With 4 boys and a husband in the house you can imagine the piles of laundry that grow in front of my washer and dryer. I feel like I never get ahead of this chore.I do laundry daily. There are lots of ways to save money on laundry needs. A few tips I use are..
*Always wash a full load.
*Wash with cold water.
*Wash during non-peak hours, usually early morning or late at night.
*Use less soap than recommended.
But as I was sorting my families clothes the other day I started looking at items and pulling things out that I thought could stand another wearing before they went into the washer. For example, jeans. I am not ashamed to admit that I will wear the same pair of jeans all week. In fact, it takes a good day or two for them to become "comfortable". Also pajamas. I mean really do you get dirty while you sleep? There is no reason to wash these after one night of wearing (with the exception of my youngest who is still in diapers). Then there is my husband. He works at a desk all day. I see no reason why he can't wear his work pants at least twice before washing.
After sorting all the laundry I was able to pull out about 2 loads worth of clothes that could be re-worn. So, we are having a little family discussion at our house. Things need to be worn until they are visible dirty or smelly! I am hoping this cuts back a little on my washing.
How do you save on laundry?
I cut my laundry sheets in half :) And yes, we wear things a couple times before washing...more me than anyone else. To them it just magically appears in the dresser so they dont really think about if its clean or not....more than once Ive pulled out clothes that are still folded! Thats when I know its time to go through clothes and take out stuff to donate or sell.
ReplyDeleteI do laundry every day too! It's not always a full load though for us. :( It helps me stay on top of it. I use less detergent too and let it mix around a bit before throwing the clothes in. I'll have to try cutting my laundry sheets in half, nice tip! Thanks for sharing great info on saving money. :)
ReplyDeleteI can't wait for the warmer weather and I can line dry again. We also wear jeans and pajamams more than once before washing (I'm glad to know I'm not alone). I do wash about 2x a week so I have full loads and sometimes I use vinegar as fabric softener.
ReplyDeleteI cut my dryer sheets in half as well-but for my family of 5 soon to be 6 it seems that I am forever doing laundry-twice a day (full loads) just to stay on top of things so i have the weekend to wash bedding. My girls play pretty rough-so the only person in my house that wears things more than once before washing is me. Oh and I made the girls hooded towels for christmas and they use them twice before I wash them.
ReplyDeleteI"m so glad you mentioned this! I think it's quite sad that we've become such clean freaks that we think things need washed after 1 wear! I agree with you, if you work in a clean house or office without sweating or getting dirty, things can be worn several times before washing. There are only 2 of us, but we do about 1 load a week. I Can't imagine having to do it everyday! We do hang dry most of the year (in the bathroom if not nice outside).
ReplyDeleteWe totally rewear jeans, pjs, and anything not visibly dirty too. We hang our towels to dry and may even use the same towels after showers/baths for a week too. They air dry and we're clean when we use them.
ReplyDeleteI can't imagine doing laundry every day! It's crazy how 2 more kids adds that much laundry for you. I can really get away with doing it only twice a week and there are 4 of us. I can handle 4-5 loads in a day rather than going down to do a load or 2 every day. ~Maria
can't say that i save on laundry. since everyone has their own laundry day, we would theoretically do wash six days a week. everyone has his/her own laundry basket. realistically, we combine many loads with each other (yes, the kids can work together) and probably run the washer only 3 days/week.
ReplyDeleteSarah, I need to share a couple tips with you. Charlie's Soap is awesome!! 1 tbl of soap powder and it CLEANS your clothes. All natural!! Also, my friend gave me these dryer balls made of wool. I toss 3 into the dryer and my laundry is dry in 20 minutes! Amazing!! If you'd like more info, let me know. I can put a post about it on the simply food coop page :D
ReplyDeleteHave a great day!!
diana
Yes Diana, tell me more!
ReplyDelete