Frugal Laundry Tips

No matter who you are, you've got laundry. Even nudists have to wash their sheets! These frugal laundry tips can help keep this common, inescapable chore from using up more of your hard-earned cash than necessary.

Wash in cold water. A washer repairman once told me that there was hardly any temperature difference on most machines between the cold and warm water settings. So, use cold for most loads, and you can avoid spending the money (and energy) to heat washing water unnecessarily. Cold water will also help preserve the color of your clothes.

Avoid the dry cleaner. Dry cleaning is the exact opposite of frugal laundry, since it amounts to dollars, instead of pennies, for each garment cleaned. So, it's best to buy clothes that are machine washable. But if you have an item that's marked as "dry clean only," there's a good chance you can handwash it safely with a gentle soap, like Woolite. If you're using the dry cleaner because an item is too large for your washer, like a comforter, try a laundromat first. They often have large-capacity washers that accommodate bulky items for a fraction of the cost of a dry cleaner.

Skip fabric softener. Dryer sheets and fabric softeners smell great, but they're unnecessary, since most laundry detergents are already formulated with a pleasant smell. And how rough are your clean clothes, really? Some people also worry about chemicals in the products and additional lint build-up, but whatever your "green" inclinations, there's no denying it's an extra, avoidable expense.

Make your own detergent. Making your own detergent is a good way to cut your cleaning costs. Both laundry detergent and dishwashing soap are easy to make from the same basic ingredients. Visit my Homemade Detergent page for simple and effective detergent recipes.

Line dry. Your grandmother was onto something with her clothes line! Clothes dryers are real energy hogs, and on hot summer days, they don't dry clothes that much faster than air drying. A clothes line, on the other hand is a very frugal laundry tool that's inexpensive to buy and easy to use. If your clothes feel a little too rough for your taste when you dry them outside, try air drying them most of the way, then putting them in the dryer for the last 5 or 10 minutes. You'll get the soft texture you want for a lot less energy.

Only wash what's actually dirty. If you only wore something for a few hours, didn't sweat in it, and didn't spill anything on it, there's a good chance it doesn't actually need to be washed again. Not only does washing items add up to wasting detergent, water and energy, but it wears your clothes out sooner. So, before you toss that barely worn shirt in the hamper, give it a good sniff and a good once-over and decide if it can be worn again. And yes, I understand that this tip may be completely irrelevant for teenage boys.

Use less detergent. The same washer repairman that tipped me off about cold water also told me that it's best to use less detergent than the product manufacturer suggests. The detergent manufacturer wants you to use as much as possible, so the amounts they recommend using are often more than is necessary. Not only does that use up the product faster, but it can cause build up in your machine, making it harder for the washer to properly rinse your clothes.

How do you save money on laundry?

Have you made your own detergent? Have you trained hamsters to power your dryer? Share with your fellow readers how you save money when you do laundry!

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