Sentry Page Protection
Minimising Your Laundry Costs
We all have to do laundry, but it doesn’t have to cost an arm and a leg to have clean clothes. Doing laundry is more expensive than most people realize. We do laundry so frequently, that even a small savings per load could end up saving you a lot of money.
There are many simple things you can do to cut the cost of doing laundry. When you have more members in your household, it adds up to an even bigger savings.
These tips will save the average family of four over $400 per year:
Air-dry your clothes. This is a no-brainer! Seriously, if you have a backyard, or a balcony, or a verandah or even a spare corner somewhere in your home you do not need to use a clothes dryer! Yes, you'll need to be organised with the laundry, but that will save you time and effort anyway. And if you are one of the hundreds of thousands of households complaining about the cost of electricity - wise up and ditch the dryer!
If you can avoid using a dryer, you can save approximately $200 each year! You will save money on your electricity bill and your clothes will last longer. The heat and tumbling in the dryer damage your clothing.
Spin your clothes twice. The spin cycle exists to get the excess water out of your clothes. If you spin your clothes twice, you can reduce drying time.
Stick to cold water. Again, this is a no-brainer. Cold wash, cold rinse. Cheapskates Washing Powder works wonders in cold water, and all modern washing powders are designed to be used in cold water. Save the hot wash/hot rinse for when sickness is in the house, otherwise you're just spending more than you need to. The biggest cost of doing laundry comes from heating the water so if you haven't switched yet, why not? You can save a bundle by choosing to go with cold.
Create your own laundry products. Cheapskates Washing Powder, Stain Removing Soap and a bottle of white vinegar are all you need to keep your clothes and household linens clean and fresh. It costs around $14 to make a year's worth of Cheapskates Washing Powder and under $2 for a huge bar of Stain Removing Soap. White vinegar costs around 50c a litre, so for under $30 a year you can do your laundry.
Use less detergent. If you have commercial laundry detergents to use up (before you MOO Cheapskates Washing Powder) use less! Ditch the scoop that comes in the box and use 3 - 4 teaspoons instead. Remember that the companies who make laundry detergent want you to use more than necessary, then you'll have to buy more. And they're not good for your washing machine. If you use commercial detergents and powders then remember to clean your washing machine each month.
Wash full loads. The electricity used to fill, agitate, and drain the washing machine is essentially the same, whether it’s a full or partial load.
Wash your clothes less often. Stop being so prissy and squeamish - most clothes don't need to be laundered after a single wear! Now some individuals have outdoor jobs or those that require manual labour and their clothes get dirty, stained and smelly on a daily basis. But many others have jobs where they can avoid getting dirty or sweating excessively. As long as you haven’t soiled your clothing, consider wearing items more than once between washes.
Think about what you wear. Jeans, trousers and skirts can usually be worn at least twice before laundering. Ditto jumpers and cardigans.
Have play clothes and good clothes for your children. Keep one or two outfits just for going out - we called these "church clothes". They were only worn to church or for going out. As soon as we came home, the children changed clothes into play clothes and the good clothes were put away to be worn again.
They also had to change out of school uniforms as soon as they came home. In winter they went straight into the bath and the into PJs, in summer they changed into play clothes. Those play clothes were worn for the week because they were only worn for a couple of hours each day.
Purchase energy efficient appliances. Next time you are replacing your washing machine, do your research to find the most energy efficient that will suit your needs. Washing machines differ by brand. There are washers that will handle larger loads and use less water (I do not recommend these machines!). There are washing machines that use much less energy. Sometimes these higher efficiency units cost more, but the savings is worth it in the end.
Adjust your settings. Check the wash cycle for the fastest wash and rinse and always wash with a full load of water. The biggest problem with doing laundry today is caused by not having enough water in the machine. Whether it's a HE top loader or a front loader, your laundry needs water and plenty of it. If there isn't enough water the laundry won't agitate properly. It won't clean properly and it won't rinse properly. Have you ever had a problem with detergent not dissolving? That is most likely cause by not enough water, not a problem with the detergent!.
Washing clothes is a chore that most of us have on an almost daily basis; that’s why it’s so important to cut costs wherever possible.
Help the environment and your family’s budget by applying these cost-saving tips whenever you do laundry.
There are many simple things you can do to cut the cost of doing laundry. When you have more members in your household, it adds up to an even bigger savings.
These tips will save the average family of four over $400 per year:
Air-dry your clothes. This is a no-brainer! Seriously, if you have a backyard, or a balcony, or a verandah or even a spare corner somewhere in your home you do not need to use a clothes dryer! Yes, you'll need to be organised with the laundry, but that will save you time and effort anyway. And if you are one of the hundreds of thousands of households complaining about the cost of electricity - wise up and ditch the dryer!
If you can avoid using a dryer, you can save approximately $200 each year! You will save money on your electricity bill and your clothes will last longer. The heat and tumbling in the dryer damage your clothing.
Spin your clothes twice. The spin cycle exists to get the excess water out of your clothes. If you spin your clothes twice, you can reduce drying time.
Stick to cold water. Again, this is a no-brainer. Cold wash, cold rinse. Cheapskates Washing Powder works wonders in cold water, and all modern washing powders are designed to be used in cold water. Save the hot wash/hot rinse for when sickness is in the house, otherwise you're just spending more than you need to. The biggest cost of doing laundry comes from heating the water so if you haven't switched yet, why not? You can save a bundle by choosing to go with cold.
Create your own laundry products. Cheapskates Washing Powder, Stain Removing Soap and a bottle of white vinegar are all you need to keep your clothes and household linens clean and fresh. It costs around $14 to make a year's worth of Cheapskates Washing Powder and under $2 for a huge bar of Stain Removing Soap. White vinegar costs around 50c a litre, so for under $30 a year you can do your laundry.
Use less detergent. If you have commercial laundry detergents to use up (before you MOO Cheapskates Washing Powder) use less! Ditch the scoop that comes in the box and use 3 - 4 teaspoons instead. Remember that the companies who make laundry detergent want you to use more than necessary, then you'll have to buy more. And they're not good for your washing machine. If you use commercial detergents and powders then remember to clean your washing machine each month.
Wash full loads. The electricity used to fill, agitate, and drain the washing machine is essentially the same, whether it’s a full or partial load.
Wash your clothes less often. Stop being so prissy and squeamish - most clothes don't need to be laundered after a single wear! Now some individuals have outdoor jobs or those that require manual labour and their clothes get dirty, stained and smelly on a daily basis. But many others have jobs where they can avoid getting dirty or sweating excessively. As long as you haven’t soiled your clothing, consider wearing items more than once between washes.
Think about what you wear. Jeans, trousers and skirts can usually be worn at least twice before laundering. Ditto jumpers and cardigans.
Have play clothes and good clothes for your children. Keep one or two outfits just for going out - we called these "church clothes". They were only worn to church or for going out. As soon as we came home, the children changed clothes into play clothes and the good clothes were put away to be worn again.
They also had to change out of school uniforms as soon as they came home. In winter they went straight into the bath and the into PJs, in summer they changed into play clothes. Those play clothes were worn for the week because they were only worn for a couple of hours each day.
Purchase energy efficient appliances. Next time you are replacing your washing machine, do your research to find the most energy efficient that will suit your needs. Washing machines differ by brand. There are washers that will handle larger loads and use less water (I do not recommend these machines!). There are washing machines that use much less energy. Sometimes these higher efficiency units cost more, but the savings is worth it in the end.
Adjust your settings. Check the wash cycle for the fastest wash and rinse and always wash with a full load of water. The biggest problem with doing laundry today is caused by not having enough water in the machine. Whether it's a HE top loader or a front loader, your laundry needs water and plenty of it. If there isn't enough water the laundry won't agitate properly. It won't clean properly and it won't rinse properly. Have you ever had a problem with detergent not dissolving? That is most likely cause by not enough water, not a problem with the detergent!.
Washing clothes is a chore that most of us have on an almost daily basis; that’s why it’s so important to cut costs wherever possible.
Help the environment and your family’s budget by applying these cost-saving tips whenever you do laundry.
Related Printables |