Doing Laundry Within Your Family Budget
February 28, 2009 – 7:57 amWhat can you do to really save money when doing your laundry? There are a few tried-and-try no nonsense things that every family needs to know. We’re going to list a few just to get you started.
Use Cold Water Please. This is the top money saving tip when trying to trim your laundry budget. Using hot, or even warm water is not only expensive, but a total waste of resources. You don’t use scalding hot water to wash your hands, do you? No. You depend on the soap to disinfect and kill germs on your skin. Why is it any different with your clothing? Unless your family is under doctor’s orders to wash with hot water because of an infectious disease, there is no reason to use hot water to disinfect your clothing or linens. The detergent does that for you.
Do Not Use Liquid Detergent. Those liquid detergents are hard to give up, but the money you save will be a definite boost to your moral when you do! You are paying for water. It’s a simple enough switch, you just need to remember to add the powder detergent as the washer is filling and give it a swish, then add the clothing items.
Use Half The Detergent That The Directions Say. For some reason, the detergent manufacturers want us to use a lot of soap. Hmmm… you’ve got to think about that one for a moment. If you use any more than 1/3 to 1/2 cup in a full load, you’ll be saturating the water and risking a soapy finish to your laundry. This over-sudsing is not a wise thing to do.
Hang Clothes To Dry When Possible. If you have some lighter shirts, blouses, slacks, and the like, hang them up on hangers and use your shower rod as a dryer. If you have a back yard, string a line and go all out hanging out as much laundry as you can. Your living arrangements will dictate just how much you can hang out, but almost everyone has someplace in their home or apartment to hang up a few items just to keep from having to put them in the dryer.
There are many other ways to reduce money spent on your laundry. These are a few quick and easy things to try on your next laundry day. Try it for a couple months and see if your budget breathes a sigh of relief!