Cherry up for spring! Add a DIY carpet deodorizer to match the set ofyour DIY supplies.

Hello Spring. Although it was warmer before you arrived here in Colorado, (that's just how we roll) it's time for those big clean outs you inspire. 

 I walked in to my toddlers room and wondered if I had a toddler or a teenaged boy living in there. Peeeeeeew! Stinky children. Well it was time for a new batch of fabric softener, fauxbreeze, and carpet deodorizer.  Using my trusty old recipes I made up a batch of softener, and then used that to make the spray. The only difference is this time in the softener I used strawberry conditioner and added some cherry essential oil (Add 15-20 drops). Yummy! You can find cherry scented conditioners out there, but I am sticking to my dollar a bottle of 'what ever'!

 Time for new carpet deodorizer. I love the scent of cloves, but I thought it would be fun to keep my cherry theme and turn that teenage smelling room back to my pink loving  girly toddler room.

There are two methods I used for the carpet deodorizer:

Go nuts with the clove. It's  Dollar Store Clove!

Baking soda and spice

Start with a cup of baking soda, then add your spices. You can use, Cinnamon and Allspice, or straight Clove. Which I love for the rugs coming in from the garage. Essentially add as much or as little as you can stand.

Make your own AllSpice

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon cloves or 1/4 teaspoon clove
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg or 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

Just add Cherry EO, or any other EO of your choice. I just like matching my house hold scents.

For Cherry carpet deodorizer (or any scent)

1 cup of baking soda

15 drops of your favorite EO

Mix in bowl, and stir with metal fork. Let sit for 24 hours to make sure your EO infuses into your baking soda.

The popular container is the parmesan lid on a mason jar. But if you're like me you have a hoard of jars, or prefer to reuse what you have. To reuse a jar with it's lid is as simple as hammer and a phillips head screw driver. Put several holes in the top by using a small phillips head. I do it on a rug so when you hammer through there's less noise, and no damage.

Dawn of a New Budget, Part 2 & 3

This one has to be one of my favorite things to make. Laundry softener! There are so many possibilities. I love to stock up at The Dollar Store with conditioner so I can have a few scents on hand at all times. My husband does not want to smell like a cherry blossom like I do, so I keep some thing fresher for him.

Gather your ingredients:

•  2 cups conditioner


•  3 cups white vinegar


•  6 cups hot water

(Conditioner tip: 2 cups is 16oz. So check your bottles. The VO5 is 15 ounces, but I keep all my left overs from the Suave 22.5 ounces . I cant stress enough, get funnels to put your left overs together and pour your ingredients. The Three pack I have is from the Dollar Store, and they are quality! Going to add the last of that VO5 in that Suave bottle and  I am going to use it :-)

Laundry softener is a "Gateway DIY", because now with your completed product you can now make two more things that can cost you!

Replace your dryer sheets! You know how they get the fragrance to stay on there? Animal fat, thats what is rubbing all over your kids clean clothes. Might as well just toss some scented bacon in there. I use homemade dryer balls but today I am going to whip up my rainbow batch and make some reusable dryer sheets. Here goes....

I make it in a big Dollar Store jug. Just add and stir. Thats it. It makes my laundry soooooo soft, especially when used with Home made laundry soap :-)

But you don't have to stop there, now you can do a few more little tasks...

DIY dryer sheets

Now I use dryer balls, but here in Colorado it's dry.... beyond dry in January. So static has decided to appear in the worse way. I am using an added DIY dryer sheet this month, because well I lost my wool yarn, can't make more balls!  Above we just made a batch of DIY softener. Well don't put it away.

You will need:

• Fabric softener, store bought, or your DIY


• Rags, cut up towel, or Dollar Store towels to cut in to pieces about the size of a dryer sheet. Bigger will be better, longer lasting.

Dunk, give them a soak to make sure it's really in there. Squeeze out a little so they are not a sloppy mess I place on a plate, or plastic bag to start drying before I hang them to dry. I don't want them dripping every where. And there you go. That is it. They will last a few washes, so you really only have to do a couple at a time. :-)

Don't put away that softener!

I have one more project: Febreze.

• 1/8 cup of Fabric softener


• 2Tbs Baking soda


• Hot water

Add ingredients to your old fabric spray bottle, then just fill the rest with water. My bottle is a Glade bottle which is 22 Fl. OZ. Any of those bottles will work.

OK, if you don't have laundry to do... you can put your softener away now.

**Dryer balls will be a separate post.... I lost my yarn and I don't want to buy another one. trying to save money here people!