Homemade Laundry Crystal FabricSoftner

by jenny30lynn in Living > Cleaning

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Homemade Laundry Crystal FabricSoftner

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So I liked the new Fabric Softener Crystals but with six kids it seemed a bit extravagant for me to buy.  I tried the original in lavender and decided to use some of the things lying around the house to try and make a batch.

My sons make all our Homemade Laundry Detergent so this is a perfect and inexpensive addition to the mix.

Things you will need:

A box of coarse Sea Salt ($1.09) at Wal-mart or grocery store
20-30 drops Essential Oil(about $2.00) (any scent you like that's safe for skin, like the one's you use to make soap or air freshners) we used Orange and Japanese Lotus Blossom  we already had on hand that we sometimes add to our Laundry detergent
container with lid for storage
plastic container or bucket to mix it all together in (we just used a ziploc or recycled bread bag)
a label for your container

Optional use of hand blender (we picked one up at a junk store for $2 and use it to mix our detergent with after grating the soap to make it finer)


Step One

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Step one:

Place 1/2 or all of your Sea Salt in a plastic container (the first time i made this we used coarse Sea Salt from craft supply.  We had left over from making bath fizzes.  I wouldn't buy it to make it again because it cost a lot so we went with just Coarse Sea Salt the next time.

Step Two

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Step two:

Add 20-30 drops of essential oil or if you like much lighter scent and just want the softness this can be omitted all together.

Step Three

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Step three:

Mix, mix, mix the salt until you can't see any part that is discolored like a wet spot.  This is where we used the hand blender and gave it a couple of pulses.  Not only did it mix if really well but it makes the salt even finer.

Step Four

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Step four:
Store in a small plastic cup or bag.  We use recycled coffee or yogurt cans, something with a lid that doesn't let all the scent of the oil evaporate.   Use as you want for fabric softener.  we use a 1 tbsp. scoop recycled from the oxi-clean can.

Just like the store brand, add it with the clothes when your putting in your washing powders.
the kids like to be creative and make labels and print on recycled paper for the containers.

Had the idea to use salt instead of sugar crystal because we used to have an expensive water filter system that you had to add salt to all the time due to hard water.  It got a little expensive since we use so much water with a total of eight people in the house.

Store Brand Cost: $0.14 a load
Homemade Cost: $0.03 a load