I am one of those weird people who enjoy making the mundane tasks into pretty pleasantries. What about you? Here is another way to add "ap-peel" into your daily laundering routine. While I still love our other fabric softener recipe, this one would be the frugal counterpart as it doesn't require the use of essential oils to scent your softener. However, the aroma is just as clean and lovely!
Ingredients
- Once again, plain white vinegar is the foundational ingredient. It not only softens and deodorizes your clothing but it also helps to remove soap residue from your laundry. The bonus is that vinegar cleans your machine of limescale deposits if you have hard water issues like we do.
- The "romantic" items you will need is a long strip of citrus peel (just the zest, not the white pith) and a fresh sprig of herbs. The zest will add a dose of disinfectant, cleansing and fragrant properties to your wash while the herb will further sweeten the aroma of the softener. Some ideas would be a sprig of lavender, mint or basil. I am planning on trying a few fresh rose petals in my next batch when they bloom.
Simple Recipe
Place your citrus zest ribbon and herbal sprig into a clean jar or glass container. Add one quart of vinegar and let the mixture sit overnight. It is ready to use the following day. Making a weeks worth of this concoction would be perfect to keep this as a fresh and fun rinse for your laundering needs.
Printable Labels
Visit here for our printable of fabric softener labels. The citrus ones would be perfect for this project.
How to Use
Add 1/4 cup of your fabric softener to each load on your HE washer and 1/2 cup per load when using a top loader.
Warning: Do not mix with bleach in your washer.
Lovely Laundry Links
"All that day was such a happy time.
Laura did her washing and sprinkled and ironed the clean, fresh clothes."
~ Laura Ingalls Wilders, These Happy Golden Years
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If you enjoyed this project, we share 100+ more ideas on how to use up fruit scraps in our Ebook here! Happy kitchen-crafting, ladies!
All the fine print. This post may be shared with some or all of the following link-ups: The Art of Home-Making Mondays, Modest Mom Monday's, Monday's Musings, Make Your Home Sing Monday, Good Morning Mondays, The Scoop, Titus 2 Tuesdays, Tuesdays with a Twist, Raising Homemakers, The Homesteader Hop, Wise Woman Link Up, Homestead Blog Hop, Wow Us Wednesdays, Coffee and Conversation, Homemaking Thursdays, Home Sweet Home, Our Simple Homestead, Awesome Life Friday Link Up, Five Star Frou Frou Friday, and Shabbilicious Friday. Thank you lovely ladies for hosting these. This post may contain affiliate links (which are merchant links that help to support this site at no additional cost to you if you purchase an item through them). This lovely idea was inspired by Gifts from the Garden by Deborah Robertson. All Natural Citrus Fabric Softener Recipe.
This is a great idea! The wool dryer balls I made a few months back have recently lost their anti-static property so this will be very handy. Thank you, JES.
ReplyDeleteYou are most welcome :0
DeleteYou can also just 'clean' with this (like counter tops, etc.) It smells nicer than just vinegar. I so love citrus.
ReplyDeleteYes, you could! I usually let the peel "marinate" in the vinegar for a stronger housecleaning solution. This is more of a fresh rinse :)
DeleteI love the photo! Very fresh looking. I LOVE using vinegar in the laundry! It takes out the strongest of odors. Our cat took a t-shirt into its litter box and well...you know (eh-hem), so I threw the shirt in the garbage. Then I grabbed it right back out again, threw it in the washer with other clothes, washed it with soap and a splash of vinegar, and it came out without a trace of cat smell! Amazing! Thanks for sharing this!:) it's a must have!
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing your "vinegar testimony" ~ Love, JES :)
DeleteThank you Jess, I really enjoy reading your posts, even though I don't always comment.
ReplyDeleteI love the idea that this will help in hard water areas such as mine.
Do you think I would be able to use it in my kettle? I normally use a shop bought product and I worry about the chemicals.
Hugs
Absolutely! Just add a cup or so of vinegar and fill up your kettle. Simmer till the limescale exits the scene… Vinegar is also good to clean out your coffee maker. Take care Cally :)
DeleteI love this! Lemon and lavender are two of my favorite scents, so I will use those! I can't wait to try it! Thank you.
ReplyDeleteThose are my two favorite cleaning scents too!
DeleteI've been using plain vinegar in my wash, but your recipe sounds delightful. I'm going to try it. Thanks for the inspiration. ~ Abby
ReplyDeleteI'll have to try this. I miss fabric softener, but with cloth diapers, I couldn't risk the repelling. I use vinegar for all sorts of things and now maybe one more!
ReplyDeleteShare with me! Blog Hop every Friday (entries accepted until Thursday at noon).
www,104homestead.weebly.com
Thank you for the idea - I already use vinegar and essential oils, but will love to add citrus zest and herbs. :) Gentle Joy
ReplyDeleteI love the idea of your Citrus garden fabric softener....sounds so refreshing.
ReplyDeleteThank you for sharing with the Clever Chicks Blog Hop! I hope you’ll join us again next week!
Cheers,
Kathy Shea Mormino
The Chicken Chick
http://www.The-Chicken-Chick.com
I'm loving this super simple idea. Thanks for sharing it on the Farm Blog Hop!
ReplyDeleteAwesome! Thanks for sharing on Wildcrafting Wednesday. :)
ReplyDeleteI would like to try the vinegar in my laundry. Could anyone please tell me if this is safe for front loading washing machines? Thank you.
ReplyDeleteAbsolutely! That is what I have :)
DeleteHi! :)
ReplyDeleteThis week's edition of Wildcrafting Wednesday is all about personal care and cleaning and getting rid of the toxic and disposable items we use every day on our bodies and in our homes. This would be a great addition and I hope you'll share it with us this week on Wildcrafting Wednesday.
Thanks! :)
Hi, I just discover this website, omg is amazing, i love everything here. I just made the softener, and have a quick question, for how long i need to leave the lemon peel in the vinegar?
ReplyDeleteHi there! Glad to hear from you :) 24 hours is fine but sometimes I leave it in longer for fun. Straining it just makes it easier to use also. Have a lovely week and feel free to ask if you have any more questions in the future!
DeleteI have a top loading old machine. Do I add it to the fabric softener dispenser? This looks great!
ReplyDeleteYes! Have fun kitchen-crafting! :)
Delete