Crunchy Tutorial #2- Fabric Softener

               I do two loads of laundry a day.  Beau insists that I use Tide with Bleach detergent.

It is, after all, what his Mama used. I don't mess with that. 

But I did have to cut out additional fragrances and additives elsewhere.  Roman breaks out in angry hives every time a fragrance even comes near his skin.  Chase started to develop red and bumpy rashes on his face.  

My first plan of attack was to switch our bath products.  I tried five or six different kinds of soap and special washes. I even spent $20 on a special organic baby shampoo.  Of course, it still made Roman break out.  Dummy. :)

Then I bought some Dr. Bronner's peppermint soap.  It comes in a huge bottle for $10 and has only a few natural ingredients- saponified coconut, jojoba, hemp and olive oils, and peppermint oil.  Success! It does not make the babies break out.  I am using it on my hair and body as well.  I love it! It stings the eyes like a mother, though. Use caution.  I figure I will save about $15-$20 a month by using only one product on all of us.  It will take probably three or four months to break even after my special-soap-hunting spree.  Oh, well.  

As I read further about dyes and fragrances, I realized a likely culprit in the boys' breakouts was this:

oops.  No, this:

 

I had been using the cheapest dryer sheets I could find. I didn't even like the smell.  They were just inexpensive.  I was trying to save money.  But we were not living better...

So I chucked the sheets, searched the internet, and found another use for white vinegar.  

When added to the rinse cycle of your laundry, white vinegar does a fantastic job of softening your clothes. Amazing. 

I added this as well:

I really love this peppermint oil! It has so many uses.  The bottle is less than $5.00 on Amazon and it lasts forever, through many homemade experiments. 

I pour a half of a cup of vinegar to my rinse cycle, and add a generous shaking of peppermint oil to the vinegar.  While I thought I loved the smell of dryer sheets, there is nothing like opening the washer to the fresh, minty smell of clean laundry.  

I have experimented with adding this mixture to a washcloth and putting it in the dryer, but the clothes come out no softer, and a faint smell of vinegar lingers.  There is no vinegar smell when I use the concoction in the rinse cycle.  

I won't claim it is as cost-effective as cheap dryer sheets, but it is really close.  The gallon of vinegar lasts three weeks, and the peppermint oil lasts probably six months.  Like I said, that is with two loads every single day.  It costs about three dollars a month.  Not too bad.  

Have you ever used this method? Would you like to try? Let me know :)