Laundry day doesn’t have to be a hassle. Using a few tips to smooth out the laundry process can make getting clean clothes a breeze. Plus you can save money and time on laundry!
Laundry is a time of frustration for many people –washing, drying, folding and putting away clothes can seem to take all day. In addition, the process of washing and drying clothes uses a great deal of water and energy.
That can quickly become expensive, especially with a large load of clothes. Fortunately, there are a number of simple tricks to make laundry duty quicker and much less expensive.
How to Save Money and Time on Doing Laundry
Here are our Laundry Tips that Can Save You Money (and Time)
What are Alternatives to Using Laundry Detergent?
Laundry detergent is expensive and damaging to the environment –the chemicals in the soap get into the water systems and cause serious damage.
Fortunately, there are inexpensive and environmentally friendly alternatives to using traditional laundry detergents.
These alternatives also benefit people with sensitive skin, as they don’t cause allergic reactions sometimes associated with detergents and fabric softeners.
How to Save Money on Laundry Detergent?
The best way to save money on laundry soap is to simply make your own!
A mixture of borax, natural soap, washing soda and water makes a very cheap, clean-smelling laundry detergent.
The Spruce has an easy and inexpensive recipe for making laundry detergent at home. Alternatively, laundry gets clean without any detergent at all.
Although the laundry won’t come out of the wash smelling like detergent, the clothes will be cleaned without adding unnecessary chemicals and toxins to the environment.
What is the Best Water Temperature for Laundry?
Use cold water when doing laundry. Although it might seem like hot water is more effective, clothes are cleaned equally well with cold water.
Heating up water to wash clothes is a waste of energy, and can become expensive fast.
Cold water will shorten the time it takes to wash clothes without reducing the quality of the clean.
Only Use the Washing Machine when you Have a Full Load
Your washing machine will use pretty much the same energy washing a full load as washing a small load. So, if you can, always wait until you have a full load before washing your clothes.
Having set laundry days will be a big help. If you run a load of dark clothing once a week, you should be able to gather a full load for the washing machine.
How to Save Time and Money on Drying Clothes
A traditional dryer can take up to an hour and a half to get a load of clothes dry. Investing in an energy-efficient washer and dryer is an easy way to go green and cut down on the time it takes to dry clothes.
When doing laundry, time it so that a load is dry around the same time a second load finishes washing.
This will keep the dryer warm, and further shorten the amount of time it takes to dry clothes.
In the summer months, dry clothes outside. Hanging clothes on a clothesline is free, and gives clothes a fresh scent that a dryer can’t. Additionally, it saves on money and reduces the energy used to dry the clothes.
During colder months, drying delicates by hanging them over a shower curtain rod can reduce the amount of time clothes spend in the dryer, and keep delicates from being damaged by the heat.
Get a couple of these clothes drying racks and place them in the warmest spot in your house.
Give the clothes a quick shake before hanging them up.
Use Wool Dryer Balls
Yes, really. Using wool dryer balls can cut your drying time. This is because the balls allow air between the clothes; dryer balls also absorb some moisture themselves.
You also won’t need to use dryer sheets! This will save you money with every load.
Schedule Laundry Days
Laundry takes a lot of time. From the time clothes enter the washing machine, it can be a two to three hour process before they are ironed and folded and put away.
Busy families don’t always have the time to finish a load of laundry in between school, work and extra curricular activities.
Schedule a set of laundry days throughout the week to help lighten to loads. For example, wash lights on Mondays, dark clothes on Wednesdays and sheets and towels on Fridays.
Separating laundry out across the week helps keep the process from becoming overwhelming.
Have Kids Help with Laundry
Kids can begin doing their own laundry at around the age of ten – they are mature enough to run the machines and ensure that they have clothes to wear.
This can save a great deal of time for parents, and lessen the amount of folding each individual has to do.
Teach your children how to do the laundry correctly.
Provide hampers for kids of all ages to use. This makes gathering clothes for laundry easier and quicker.
Use different colored laundry hampers for different types of clothes –lights can go in a white or light hamper, while darks and reds can go in dark and red hampers.
This will prevent laundry accidents and help keep loads organized throughout the week.
Have kids fold laundry to help spread out the amount of work that needs to be done each day. Getting the family involved in the laundry process can dramatically reduce the amount of time spent washing, drying and folding clothes.
When is the Best Time to Wash Clothes to Save Electricity?
Check your latest electric bill. Is there a certain time of day when electricity usage is cheaper?
Can you find a way to run your washing machine to save electricity at this time?
Different electric companies charge differently – if your company charges you according to high usage times, use this to your advantage!
Clean the Dryer Lint Filter
Get into the habit of cleaning the lint filter with every single load. Not only does this cut down on the drying time, it removes a large fire risk!
Stop Setting the Dryer for the Maximum Drying Time
This. This save so much time. I used to just set the dryer for 60 minutes, because that was the maximum time set on my dryer. Big mistake!
If you are drying blue jeans, they would take longer than if you are drying underwear and tshirts, right? Right. So stop over drying and save a lot of money.
Over drying clothes lessens their life span. And why run the dryer an extra 15 minutes if your tshirts were dry in 30 minutes versus 45?
From making detergent at home to drying clothes outside, there are a number of ways to save both time and money on laundry.
We hope these laundry hacks save you money and time on doing laundry in your home.
More Laundry and Cleaning Articles
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All Natural Old time cleaning tips from my Grandma!
