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At Curbly, the DIY Maven has posted advice on how to save money on laundry day.
- When the Spray ‘n’ Wash runs out, make your own.
- If you use dryer sheets, only use half at a time.
- If you’re shopping, consider a front-loading washer.
- Pick up a pair of dryer balls. (I’d never even heard of these before reading this.)
I confess to having no idea how much it costs to do laundry. My wife and I have a work swap: I take care of her car and she takes care of my clothes. For more information on these tips, read the entire article.
Note: I love Curbly. If I wasn’t running this site, I’d spend a lot of time there sharing ideas and picking up new ones.
[Curbly: How to save money on laundry day]
March 20th, 2007 at 1:57 pm
I’m not sure dryer balls really work.
http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/45926/dryer_balls_do_they_work_or_not.html
March 20th, 2007 at 2:05 pm
I’ve found a quarter of any generic brand dryer sheet works fine. I’m still working my way through a box of Walgreens dryer sheets that I got on sale for $.99 about 4 years ago. Also, if you use a shared laundry room (such as in a dorm or apartment complex) you can use other peoples’ used dryer sheets.
March 20th, 2007 at 2:16 pm
Just out of maddening curiosity, how often to you take care of her car compared to how often she takes care of your clothes, let’s say, on a weekly/monthly basis?
March 20th, 2007 at 3:14 pm
March 20th, 2007 at 3:56 pm
My husband and I do that, too, for the most part–the laundry/car swap. And I buy most of the groceries but if we go out to eat, he pays.
Of the clothes I wash every week or two, at least 90% are his. I re-wear stuff a little longer than he does. Of course, I am not working on cars in my clothes.
March 20th, 2007 at 4:22 pm
I used to use fabric softener in my front-load machine but it gummed up the drawer. I read somewhere to use white vinegar in its place and I really swear by it now. It helps things to rinse, doesn’t leavea slimey residue, and takes out the bleach smell. However, I love the smell of downy on my blankets and sheets. I’ve found that if I pour some on a small washcloth and put it in dryer with these items in liue of a fabric sheet, they smell lovely.
March 20th, 2007 at 4:42 pm
I’m very proud of myself; I’m pretty much totally switched from getting the laundry done at a fluff n’ fold to doing it myself at a laundromat, which saves me some cash. Although I’m still getting used to remembering to bring the detergent with me.
March 20th, 2007 at 5:05 pm
Fabric Softener: I dilute my fabric softener to 1 part water, 1 part softener (reusing containers)with only slight gumming, which makes the softener last twice as long. I also cut my dryer sheets in half, and occasionally reuse the 1/2 sheets.
March 20th, 2007 at 5:09 pm
Here’s another laundry tip: you can dewrinkle clothes by tossing them on low or air with a damp washcloth tossed in.
You can also scent your clothing with either a spritz of cologne (oh, be careful!) or a few drops of essential oil (much nicer) on that damp washcloth.
Vinegar will do wonderful things in your rinse water, including taking out smells and stains and softening your clothes. You can also improve your dishwasher’s results by pouring a little white vinegar in the dispenser or the bottom of the washer.
db
http://www.debtblitzkrieg.com
March 20th, 2007 at 5:29 pm
This is sort of a meta-hint if you will. Running your washer and/or dryer overnight will save you money on your electric bill. My electric company has peak and off-peak rates. Since you have a machine doing it, you can have it work graveyard shift for you to save some money on your energy costs. I suppose the same could be said for the dishwasher too but I don’t know how much noise you want going on while you’re trying to sleep.
March 20th, 2007 at 5:53 pm
Those dryer balls look pretty nifty, especially since the average load in my dryer takes 1.5 to 2 hours to dry! (I don’t overload it). It’s only .50 per half hour, but still - major PITA! My laundry is fairly cheap anyway. I use a generic store brand liquid detergent and I don’t bother with dryer sheets or fabric softener.
March 21st, 2007 at 1:25 am
I’ve never used fabric softener in my life, and I think that plus the fact that I’ve never owned a dryer is why most of my clothes are still in great shape after 10-15 years and even in some cases more than 20 years of use. Plus I’ve saved well over $1,000 in appliance and electricity costs over the years by not having a dryer. In summer I put the wash out on a clothesline (not an option for everyone, I know) and in winter we use drying racks placed near our baseboard heat (slow for drying flannel sheets but remarkably efficient for everything else). There’s nothing like the smell of clothes fresh off the line after a sunny day. We’re a family of three; if we were a larger family with young kids I suppose I could see a need for a dryer but really I have never had any desire to buy one.
March 22nd, 2007 at 9:29 am
Vinegar in the dishwasher? Great idea! Thanks, db.
My dishwasher has a timer. I set it to run during the night. I don’t like to do laundry at night, though. I’m not a morning person and despite the best of intentions I never fold a load in the morning.
March 22nd, 2007 at 8:17 pm
you can make your own laundry detergent and cut the cost dramatically:
http://frugalliving.about.com/od/laundry/ht/htlaundet.htm
March 5th, 2008 at 5:56 pm
We have a dryer, but I use it only for towels and 10 minutes worth of jeans drying, then I hang them up. I started hanging my clothes to dry before I had my own dryer, when we were just renting. I realized that I was spending $3-4 dollars per week on dryer time. We were saving for a house, and I thought that might be a good way to save. Well, it was really easy, and so I’ve never looked back. I invested in a couple of good racks…oh wait! Actually, my best one was a trash pick…wow…I’ve had that for 8 years now, and it has saved us hundreds! BTW, we are a family of 4, and I tend to do laundry like my grandma did..wash on Monday, iron on Tuesday…but I actually wash and hang over 2 days, folding everything on the 3rd day. Then I don’t do any more laundry til the following Monday, unless it’s an emergency.
March 5th, 2008 at 8:12 pm
The problem I have with hang-drying clothes is that the wrinkles are really, really hard to get out when I iron them. It’s much easier ( for me ) to iron clothes that have been through the dryer.
If I had the extra time to iron more thoroughly, I’d probably hang dry most of my clothes too.
March 10th, 2008 at 2:02 am
Really? I use a steam iron and I easily get rid of wrinkles, and never had a dryer. I only have clothes in natural fibers.
April 14th, 2008 at 11:11 am
I tried hanging everything out for 1 month and I only saved $10 a month. Sorry, it’s back to the dryer for me. But I do buy generic fab. sotner and I dilute it. Works great!
August 8th, 2008 at 9:16 am
Hi-I just happened to this site and am very impressed. A few comments: I rarely use a dryer-just a clothesline-tough in winter-my husband’s not big on drying racks cluttering the house! I do dry the socks and underwear in the dryer-I figure the time it takes to hang them out individually can’t possibly be worth more than 10 minutes in the dryer. I do send my husband’s dress shirts to the cleaners-working full time really puts a limit on what can be done in the remaining amount of time. One thing that really bugs me is drying towels. They’re MADE to get wet! That’s their function in life. Anyway, I have even found that polo shirts come out more wrinkle free on the line, if I fold them when I take them off the line.