Monday, January 26, 2009

Two down, 18 to go

Money Saving Monday: Laundry

As you can imagine, with a family of our size, we have a lot of laundry, therefore a lot of detergent, therefore a lot of money on laundry. Therefore I have had to figure out ways to save money. So here goes.

First of all, everyone has a laundry day. No half loads here. Full loads all the time. If it's not full, throw in more...we've got plenty.

Then to save money we use the smallest amount of detergent to get by, and I've stopped using fabric softener. I don't miss it at all. I do use a little vinegar in the rinse cycle, with the towels, to help with static cling and do not seem to be having any problems at this time.

But really, I'm sure those are things you already do. NO, what you want is a real tip. So here you go: Everyone must wear their clothes more than once.

Sounds simple, right? It is.

If your clothes aren't visibly dirty or smelly, keep wearing them.

This will save you money: on detergent, on water, on the wear and tear of your clothes.

Give it a try.

8 comments:

Unknown said...

I do that, always have. If my pants or shirt are not actually dirty or smell of food or anything, then I fold them or hang them back up and wear them again.

Yara said...

dirty clothes wearers! says the lady with 1, yes... just 1... pair of jeans that fits. ANd I wear jeans pretty much exclusively. Yikes.
LOL
so pretty much, I rewear them til they scream out 'wash me'
then I take em out of the drier & wear them again. Currently, my jeans have a bit of spilled coffee from the drive thru on one leg, but they are dark so no one can tell. Now you know. I ahd JUST washed them the night before, so I just had to wear them some more before rewashing them : )
Oh and Michelle... wool dryer balls! They work... I love them!

Kelly said...

Now this is a tip that I've actually always used. I have a problem with it though. Instead of putting the clothes back up, they end up in a pile somewhere: ironing board, laundry basket, floor...Sigh, I'll get there one day

FishMama said...

Michelle, you won the PLM tshirt on my blog. Please send me your address so you can get the prize. Congrats!

Anonymous said...

Do you make your own detergeant...we just made our first batch this weekend...easy and it's working!

I can't believe you don't have static cling...I use vinegar in the rinse cycle too, but I still have to throw in dryer sheets or the SC is unbearable, painful to fold and VERY clingy when wearing.

Right now, I use Arm & Hammer "natural" dryer sheets...don't really know how "natural" they are...need to google that!

Lainie at mishmashmaggie.com has the laundry recipe posted we used!

Diana said...

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If you don't want to play, I understand, just forgive me!

Anonymous said...

I only have 2 boys still at home and, after showers, they throw underclothes and any visibly dirty shirts in the wash machine. I always check their jeans and if they are not dirty, back in the drawer they go. I generally do one load of laundry a day. Everything goes in (whites, colors, etc.) with the only exception that something new that needs to be washed by itself a few times. I bleach whites every few months. I've been doing this for 20 years and have never noticed a difference.

Karen

Michelle said...

SO glad I'm not the only one.