Monday 27 May 2019

Variation

One kind of post I read with avidity is when the blogger does a round-up of thrifty things she has done that week.  Most of the time I'm just ticking the ideas off in my head as stuff I do already, but sometimes there's a thought I've never had before.

I'm not about to start doing posts like that but I thought that a variation might be a themed collection of how to save the pennies.  You know the sort - how to cut the supermarket spend, how to economise with water etc.  So here''s my first stab at this - how to reduce the cost of laundry.

First and foremost in my list would be to do as little of it as possible!  My great ally here is aprons.  My apron goes on almost as soon as I get up so my "good" clothes are kept cleaner.  I like a good big apron that wraps most of the way round me..  The one I've got on at the moment has very visible bleach splashes on it - thank goodness I was wearing it or I would have ruined a tee shirt!

My other two allies are my eyes and my nose - used clothes are checked and sniffed and if at all possible are put back on hangers.  That's a safer bet in winter rather than in summer but it definitely reduces the wash load.  (I realise life might be a lot more complicated if there are children in the household.)

I chose a washing machine with very good ratings for both energy and water usage.  I can wash at 20 degrees (that would be about 50 Fahrenheit) and can do quite a short wash or a half load.  I rarely use laundry powder or liquid as I have an Eco Egg which is supposed to cost 3p a wash but I reckon mine will last for a lot longer than it's supposed to.  (It was only £16.13 when I bought it in November 2017.  I've just changed the pellets for the first time and I've got enough pellets for two more changes.)  I don't use fabric conditioner but I've found my clothes have been softer since I stopped using laundry powder.  

So far as I can I air dry my stuff.  I narrowly missed injuring myself when I fell last time I pegged my sheets on the line so they now have to go in the dryer - I'm not happy about that but personal safety is important.  However, both bed linen and towels are half dried naturally to cut down on dryer time.  For the rest it's either the clothes line or my clothes racks.  

I'm sure I must have missed things and I'm even surer that you, Dear Reader, will have more ideas on how to cut the cost of laundry, so it's over to you.

5 comments:

  1. Hubby and I both hang up our clothes when we have only worn them for a short time. I try to wash often and do shot loads. Lots of things are hung to dry —inside as I don’t have an outdoor line

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  2. I wash once a week and only once a week. Always full loads. Hanging to dry whenever possible (living in Canada I hang what I can downstairs during winter and inclement weather).

    God bless.

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  3. In agreement with all the above - we have become obsessed with cleanliness. Often a garment will be taken off, and sniffed, and hung up to air for another wearing next day. In my youth we had "Gymslips" for school uniform and they were Very Expensive [you had to use the posh outfitters, no chain store or homemade bargains] So I only had one, worn Monday thru Friday. It was sponged and occasionally ironed to make it last the week. And first action on getting home from school was to change into 'old clothes'. Like you, a batch of aprons form an essential part of my wardrobe.
    I have not used the Eggs for washing. But I gave up with fabric conditioner years ago. Unnecessary imho! I was using Lidl Tabs, but have recently reverted to washing powder - it works out cheaper for me. I find a tub of wilkos own brand of oxybleach stain remover last ages, I only use it on really tough stains. I keep a small bar of soap [complementary guest soap from hotel stay] on hand to rub and spot clean marks on collars/cuffs before shirts go in the machine.

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  4. Since I just moved into an apartment without washer/dryer hookups, I am using the communal laundry room. It is very nice and the wash tubs are extra large but that means I can't save money by using any laundry tricks. I do pay an extra quarter for an extra rinse because I do not like any soap remaining and it is worth it to me. May not really help but I would rather err on the side of caution. I used to hang most of my clothes to try but I don't have a line anymore and you cannot put a folding dryer stand on the balcony. For now, I just accept that it's a little hard to be frugal with laundry. I have looked at counter top washing machines and am considering asking for that for Christmas. I'm still gather information so we'll see.

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  5. I wear work clothes more than once - I work in an office so it's not as though they are dirty. I change into casual clothes when I get home - older jeans or leggings and shirts that have seen better days but do just fine for housework or running to the stores or for evening walks.
    I too live in an apt, and use a communal laundry room. A wash costs $2 minimum and the dryer $1.50 minimum (for an hour) but you can add more money to take it to 90 minutes on the one go. I tend to stagger loads as I find that the few things I dry only take a half hour. I really only put sheets and towels into the dryer - I have a laundry rack that I stand in the bathtub. I have a large window in my bathroom so it gets a lot of sun and helps to dry things quite quickly. Other things get hung on plastic coat hangers and hung over the shower rail.
    I use a liquid laundry detergent used for baby clothes as I have a lot of allergies and this is unscented. I don't use fabric softener and no longer use dryer sheets - I bought some of those balls that are like hedgehogs and they work great at keeping the static down. I am considering getting one of those Ecco-eggs once I run down my 6 month supply of laundry soap.
    All my sheets are white and all my towels are aqua - and my clothing tends to be in blue, black or white and I find this makes it a lot simpler to sort things and not have umpteen small loads. It all helps.

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