As you may know by now, I am always looking for ways to save us extra money, especially these last 5 months. My wonderful better half found this recipe in blog land, and he tried it…. and…. we love it…well, with a few of our own modifications….
Here’s what you need to make your own Fabric Softener at home: Vinegar, water, and your favorite hair conditioner (I think I got this dove at CVS for less than a dollar….see how I coupon here.) ….
The recipe:
- 2 parts hair conditioner
- 3 parts white vinegar
- 6 parts tap water.
Mix three ingredients well together and mixture will look milky in appearance like this:
(Side note: Alternate method is to eliminate the vinegar and just use a mixture of hair conditioner and water). Note: the vinegar smell DOES NOT come off on your clothes, but rather the conditioner is the clean scent you get upon completion of the laundry. 
As pictured above, you can add the homemade mixture to a Downy dispensing ball (if you have one),
Or, as pictured below, soak your own cloths into the homemade mixture, wring out, and toss into dryer before starting cycle. We recycled already-used Purex 3-in-1 dryer sheets, but you can also cut squares of fabric from felt or fleece instead. 
That’s it. You can make up a batch and keep it in a sealed container, or make small amounts as you go. How simple is that? And it works great….and saves even more money.
My sister also uses a smart-saving method of extending her fabric softener:
She purchases one bottle of Downy or her favorite fabric softener, and mixes it with the same amount of water (so 1/2 downy, 1/2 water..or you could make it 1 part downy to two parts water…depending on how long you want it to last. Keep this mixture in a sealed container. Cut up regular size plain sink sponges into 2″x2″ squares and throw into sealed container with liquid you’ve made. When ready to run the dryer cycle, open the container, squeeze out 1-2 sponges and toss into dryer. You will have fresh smelling and de-static’ed clothes always…and still for a very low price!
If you want to try our homemade laundry soap too, click here! Please share with me if you try it as well, or want to share your own recipe!
