Homemade Fabric Softener

I just got back from a week away, and with three kids you can imagine the pile of laundry I had to do. I started a load and realized that I was out of fabric softener. It's not a big deal since I often just use vinegar (which works great, by the way), but I decided that this was the perfect time to try a project I'd been wanting to do: Homemade Fabric Softener. I already make my own laundry detergent, so how hard could it be? It turns out that it is even easier that I had imagined.

I got the recipe here, but I cut it down because I didn't want to make a huge batch in case I didn't like it.

Here is what I did (actually, my 4 year old did it..... that's how easy it is):

1 1/2 cups water
3/4 cup white vinegar
1/2 cup hair conditioner

That's it. Really. Put the water and vinegar in a bowl (or directly into your storage container, old softener bottle, etc), add conditioner, and stir until mixed. DO NOT SHAKE because it will foam up. At first I thought I was doing something wrong because my mixture looked like this:

But after I stirred it for a few minutes, all the conditioner dissolved and it looked more like liquid soap. I read that if you heat up the water and vinegar a little before adding the conditioner it will mix faster. I might try that next time. I poured my mix into an old pickle jar. I'm not sure exactly how much you are supposed to use, but some people say 1/2 cup.... I think that is too much. I just poured a little into the fabric softener dispenser in my machine. I've only used it on one load, but so far so good!

I used Suave Naturals Ocean Breeze. You could use any conditioner you have.

I don't foresee any problems, but I have to cover myself. So: **Use this at your own risk. I am not responsible for damage to you, your clothes, or your washing machine**  :-)