DIY Fabric Softener (now we're talking!)

I love the smell of freshly scented laundry, but there are times when Jon doesn't want things to "smell pretty." When it's time to go to the woods for deer hunting, I have been told there are a list of No's that I need to understand: No perfume, No hairstyling products, No fabric softener in the clothes. Apparently, deer have an excellent "sniffer" and can smell us a mile away. Last time I forgot, I got doused in some kind of spray "scent-be-gone" stuff that left me and my hair feeling a little frazzled!

In researching for my next DIY project to save money around the house, I decided to look into fabric softener. Jon and I like to save money when we can, and I feel like it's my job to find ways to cut spending where it's unnecessary while looking out for our environment. When you combine that with having two sons in college and retired parents, finding ways to help THEM save money is even more rewarding than ever! In fact, I have some jars of laundry detergent that I made for them ready to go the next time we all get together - hopefully soon!

One of the biggest things that I try to remember when I'm working on a project is time and effort needed to complete a task. I'm all about saving money but sometimes, when the effort is too great for the reward or if it leaves a mess that I'll have to spend a lot of time cleaning up, it's hard to justify it. In this case, I'm quite happy to report that it's so easy to make this stuff and on days when Jon's not so worried about my "smell good" fetish, I can just use white vinegar on its own, although you can mix it 1:1:4 with baking soda (4 cups hot water) if you want extra softness.

ORIGINAL FABRIC SOFTENER

Are you ready for this?

• 2 cups inexpensive hair conditioner such as Suave
• 6 cups hot water
• 2 cups white vinegar (no, your clothes won't smell bad afterward)

Mix it all together in a large mixing bowl (a whisk works great). That's it! Store in a container (reuse a container so you can help protect our environment) and label appropriately. NEVER use this with bleach. It's bad for your septic system if you have one and the vinegar will react with the bleach. Use only 1/3 cup in your final rinse cycle (suggest using a Downy Ball) and shake thoroughly before each use.

Trying to stay all-natural? Omit the hair conditioner and add baking soda as mentioned, note the foaming reaction is ok - it's not going to 'cancel out' the vinegar as it makes a salt that is a good buffer. You can choose to add essential oil for scent if you wish.

Cost per load (original recipe): less than two cents.

DIY Laundry Soap - Yes, Please!

My Pinterest interests can sometimes get the best of me. I find myself pinning craft ideas (I can't crochet, but for some reason I think if I save a pattern that perhaps my mother will make this for me, or maybe I'll learn to do it myself someday!), recipes and all kinds of DIY project ideas. I will admit the crescent rolls filled with Nutella and cream cheese is NOT as good as it sounds. Jon and I were quite disappointed. I don't know yet how to share that information with my Pinterest friends but I can honestly say that it is one of the worst recipes I've tried (in regard to taste). I still find it to be a tremendous "tool" to find new spins on old recipes or for ways to try to save money. I'd like to be able to have a garden at some point (not a big one), and finding ways to harvest our own food (whether it be growing it or hunting it) and saving money while improving our home is a big thing to me. Saving money means more opportunities to spend on other things (like hunting trips, vacations or  shoes!).

I happened the other day on a Pin from someone else for DIY Laundry Detergent and for the 10th time, I told myself, "Some day I'm going to do that!" This time, I saved it on my board and when I was in the store today, I happened to remember for a change! I purchased a box of 20 Mule Borax ($3.38), a box of Arm & Hammer Washing Soda ($3.24) and guessed at the amount of Fels Naptha bars of soap I would need and bought three bars ($0.97 each) for a total of $9.53. With tax, it came to $10.82 to make four full quart jars of detergent ($2.72 per jar). I was thrilled because you only need one to two heaping teaspoons per load. My last purchase of detergent was over $6 for a discount brand that promised 32 loads. I measured out a jar using heaping teaspoons (one per load - I tested the detergent this morning and it works great but for super large loads or very dirty laundry, you might need two scoops). I was able to get 55 heaping teaspoons from one jar. That's less than 5 cents per load! And YES, because it's low suds (see more below about bubbles), you can use it in your HE washing machine. It's also better for septic systems than traditional store-bought detergent.

Four full quart jars of homemade laundry detergent - at less than a nickel a load!

After I got home, I started reading. I was concerned about the messiness of heating water on the stove and melting the Fels Naptha. I continued to research because I wanted to make sure that I wouldn't ruin something of Jon's that might be sentimental as he has a lot of things that were given to him from family members over the years. Just when I started to close out my search window, a link caught my eye that boasted of a way to make this detergent without all the mess. Of course, I'm in!

I found everything I needed to make the detergent at Wal-Mart in the laundry aisle. To make the detergent, simply grate one bar of Fels Naptha using a cheese grater (if you have a food processor, lucky you!). It will look like grated cheddar cheese so watch out if you have children and don't let them mistake it for food while you have your back turned. Next, put this into a good quality blender and grind it as fine as possible. I've made a note that we need a new blender! Then put this into a large bowl and add two cups of the Borax and two cups of the Washing Soda. Stir it all up with a wooden spoon until it's mixed. Pour into 1 qt. Mason jar and label! With three bars of Fels Naptha soap, I was able to  get four full quart jars and still have some Borax left over for other household uses (or to deter ants and spiders around the baseboards of the house).

To use, you only use 1 to 2 heaping teaspoons of the powder per wash load. Notice that it will NOT bubble like regular detergent - this is an unnecessary result of bubbling agents that are added by makers of commercial soaps because we've been brainwashed over the years to think that more bubbles mean cleaner outcome. It's a myth. Put the homemade detergent in first and start your water, then add your clothing after a minute or two. For heavily soiled items, you may wish to use a little more soap but usually one to two heaping teaspoons will do the trick!

I have to make an additional note that this was my first time to make the detergent so I purchased an entire box of canning jars at $9.44 but will be reusing these over and over (and for other projects), so I don't really consider it a cost each time to produce the detergent. I also bought a roll of labels so I could write on the label what was inside the jar and how much to use ($3.97 for a whole roll, so again, not really an expense considering I will be using these for other projects). In the future, I hope to just refill the empty or near empty jars and not have to spend any more for storing and labeling the jars. I also read that you can use other bars of soap but the Fels Naptha is supposed to be a great soap for overall cleaning and removing stains/grease. My detergent smells nice but not too overpowering so we'll see how it works out!

So how much does this actually save us? The cheapest detergent is usually about $5.25 (Ultra Purex). It will do 46 loads of laundry. The cost per load is about 11.5 cents per load. HE washing machines usually use special types of detergent. For instance, Tide Cold Water costs 23 cents per load and is safe for HE machines while working well in cold water only. I use only cold water (and our washing machine isn't HE), and find that this detergent works as well as anything I've ever used. I do not compare it with the low-end dollar store detergent simply because in my experience, these detergents often don't perform well and usually I end up using a little more than recommended in order to get good results in cold water.

One last "savings" notation: space and a greener environment. I'm always looking for ways to organize, and clutter isn't a good thing. I hate huge jugs of cleaner and my little reusable quart jar means less space on the shelf and no plastic in the landfill. I'll take that any day! The detergent  doesn't contain bleach (bad for the septic system), and if I need to whiten more than usual, I can use a little vinegar in the wash cycle before the rinse and get great results without harming the septic system.