By: Paxton Ruzicka
Published: January 26, 2023
This post contains affiliate links meaning I may earn a commission, at no extra cost to you, if you make a purchase using these links. That being said, I only recommend products I love and trust.
Get ready to save loads of money with my top 5 laundry hacks!
Let’s be honest, laundry is no one’s favor chore. I know for us, sometimes we leave the wet laundry in the washer for too long and have to rewash it. OR it sits and sits getting wrinkled in the dryer. There is no in-between. While as much as this task straight up sucks, it’s also so wasteful. Let me explain.
Doing laundry requires a lot of water, electricity, and can become expensive depending on your family size. The cost of doing laundry can be upwards of $170 a year, alone! Even more reason to hate doing laundry LOL.
Here are a few of my favorite laundry hacks to reduce waste, stay in budget, and lessen our environmental impact.
5 Money Saving Laundry Hacks!
1.) Wash in cold
According to GE, “an estimated 75 to 90 percent of all the energy your washer uses goes to warming up the water, so switching to colder water can lower your gas or electric bill”. Cold water washing can save you in the ballpark of $60 per year!
Additionally, fabrics are less likely to fade and deteriorate in cold water. This not only saves you on buying new clothing as often, but it reduces the micro plastic that flushes into the ocean, as well!
2.) Only wash full loads
While it’s not always possible, try to wash only full loads. Of course, you might need something in a pinch, but making an effort to wash full loads of laundry can significantly reduce your waste. Less energy, less water, less detergent, you get the point.
I recommend trying to dedicate a day of the week to the laundry. Gather everything that needs washed for the week and do a few large loads instead of washing that one or two items in a pinch.
3.) Skip the dryer
Next is my favorite laundry hack. Now this one is a little more work on our part, but skipping the dryer has huge benefits. Personally, I love the ability to hang clothing on the line in the spring and summer months. While convenient, most of us don’t have that luxury, instead take advantage of a drying rack.
Besides the biggest benefit of reducing your energy, you can prolong the life of your clothes. Dryers can be hard on your clothing causing them to wear more quickly!
4.) Washing too often
It might surprise you to know that some articles of clothing don’t need to be washed after each use. For example, jeans can be worn 4-5 times before washing, 5-6 times for casual jackets or sweaters. Now of course, you don’t want to be out there wearing 3-day old underwear, but you can use your better judgement on each individual item.
5.) Non-toxic detergent
When it comes to your laundry detergent, this is more of a health-conscious laundry hack. But I highly recommend it. Choosing a non-toxic laundry detergent can keep you and your family safe from unnecessarily harsh chemicals.
I recently switched to soap nuts. A natural grim-fighting berry (yes you read that right). Learn all about them here.
There are also many chemical free options, like Dropps, for example. Laundry detergent in the form of powerful cleaning pods that are made from nature. Dropps is a certified B corp, putting the planet over profits.
With ethically sourced and non toxic ingredients this brand is a great choice for you and your family.
Ultimately, trying out some of these laundry hacks will not only benefit our wallets, but it will also benefit our planet and our families. Striving to be more conscious of our decisions is the first step to a more sustainable lifestyle.
