Save a Few Bucks in the Laundry Room

You can save money in many different areas of your house and the laundry room is no acception. Things are tight for everyone right now, so any savings is a good thing. You don’t have to do massive changes either to start to save money. Just a few small changes can pay off in the long run.

You have heard it before, and here it is again, use only cold water for washing clothing. Heating water is the largest energy drain when you wash clothing.  Using cold water means less energy ergo less money out the door. When washing with cold water you do need to be more aware of stains that may be on clothing. Make sure to pre-treat stains before you wash the clothing. You can save money on the pre-treatment step also.

Avoid buying those expensive pre-treatment sticks and sprays. These are not necessary if you use a small bit of laundry detergent as a spot treatment. Take three tablespoons of liquid laundry detergent and mix it with a half-cup of water. You can then use an empty spray bottle to spritz the soapy solution onto the stain to soak.

The next idea is to figure out the minimum amount of liquid laundry detergent you really need. A normal load of laundry doesn’t requre a full capful of detergent.  This ends up being very wasteful. You spend less money every time you use less detergent. The other option is using less laundry detergent but adding a bit of baking or washing soda to your laundry.  This will boost the cleaning power at a fraction of the price.

You can also save money with your choice in fabric softener. A cup of white vinegar in the rinse cycle is just as good as an expensive fabric softener. Two large bottles of vinegar are less expensive then a bottle of fabric softener. Does the odor of vinegar bother you?  No problem it will fade as the clothing dryes.  You can create your own dryer sheets to fix this also.

Cut out the dryer sheets to save a couple of dollars.  Instead take a washcloth and put a few drops of sweet orange essential oil onto it and toss it in the dryer instead. Magially your clothing will have a fresh citrus sent and there will be no vinegar smell. Make sure that the washcloth you used for this is not used on anyone’s skin, as citrus essential oils can be harsh on sensitive skin.

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