Savings series: How to save money in the laundry

The humble washing machine has to be one of my favourite "mod-cons". As much as I often fantasise about the days of old and simpler times, I am incredibly grateful to be living in a time when the washing machine exists.

I know many people abhor washing, particularly the folding and putting away. Piles of washing seems to breed in some houses I'm sure. I have to say, on a scale of  1 to cleaning the toilets, washing is one of the household tasks I find most enjoyable. I love the satisfaction of an empty washing basket, the smell of sun on sheets and towels, and the simple pleasure of watching washing dancing in the wind in our courtyard on a sunny day.

Today's post is a "laundry list" (see what I did there?) of ideas for saving money in the laundry. As I highlighted in my first savings series post last week, lots of these money saving ideas are also more sustainable choices. If you missed it, you can find last week's post here.

Appliances, water and electricity use 

1. Consider what you really need to get by. For us, that's a washing machine. We choose not to own a dryer. Living in Sydney, I just don't feel like we need one. In summer I throw a load on straight after dinner and hang it out after the kids are in bed. It's nearly dry by morning. In winter I use the line if it's sunny or large airers inside. Sure it's annoying having clothes airers in the house when it's raining for a week, but not as annoying as $1,000 electricity bill. If you do have a dryer, try to use it sparingly. They are one of the biggest energy use appliances in most houses.
2. I don't iron unless I'm going to a wedding or doing some sewing ok and the occasional work shirt when I'm working. Save electricity; ditch the iron! I try to buy things that don't need ironing and hang and fold straight away. I'll be interested to see if the need to iron changes as we consider the types of fabrics we are buying from a sustainability point of view, but more on that another day.
3. Consider 2nd hand. When our last washing machine died, not long after we had our first child, I knew I wanted a larger size to accommodate our growing family. I picked up a 2nd hand one from our local Facebook buy / swap / sell site for $150 from a lady moving into a nursing home. It's perfectly serviceable and still going strong 3 and a half years later. At the moment I prefer my top loader because I'm forever finding more to put in the machine after the load has started, plus I use it to soak larger items. Also, being an older style with the dials on top not the electronics I feel like there is less likely to go wrong and it may be easier to fix if something does. When this one eventually dies we will reevaluate water and energy efficiency but for now I feel like 2nd hand is saving money and saving a perfectly good machine from landfill.
4. To save water and electricity I only wash when I have a full load, with the exception of nappies or if someone is sick. If you aren't washing a full load, ensure you adjust the water level if your machine doesn't do it automatically. 
5. Washing in cold water is also cheaper. I only wash in hot if I'm washing nappies or if someone is sick or wets the bed. 

Detergents and fabric softeners 

1. I prefer powdered detergent over liquid because I find the fragrances (note these are chemicals!) are not as overpowering and the cardboard boxes are better from a recycling point of view than plastic bottles. 
2. I stock up on laundry powder when it is half price. Store in a dry place, it will clump if it gets damp. 
3. Did you know you can use way less laundry powder than the amount recommended by the manufacturer and still get the same results? I use about half the standard scoop. That means my half price powder actually costs me 1/4 of the retail price per load.
4. You could also try soap nuts or soap berries. They literally grow on trees in the Himalayas so they are bio-degradable and chemical free. These are on my list to try too, although I've heard they are not the best on whites. 
5. You can make your own laundry liquid or powder. Once my current supply of half price powder runs out I will be giving this a go. Stay tuned! As soon as I can track down some Borax I'll be trying my blogging idol Rhonda Hetzel's recipes that you can find on her blog "Down to Earth" here 
6. You can also make your own woolwash. My other blogging idol Mimi has an easy recipe and cute free printable on her blog "A Tray of Bliss" here
7. White vinegar, generic brand is fine, can be used in place of fabric softener. 
8. If you are handy with a sewing machine you could make your own peg bag, there's plenty of tutorials via Pinterest.  

Sundries

1. Bring your basket and pegs inside after you've pegged out the washing and they will last much longer, especially if they are plastic. My washing basket is 10 years old and still going strong, It's just a cheap Kmart plastic one. 
2. Avoid really cheap plastic pegs. In my experience they break too easily which is a waste of money and adds to plastic in landfill. I like Reva pegs, although they are plastic. They are Australian made and rarely break. I am also going to look into stainless steel pegs next time I need some. I personally don't like wooden pegs because I find they go mouldy too easily.
3. Dry clothes inside out to avoid fading, they will last longer.
4. Use delicates bags or a pillow case to protect delicate items and keep little socks together (& prevent washable breast pads getting stuck in the machine...).
5. Shake and fold clothes as you take them off the line to avoid, or reduce, ironing.
6. Use white vinegar on a rinse cycle to clean your washing machine. 
7. Cut up old towels, bibs, tea towels etc for cleaning rags. Look for cotton fabrics. Microfibre cloths are contributing to the plastic problem in our oceans. They shed tiny plastic microfibres and have even been found inside fish we eat. 

This is my teeny, tiny laundry. It's basically just a cupboard off the kitchen. We are renting this place and I do dream of a larger space with a bench for folding, but in reality this works just fine; I don't need to upsize my life. 

By the way that bottle of Windex is 10 years old. I bought it when I moved out of home; I now mostly use vinegar instead. I will do a separate post on cleaning. 

My cute housekeepers box was new from a garage sale. 

Most of the ideas in this post will not only save money but are also more sustainable options. Using less electricity, less chemicals, looking after our things so they last longer and need replacing less often and reusing items we no longer need puts less strain on our precious planet, as well as our wallets.