Today we will share a quick and easy recipe for making your own laundry fabric softener crystals. A couple of weeks ago, we did a talk on how to make your own Fels-Naptha whipped laundry soap. So it only seems right to share how to DIY fabric softener to go along with your DIY laundry soap.

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Here is the link to the DIY Fels-Naptha whipped Laundry soap talk.  Just in case you missed that one.

 This is an easy recipe that uses ingredients you probably already have at home. If you do not have the needed ingredients already, they are easy to get at just about any grocery store or general store.

You will need:
4 cups Epsom salt, sea salt, or table salt.
40 drops of essential oils or a combo of essential oils to your preference.
an airtight container

Make sure your container is clean and dry. It is best to use a glass container but plastic will do. Just note that the plastic containers will absorb the oils and you will not ever be able to get that essential oil smell out of the plastic. The glass will have some residual scent but you can wash that out. Be sure that there is not already some scent in your container or it will mix with the oils you are adding and may make an odd smell.

Fill your container about half full with your salt. Which salt you use does not seem to matter much. But the larger crystals in the Epsom salts do seem to have a bit more abrasive quality to them.

We use the Prince and Spring Epsom salts. We have been very pleased with all of our experiences with Prince and Spring products and we recommend you try out Boxed.  Boxed is an online store that offers discount groceries and household goods. We did a talk on Boxed some time ago, but we are still using them and we still love Boxed.

Add the essential oils you have chosen. The general rule is 10 drops of essential oils for 1 cup of salt. As with most DIY, you can customize your fabric softener to your personal likes. You can add more oils for a stronger scent. We used Tea Tree and Peppermint for our fabric softener on this one, 20 drops of each. As usual, we use StarWest essential oils, as our go-to for high-quality essential oils.

Then finish filling your container with the remaining salt.
It seems to work best if you put half the essential oils in the, add the rest of the salt and then put the other half of the essential oils on the top.

Put the top on tight and give it some vigorous shaking, to mix the salt and oils.

Make sure the top is on tight and leave it to set up for a couple of weeks. The salt will absorb the essential oils. Give your container a good shake now and then to help the salt keep it from getting stuck together.

As with all DIY containers, be sure to correctly label your new fabric softener so you do not get it mixed up.

To use: add 1/4 cup to your laundry wash. Some people say you must put the fabric softener in the final rinse to get the best results. But we do not go through that much trouble. We just add our fabric softener to the regular wash cycle along with the soap and leave it be.

There you have made your own fabric softener. Now you know how to make Fels-Naptha whipped laundry soap and fabric softener at home. You can, of course, use whatever essential oils you like best to make both your soap and softener smell exactly the way you want them to.

This is an easy recipe, there is very little chance is having issues with it. This is a good project to get the kids in on. They can learn to measure, pour, and use a funnel. Kids also enjoy the shaking part.

If your family does their own laundry and everyone likes a different scent, that is ok. You can make each family member their own signature smell. It is easy enough to do and requires minimal ingredients.

If you were of the mind, you could make personalized fabric softeners as gifts for friends and family.  A pretty bottle or colorful ribbon and you are set. Not sure how that would be received or what the person might think you were trying to tell them but it might be a fun gift anyway.

We hope you have enjoyed this talk and will try making your own fabric softener crystals.
Thank you for visiting and please come again for another edition of Out Standing in the Field.