When I walk through the laundry aisle at the store, it feels like I’m assaulted by all those chemical scents. (If you see me in the store, here’s how you’ll recognize me: I’m the woman with a sleeve held against her nose.) Nope, they do not smell good. If they do to you, they shouldn’t. Your nose has been hijacked. Once it’s un-hijacked, you’ll smell those for what they are: chemicals that will put dents in your good health.

But, I get it. I have a soft laundry addiction, too. And that is not cured by anything. It is what it is. I want extremely soft stuff touching my skin. Always.

So, yes, you can buy more natural products. But you know what you can do that’s even better? Costs a ridiculous amount less? Is totally safe? And, most importantly, works?

Use vinegar as a fabric softener. The cheap, white vinegar. Whatever costs the least. Add it to your rinse cycle or fabric softener compartment in your washer. No, no, I hear you — your laundry will not smell like a salad. When it’s dry, no scent. Truly no scent. No chemical scent, no fake scent, no weird stuff.

I use only vinegar for all my towels and linens. I also always have dryer balls in my dryer. (Yes, my dryer has balls!) Those help fluff up your laundry so it’s softer and decrease drying time, too. I’m going to experiment more (I keep chickening out), but I currently use just a bit of natural fabric softener for my clothes along with the vinegar. Like I said, I like really, really soft stuff. I will update here when I make myself try my clothes with nothing but vinegar. I honestly do believe it’ll be fine, but, you know … baby steps.

Take your own baby steps. Try vinegar on some load of laundry. See what you think. Get your head out of the way, and try to be objective. If it’s scent you’re wanting, try something else that’s safe. Add a few drops of an essential oil to the vinegar, and you can get the scent of your choice. And … keep your health.

Update: I now use vinegar to soften every single load of laundry. Honestly! My clothes are totally soft and clean smelling. Bonus: It costs a fraction of what “normal” fabric softeners cost. Buy a gallon of vinegar; soften a whopping lot of loads of laundry. It’s still kind of amazing to me. How did we ever get to the point where we thought we had to buy this expensive, chemical-ized stuff to soften our laundry? We don’t. Don’t do it. Save your health, save your wallet, keep your soft clothes. Try it on a load. That’s what I finally did for my clothes. I had a small-ish load and decided to go for it. Went to fold that load out of the dryer and was stunned at how nice they felt. Even better, I think everything comes cleaner now. Vinegar … how do I love thee, let me count the ways.