Laundry Frugality

Some money saving tips for laundry:

1. Use cold water. I think this is usually a good thing, unless your clothes are really filthy and you need hot water to really get them clean. This link talks about how much money you may be pouring down the drain by using hot water to wash clothes vs cold.

http://www.thesimpledollar.com/use-cold-water-for-most-clothes-washing-16365/

2. Make sure there is a full load. Smaller loads use the same amount of energy as larger loads. You can use less water though if your machine has a water level knob.

3. Use less detergent than is recommended by the manufacturer.

http://lifehacker.com/5833434/save-money-by-using-just-half-the-laundry-detergent-recommended

4. My Mother-in-law makes her own laundry detergent. I have not personally tried this, but probably will at some point to see if I like the results. I like the idea of this natural detergent with less chemicals:

http://wellnessmama.com/462/homemade-laundry-detergent/

5. Use coupons or look for sales on laundry detergent.

6. Wear your clothes more than once before washing. I do this all the time, especially with jeans unless I get into a really messy job. We also use towels more than once. This not only saves money but time as well.

7. Hang your clothes to dry. I don't personally do this in more recent years because of allergens getting into the clothes and bothering us delicate, allergic types. ;) However, I try not to over-dry clothes.

8. Fold your clothes as soon as they are done drying to save on ironing.

9. I always rip my dryer sheets in half. That works just fine.

So, if you do none of these tips now, it looks like you could potentially save around $500.00 a year by changing a few small things. Give yourself a raise. You deserve it. ;) ($500/year divided by 52 weeks a year divided by 40 hours a week =.24/ hour raise for the year-tax free.)