Two and half years ago, my hatred for doing laundry grew to epic proportions. As an infant my son had severe eczema and I had to change up everything about the way I did laundry. The detergents had to go. Even the “free and clear” ones you can buy at the store were too harsh for his sensitive baby skin. And I had to wash my own clothing in safe detergent also because I was holding him against me all day (and all night too). I was at a complete loss. How in the world was I going to get fresh smelling laundry that was safe for my baby’s skin?
Enter DIY laundry detergent. I scoured the internet for recipes for safe laundry detergent and I started making my own and had great results! I also had to get rid of the dryer sheets at that point. The list of chemicals used on a tiny square of paper was mind boggling and no doubt going to irritate my son’s skin for a long time to come. For a while we didn’t use anything in the dyer to make our clothes smell extra fresh — and I’ll admit, I missed the extra bit of scent that dryer sheets provided! So I decided to make my own reusable DIY dryer sheets with just 2 things you probably already have at home. It will take you no time at all and these DIY dryer sheets will last you for months — without all the toxic chemicals!
- An old shirt (preferably organic cotton)
- Pinking shears (if you don’t have pinking shears, regular scissors will work)
- Essential oils (have fun with these...you can try lavender, tea tree, eucalyptus, patchouli, and so many more!)
- Using the pinking shears, cut the old shirt into several 5-inch squares. If you don’t have pinking shears make your squares bigger. When they get warm in the dryer, the edges curl.
- When you’re ready to use, put 4-5 drops of your favorite essential oil onto the square and toss it in the dryer with your wet clothes.
- When the laundry is dry, don’t forget to look for the little square of fabric! Leave them by the dryer with your essential oils so they're ready to use next time. (I store mine in an old baby wipes container.) You will need to put more essential oil on the fabric square every time you dry your clothes.
Comments 4
Does that also cure the static cling?
Have you made the wool yarn balls . One skein makes 3balls just add your oils into the balls, keeping one fragrance for each ball !
Great idea! I tried using tennis balls with essential oils on them.. which worked.. BUT the balls bounced around in the dryer and made an awful noise! I will be doing this now! Thanks!
This is great! So easy and so much safer than those toxic dryer sheets.