On January 1st I was perusing Pinterest and I stumbled on this great idea and promptly added it to my DIY board. Now, I confess I have done VERY few things that I have pinned on my DIY board but this one seemed quick and easy and since I knew we were almost out of fabric softener sheets I decided to get them made up within the first week of the New Year. And guess what? I did! Bye Bye Bounce sheets!
These were very simple and quick! I used this tutorial, although I am sure there are quite a few out there. But this one explained WHY those dryer sheets are so bad for us. I did not realize they were TOXIC until I read this! That pretty much clinched the “I am making my own” stance!
The first thing I did was rummage around in my bag of “too big fabric scraps to throw away” and found leftovers from Kadi’s Carolyn Pajamas and a coordinating polka dot! I know the colors are kind of girly but I like them! I cut out four 8″ squares of each.
These are the supplies I needed. White vinegar and an essential oil. (Not pictured- measuring cup.) I have quite a few essential oils as my daughter sells them. Since I am sharing these with my brother I let him pick his favorites. I ended up with 3 to choose from… Lavender, Eucalyptus, and Thieves Oil which is a blend.
I went with Thieves Oil. 😀 Next, I serged the edges of my 8 squares. The hardest part of this was changing my thread to white. I hate changing my serger thread but know it must be done! I had black on there prior to this. Black would not have been pretty!
All serged and ready to go! I added 1/2 cup of the white vinegar and 10 drops of essential oil into my jar. Simple!!
Next, I folded up those 8 squares and into the jar they went! I seriously spent less than 20 minutes making these. Voila- Dryer sheets!
I am pretty pleased with this simple DIY project. These are completely re-usable and after use can be put back in the jar. When the vinegar and oil mixture runs low I will just add more! I can’t wait to do a load of laundry and try these out!
Do you have any simple DIY projects you love? I would love to try some more for around my house!
Happy sewing!!
~Laurie
Sew Exhausted 
What a fab idea! Do you have to squeeze out the liquid from the soggy end or doesn’t it matter? 😃
My “sheets” have soaked up the liquid so there isn’t really anything to squeeze. They are just nicely damp! I don’t think it matters though!
I see, that’s makes sense 😃
What a cool idea! I’ve switched away from store bought detergent (I mix my own from washing soda, borax, and soap flakes) and haven’t bothered with dryer sheets for years. I do miss that fresh laundry scent though; I might give this a try!
I would like to try laundry detergent next. And I found a “recipe” for “febreeze” I’d like to try!
I just did this too! But I didn’t worry about measuring the vinegar the first couple of times, and our clothes ended up smelling a bit like vinegar :-/. I have some Thieves oil that I can use up this way, great tip!
I made my own dryer balls instead, never seen dryer sheets over here so have never used them. I love finding ways to make things instead of buying them.
I have seen dryer balls before! Maybe next time I will try those… I use a dryer sheet in every load I wash- well, I used to! Now I have these. 😀
What a fun project! I’d love to try this (I am in charge of laundry around these parts!) but will have to be careful with the vinegar: my husband HATES the way it smells! Personally I love the smell of vinegar and remind him that it goes away pretty fast, but he is very adamant that he doesn’t want to smell it. (Although if he keeps leaving stuff in his pockets all the damn time I could always “accidentally” use too much…hahaha!)
With ten drops of oil and 1/2 cup vinegar may clothes smelled fresh. No vinegary scent! I bet ya he’d never know!!
And it sounds like he may need a lesson in emptying pockets!