Simple household chores can cost a lot of money especially with laundry contributing to higher electricity and water bills along with expensive laundry detergent that you can be easily saving money with alternatives.
Saving money can start with simple household tasks like laundry with the average household doing two loads of laundry per week that can add up to 104 loads per year. This necessary house chore can be costly but there are a couple of efficient tips to start saving money on laundry costs.
Time is money even when it comes to laundry as there are some time-sensitive circumstances that can help save you money. One way to save on laundry is by reviewing your electricity plan to see if your plan charges more money during peak usage time or offers free nights and weekends. If there are applicable circumstances for lower electricity rates, try planning your weekly laundry routine around these times.
Some loads of laundry can require dryer sheets for people living in more humid areas that can cause static shocks that require dryer sheets to prevent. An inexpensive way to get your laundry static-free is rolling an aluminum foil into a ball and throwing it in the dryer.
Some people using the aluminum ball trick use the same ball for several months but if you’re a fan of dryer sheets there is an easy hack to save on dryer sheets. You can cut the dryer sheets in half then return them to the box using a half sheet for each load and you can also try saving mildly used sheets to be reused for other loads of laundry with 2-3 used sheets until they start losing their scent.
Laundry detergent can be quite expensive but making your own is easy and more affordable. There is a simple DIY laundry detergent project that costs under $10 to make with the batch lasting 81 loads of laundry or 6.5months.
All you’ll need is four ingredients: 3 bars of Kirk’s Castile Soap (shredded), 1 box Super Washing Soda (4 pounds), 1 box of Borax (4pounds), and 1 box of Baking Soda (4 pounds). Combine the ingredients in a large air-tight container that can be stored in a cool dark space in your laundry room and use two teaspoons for each load.
Stain remover can be another costly expense for laundry, but you can make your own affordable stain remover with homemade alternatives. For homemade stain remover, all you’ll need is 2 cups Warm Water, 2/3 cups Dawn Dish Detergent, 6 tablespoons of Baking Soda, 2/3 cups Ammonia, and a spray bottle. Combine ingredients then funnel into the spray bottle, place the top on the bottle, shake well, and use as needed for laundry (except anything washed with chlorine bleach).
Another homemade stain remover is a DIY Oxiclean recipe using ingredients ½ cup Washing Soda, 1 cup Water, ½ cup Hydrogen Peroxide, and a dark spray bottle. Simply combine the ingredients, pour into the dark spray, attach the top, shake to mix, and use by spraying soiled laundry to set overnight then throw in the washing machine.
One of the traditional ways of saving money with laundry is drying your laundry on a clothesline that can be done in your backyard if you have one or indoors using a retractable clothesline similar to the ones seen in hotel room bathrooms. You can dry clothes inside by using a retractable clothesline in a convenient room like the garage, bathroom, or laundry room.
This inexpensive investment will save you tons in electric bills and will also help prevent clothes from shrinking in the dryer. One consideration with this option is the extra time this method will require more time to dry compared to using a dryer.