One other thing about me...I breastfeed. A LOT. As much as any other nursing Momma...but a lot regardless. So I have a lot of idle time with my hands. Before I have someone tell me I should be spending that time bonding with baby let me tell you; There is only so much cooing you can do with a nursing baby before they fall asleep on you. Not to mention my little one will not eat if you talk to her (a fact I spend a lot of my day explaining to my four year old who insists on playing with her during breakfast, lunch and dinner and all the meals in between.) So anyway...a lot of free time. With that free time I started browsing through blogs and finding so much information about how other moms thrive at home. I was hooked...I am hooked is more accurate. And the first idea that finally made its way off my pinterest board was homemade fabric softener! I love it...its awesome. Best part is its not a difficult recipe to remember or cook or store. Its vinegar! That's it plain and simple distilled white vinegar. Just stick it right in your softener dispenser. You can leave it in its original container or put it in a cute little decorated one. But either way. Its easy. So that's where we started. I walked over to my neighbors (who happens to be my Mommom) and told her my big plan to save $5 a month on fabric softener and she gave me five little books full of homemade recipes. One was nothing but uses for vinegar. I started thinking why do I buy anything but this stuff...clearly vinegar is a one stop shop for all your household needs. That's where I actually thought my husband was going to look at me like I was crazy. Vinegar does stink after all. But he didn't. He just let me do it. And he has let me keep going ever since. But I know one day I'm going to get that look. The one that says "that's enough crazy lady." And I'm trying to avoid that; so I'm staying away from homemade toothpaste. ;)
Vinegar actually is a great rinse agent. It helps keep fabric soft and keeps static out AND (here is what sold me on it) it takes that mildew smell out of your towels! Does anyone else have that issue where u go two, okay maybe four or five, days where u choose not to do your load of towels and they stink? Or how about the load of clothes you stick in the washer when your feeling energized in the morning and then the day actually starts and you forget all about those clothes, then day next morning comes along with all that energy just to find you never switched the load over and now they stink and you have to do it all over again? Then your fabric softener you get from the store just masks the smell because as soon as you get them wet again after your refreshing shower they stink just like they did before you rewashed them. Yeah well that happened to me a lot. And vinegar gets that smell out for good. Not only that but it takes the buildup off your towels and makes them more absorbent. Now there are lots of different fabric softener recipes out there most of them include vinegar, hair conditioner and essential oils. What I found online is about a 50/50 opinion on whether or not the hair conditioner and essential oils help. Most people say they can't smell anything different which is the purpose of hair conditioner and essential oils. So for me I stick to the simple one ingredient recipe. I don't know about you but complicated doesn't fit in my house. You also cannot beat the price of vinegar compared to fabric softener. I actually go to Sams Club and buy the big 2 gallon pack to save even more. What do you think?
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