Spring is the perfect time of year to clean out your home and create systems that work and help keep your life a little more organized and stress free. I guess that’s why they call it “Spring Cleaning.” Every season I like to go through my closet and either donate/giveaway, store or throw out pieces in my wardrobe that are not in season (temperature wise) or I just don’t wear anymore that could probably find a new home.

I really wanted to create some simple and easy cleaning habits to incorporate into my laundry routine. I’ve played around with a lot of natural detergents, dryer sheets, etc. but I feel like I’ve truly found a system that works for me and hopefully will work just as great for you! Here are my 3 ways to clean your clothes naturally and on a budget.

 Natural Laundry Cleaning Tip #1: DIY Fabric Softener
Why spend tons of money on chemical fabric softeners when you can easily make your own by using household products like white vinegar and your favourite essential oils. This natural fabric softener has worked wonders for me. It softens your clothes but will also keep the colours from bleeding/fading, help deodorize and disinfect.

What You’ll Need:

• 1 litre sized container ( I used an old fabric softener bottle)
• 1 litre of white vinegar
• 10-15 drops of your favourite essential oil (I used lavender you can find it here)

Directions:

1. Wash out your container really well if you’re using one that had previous soap or fabric softener in it.
2. Next, pour the white vinegar into your clean container and add in your essential oils.
3. Give it a shake and you’re ready to start adding it into your next load of wash. Simply add in a 1/4 cup or a capful of your natural fabric softener to your wash.

Natural Laundry Cleaning Tip #2: DIY Dryer Balls
Not only are store-bought dryer sheets full of chemicals that you’re releasing into your air/clothes but they aren’t very eco-friendly. Buying or making your own DIY dryer balls is a great way to replace the need for dryer sheets. These took about 10 minutes to make each ball and I love that I can change up the scents by adding different essential oils. Not to mention they’re made out of 100% wool so they will soften your clothes, speed up the drying time and infuse your clothes with the natural essential oil scent of your choice. If you want you can even buy wool dryer balls already made for under $20 here.

You’ll Need:

• 1 large ball of 100% wool (very important that its a 100% or else it won’t felt up)
• 5-6 drops of your favourite essential oil (I used lavender you can find it here)

Directions:

1. Simply start by wrapping the wool around two fingers a few times to create a loop.
2. Pull your fingers out of the loop and then wrap the wool around the other way a few times, creating almost a bow.
3. Next, start wrapping the wool around your “bow” in different directions the same amount of times, keeping the yarn very tight. Meaning you should wrap either 7 or 10 times in each direction before you switch so that the ball you form is symmetrical.
4. Keep wrapping the wool around until you’ve reached your desired size, cut the end of the yarn and tuck it into the ball. I made mine about the size of a tennis ball.
5. Then all you have to do is stuff your wool balls into an old pair of nylon tights.  Place a knot in between the two balls so they aren’t touching each other. Throw into the wash and dryer cycle about 3-4 times to felt up your balls so they become more solid.
6. Cut off the tights and take your wool balls out.  Add your essential oil drops before tossing the wool balls into your next dryer load. You can add more essential oils between loads or until you notice the scent starts to fade.

Natural Laundry Tip: #3: Crystal Wash
Now that we know how to make your clothes smell good and feel soft we should probably wash them first, right? These amazing detergent free washer balls from Crystal Wash are a perfect natural replacement for your typical laundry detergent. They don’t contain any soap but instead change the PH balance of the water in your washer machine so that it becomes more like a hydrogen peroxide which disinfects, deodorizes and cleans your clothes naturally without any soap! It’s the craziest thing I know… Trust me on this one. I’ve been using it for a couple of months now and cannot get over how well these work which is why I had to share them with all of you. Best of all they are eco-friendly, contain no dyes, perfumes or chemicals, and are better for your skin. They also last for 1000 loads of laundry so you won’t have to replace them for a few years.

Directions:

1. Simply throw both Crystal Wash washing balls into your washing machine with your load of clothes with no additional soap. I like to pair these with my natural fabric softener for an extra kick and scent of lavender.

Crystal Wash is offering a 20% OFF discount
for all my friends aka you guys!

Click here to purchase your own set of Crystal Wash for $40

I hope you enjoyed my 3 ways to clean your clothes naturally while saving money.

Comment down below telling me your best laundry tip!