We saw this idea actually on the Duggar's website. Ya know the 20 Kids and Counting people on TLC? Well they have some really awesome money saving ideas that we are slowly but surely trying out. So you all know, when we try something out there are a few things we are checking out while we do this "new idea". First, the initial cost of starting the idea. If we have to fork out a little bit of extra money at first will the idea make up that initial cost immediately? This will make more sense when I tell you how to do it. Second, am I really saving money rather just continuing what I was doing beforehand? Third, because of the matter of this, we wanted to make sure it really works.
Well this idea passed with FLYING COLORS!
This will replace your fabric softener AND your dryer sheets!
Purchase the following: 1-2 sponges (we used just the regular sized ones and they worked perfectly fine-and whatever is cheapest, but just a sponge..no scrubby on the other side). A large orange "Homer" 10 gallon bucket from Home Depot. **I found that the larger buckets are cheaper at Home Depot rather than the smaller buckets by about $2. So just go for it and purchase the larger bucket. You will also want to get the orange lid to go on top of it. The bucket itself at MY Home Depot was $2.34 and the lid was $.98. So the whole initial cost thing was a definite yes for us! Now you will want to get whatever fabric softener of your choice. Now...keep in mind the cheap fabric softeners are really watered down so those really are not going to work the best. I prefer Downy or Snuggle. We had a $1 off coupon for Downy and it just so happened to be on sale too, so we bought Downy.
Grab your sponge and cut the sponge in half.
*My half that I have a picture of was already ran through the dryer.
Now, take your fabric softener and pour it into your large bucket. Fill that same jug of fabric softener and pour in the bucket. You will want to do this twice! Hence, 2/1 water to fabric softener.
Now, put your sponges in the bucket with the solution. Each time you put your clothes in the dryer, slightly ring out one sponge just so it is not dripping and place it in the dryer with your clothes. Once your clothes are dry, put the sponge back in the bucket and use next time. I have two sponge halves in one bucket and that seems to suffice.
Also, I only started with a 30 load softener while testing this. BUT,that 30 loads really just turned in to 90 loads because we have diluted it to allow it to soak up in the sponge and use as fabric "sheets". My husband says this is the best idea yet! Our clothes smell great and I saved us a TON of money from dryer sheets to fabric softener.
By the way pulling the sponge out of the bucket can be a little messy. We keep a dish glove on top for pulling it out. Otherwise, we have a sink right next to our washer and we just rinse off our hands really quick. Not to bad of a compromise for saving that much money!
So here is the skinny...
Total cost to start: About $5.00
Cost of old way of using fabric softener and dryer sheets: About $10 for 60 loads
Cost of new way of using home made dryer sheets: About $6 for 90+ loads
So in my first batch, I made up for the cost of purchasing the bucket, gloves and sponges.
Look for our cheap and easy home-made laundry soap recipe!
We hope you love it as much as we do!
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