Amy Jo

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    1. Sounds fun! I *love* organizational projects :)

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  4. Genius! I can't wait to try this. We gave up store bought fabric softener years ago, but this...this sounds wonderful!

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  5. Lovely pictures. I think I need a vintagy-looking glass bottle like that one! :-)

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  6. Thank you very much for sharing this! I already use vinegar in my wash and lemon vinegar to clean with but lavender vinegar sounds wonderful!

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  7. I love this post! Your photos are gorgeous. Thanks for linking up to the From the Farm Blog Hop this week! I'm off to mix up some fabric softener now since we always have white vinegar around and I've got all kinds of essential oils.
    Lisa
    Fresh Eggs Daily

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    1. Have fun! :) It takes the sting out of wash day!

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  8. Hi Jes! Erika from MishMashedMe blog here and a new follower! I just love this. I already use vinegar and use essential oils in other areas for home-keeping but why I never thought of this....! : ) And, boy would it make the husband happier. He complains about the vinegar smell and this might just take care of that. Thank you for sharing this! Can't wait to read some more posts. I bet they are just as wonderful!

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    1. Hope this helps out your situation! :) Nice to "meet" you!

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    2. P.S. For a stronger scent, add drops directly into the fabric softener dispenser (instead of mixing with vinegar).

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  9. I already use the vinegar and essential oils, but I just fill the softener dispenser with vinegar and add three or four drops of essential oil. May Chang and Tangerine are good oils also! I really love your pretty bottle, though, and it probably helps the oils disperse better! I also put a couple of drops of essential oil on my wool dryer balls, and that helps the aroma stay in the fabric. Folding clothes is much nicer that way! :)

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    1. Thanks for your tips Catherine! I do like putting the oils straight in the dispenser but it was getting a bit expensive so this was a more economical choice for our budget… But, when it really needs, it, I do full force :) Thanks for commenting here with your ideas! I love to hear how everyone else runs their homes :)

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  10. I love this thank you. I use vinegar now in my rinse and never thought of adding essential oils-thanks Kathy

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  11. Love this! You mentioned not to mix it with bleach, but what about oxygenated bleach? My homemade Laundry Detergent contains that ingredient.

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  12. Do you put this in the rinse cycle? Or can you put it in the wash cycle? Thank you

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    1. Hi there! Just put it into your rinse cycle ~ Happy washing, JES

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    2. Thank you! Love your site and all the info!

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  13. I wonder if this also will help with the funky smell that non commercial laundry soap and HE washers leave in our clothes. I am going to mix some of this up! Would love you to share at oil me up Wednesdays at My lamp is Full

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  14. Would like to invite you to share this again at Wildcrafting Wed.'s special Hygiene edition.
    http://visionherbs.tumblr.com/post/78668161774/wildcrafting-wednesday-hygiene-edition

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  15. That is so simplel I can't believe I have not made some already!

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  16. Thanks for the recipe! I like that it is simple. I like easy to do stuff and sometimes home made isn't.
    Visiting from Kim's WUW. Have a good day! Linda

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    Replies
    1. I am right there with you, I like things nice and simple :) That is all I have time for!

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  17. Thanks for the recipe and the beautiful pictures! Pinning this now.

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  18. I adore your printables! My husband is a die hard fabric softener sheet man. Any suggestions for winning him over with a wonderful scent?

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  19. I love this! My neighbor is addicted to fabric softener... the nasty chemical kind... and the smells float right out of his laundry room and into my kitchen.
    I see a Christmas present... or, maybe a Labor Day present in his future. ;)

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  20. Great post and perfect timing. I was just looking for a new fabric softener recipe. Congrats on being chosen as a featured post on this week’s Wildcrafting Wednesdays! I hope you'll join us again and share more of your awesome posts.
    http://www.herbanmomma.com

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  21. Thank you for sharing!! I can't wait to try this! I have shared several of your laundry tips and printables on my Homemaking page and have used a few of your printables as well!! Loving them! Especially the wash day prayer which I printed and framed in my laundry room! Thanks!

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    1. Oh, I am so glad to hear the Wash Day Prayer is hanging somewhere in the world and giving encouragement :) Thank you for taking the time to share!

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  22. Thanks for this post!!
    I should give it a go.
    Have a nice day

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  23. The smell of fresh washed clothes and linens reminds me of my childhood, although these days we avoid the harsh cleaners and perfumed detergents. This sounds like a lovely way to enjoy laundry day.

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  24. Love finding all natural solutions, thank you so much for sharing your post on Our Simple Homestead Blog Hop, as one of the co-hosts I will be featuring your post tomorrow!
    - Nancy ( Nancy On The Home Front)

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  25. I would very much like to print this info about fabric softners off but can't do it. Didn't see a print icon

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    1. There is a print icon for the labels which is in the paragraph under the 3rd picture. As far as printing the whole article, I don't think there is a print icon... So sorry! Perhaps you can copy and paste into Word?

      Thank you for your interest. Have a lovely weekend! :)

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