Frugal Household Tips: Save Money Doing Your Laundry

With three kids under 10 in the house, and a husband who works two jobs, laundry is an never-ending, on-going chore. Every time I turn around I think the laundry has doubled. This is especially true in the summertime when the kids go out to the pool a few hundred times a day. While laundry can be a daunting task, it can also be a costly task. Here are a few ways I save money while doing laundry:

1. I buy name brand detergent that is on sale and I have a coupon for it. It is my personal opinion from my own observation that the cheaper stuff just doesn’t do as good of a job as the name-brand stuff. By checking the sales ads I can usually find Wisk, Gain, or even Tide on sale. CVS usually runs Buy One Get One Free sales on these items. I use two coupons and get a great deal. I try to never spend more than $2.50 per bottle or box for name brand detergent.

2. Use the cap or the scoop that comes with the detergent appropriately. Notice that there are littles lines or notches on the cup or scoop with a number. These lines indicate the load size of the laundry you are doing. For many, many people they just assume that 1 load= 1 full cup of detergent. Use the appropriate amount of soap per load, don’t just dump a full cup in there blindly.

3. I actually use 1/2 of the recommended amount from the detergent cup. If I have a small load, I fill up the cup 1/2 of the way to line 1. If I have a medium load, I fill up to the 1 line. I never, ever use more than 1/2 of the cup for even my largest loads. My clothes are just as clean and smell great. Don’t you love the smell of fresh laundry!

4. Wash in cold water.

5. Dryers use a lot of electricity. I don’t use a clothesline because we hate the feeling of stiff clothes but I still try to save money on drying our clothes. One thing I do is run the washer’s last spin cycle twice. The less water you have in your clothes the less time they will have to spend in the dryer. The spin cycle uses very little electricity. I figure I’m saving about 20 minutes of drying time by doing this.

6. I don’t use dryer sheets. I use vinegar in my fabric softener dispenser. Vinegar is an awesome, cheap product. It leaves your clothes feeling very soft and you cannot even smell a trace of vinegar in your finished laundry. A huge bottle of vinegar is very cheap. If you do use fabric sheets, reuse them or cut them in half.

7. I don’t buy clothes that are labeled “dry clean only”. I just know that I am not responsible enough to clean them right and ummm, I’ve been known to take something to the cleaner’s and never pick it up. What can I say, I’m awful about stuff like that!!!

8. Make your own stain fighter. I have a basket for clothes that have stains that won’t come out. When the basket is full I make my own stain fighter. Here is the recipe: 3 parts automatic dishwasher detergent, 1 part white vinegar. Make into a paste, and apply to stain. Let sit for a while then wash as usual.

Now, these tips won’t make your laundry disapper but they will make it cost less to do.