May 05 2008
Frugal Living Tip of the Day for May 5,2008
Today we are going to take a frugal look at one of my least favorite tasks - the laundry. I just want to show you how with a few simple changes, you can save quite a bit of money without sacrificing cleanliness.
In the Washer
1. The first obvious answer is to try a less expensive brand, Many brands on the market are quite capable of cleaning your clothes just as well, saving you a lot of money.
2. Are you using too much detergent? The first thing you need to do is read the label on your laundry detergent. If you are like most of us, you never read it and if so, I’d bet that you’re using a lot more detergent than you actually need.
3. The same rule applies for fabric softener and to be even more frugal with it you can dilute fabric softener quite a bit (I dilute 1:1 with softener and water) and it will still work just as well.
4. Borax is inexpensive and one of the best laundry boosters on the market. It is nearly as effective as chlorine bleach and much less taxing on the environment.
5. Don’t use the hot water setting unless you have a reason to sterilize your laundry. Cold and warm water washes are just as effective and take less energy.
In The Dryer
1. If you are a fan of dryer sheets you don’t have to go without if you don’t want to. By simply cutting your dryer sheets in half you are spending half of the money every month. Smaller loads can even use as little as a quarter of a sheet.
2. Instead of dryer sheets you can do it yourself with a sponge and some liquid fabric softener. Cut the sponge in half and leave both halves in a covered container with softener in it. When you add clothes to the dryer, squeeze a sponge to leave it just damp and add the sponge to the load.
3. Another great frugal tip I was told about recently is to make your own spray starch, and it isn’t hard to do at all. Just add two tablespoons of corn starch to a pint of cold water in a spray bottle and shake before each use. Trust me, it works!
Do you have a favorite frugal laundry tip to share? Leave a comment and your tip might make it in a future tip of the day post!
