If you took a look at my laundry room, you would be surprised by the 20 containers of Tide on the shelves… It’s not that I am obsessive compulsive (okay, I am, but not in this case). What happened was that two years ago I bought a Maytag Neptune washer and dryer and they came with 36 coupons for free 100-oz bottles of Tide. The problem was that the coupons were going to expire last June… so I made sure that every time I went to the store, I picked up my free bottles of Tide. The best part was that Tide changed their formula to a concentrated one, so at the end I ended up getting about three times the amount of detergent than I expected!
But, I digress. Here are some ways I save on laundry:
- Buy the best laundry detergent you can afford (with coupons). I’ve bought the cheap stuff, and it doesn’t work. Find coupons and samples and get your clothes clean the first time.
- If you are using a quality detergent, you don’t need to use the amount they recommend. You can use half that amount and your clothes will still get clean.
- Line dry your clothes – especially things like sweaters and other delicate items. They’ll last longer.
- If you use your dryer, set it to sensor dry so that it stops drying when the clothes are dry.
- You don’t usually need to use fabric softener. But if you feel you must, you can cut the fabric softener sheets into thirds. Just one third of the sheet works just as well as a whole one.
- Always wash and dry full loads of laundry.
- Wear your clothes more than once (gasp!) Sometimes people wash things that aren’t even dirty. Stop that. It’s wasteful.
- Fold and put away your clothes right after you are done with laundry. No ironing.
- You do not need to buy “wrinkle-releaser.” If your shirt is wrinkly, simply mist it with a water bottle and smooth it out on your bed. Then take your shower and get dressed. By the time you leave the house, your clothes will be dry and wrinkle-free. (This works best on cotton. You can also mist things and give them a spin in the dryer, but that’s not much of a cost savings).
- Get an energy efficient washer and dryer. You will use less water, detergent, and electricity, AND your clothes will get cleaner.
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