Ok, I’ll admit that my first love is green living; yes, even over (gulp) saving money). However, I do also love a good saving money session and as we’ve talked about before here at Thrifty Mommy, green living and budgeting and saving money are all totally interconnected. Living green is cheap by default.
Energy Star Amana 3.5 Cu. Ft. Super Capacity Front Load Washer shown above
Low impact laundry is an excellent example of one green living choice that not only saves the planet but saves you loads of green as well. Here’s how.
- Cold water costs less: Washing on cold – yeah, even icky old cloth diapers is a great way to save energy and tons of cash. Hot water from the washing machine does NOT sanitize your clothes, no matter how much you wish it was true so turn that dial to cold.
- Energy costs money: Line drying is ultra cheap in many ways. One it saves you cash on your energy bill (no dryer) and two, your clothes will last much longer. I hang dry almost everything and my family survives. A clothes line is super cheap and during the winter you can hang clothes in the bathroom. Bonus tip save time by hanging clothes right on the hanger. Time is money for some of us, so there’s another saving.
- Green soap costs less: No joke. Biokleen detergent is free of phosphate and chlorine, has no negative effects on rivers, streams, plants, or wildlife, is rapidly biodegradable and Ozone safe AND it seriously costs less per load than other more toxic laundry detergents.
- Dryer sheets are useless and toxic: You don’t need them, they’re not safe, and not buying them saves money.
- Washing green saves over time: An Energy Star energy efficient washing machine or dryer can save you about $135 per year on energy costs but some note that choosing an energy efficient washer or dryer will save you much more money in the long run than that. PLUS you may be able to find a rebate.
Ah green and savings…sheer bliss.
How do you keep your laundry green and inexpensive?
[...] especially if you dry everything. Now, if you choose to dry with alternative methods you can cut down on energy waste and dryer sheets and in some cases [...]
[...] Low-impact laundry saves cash [...]
Good blog! Big energy savings can be had with the right combination on laundry equipment. The new front-load washers not only use less water, but they do not need hot water AND the spin the clothes out so fast that they come out almost dry.
Then just take those ‘almost dry’ clothes and hang them up on a laundry drying rack like this one indoors or out (depending on the season).
Clean dry laundry with very little water usage and great energy savings!
[...] Wash ALL laundry on cold. Yes you can, even very dirty stuff. It’ll all still get clean and you’ll save scads on heating that water. While you’re at it, try an alternative clothes dryer solution. [...]
Another way that line drying clothes saves money: you save the cost of buying/maintaining an electric dryer.
We switched to line drying for our family of 11 a year ago when the dryer died. We have probably saved $600 in electricity, plus the money we would have laid out for a repair or replacement.
In the summer, line drying can also save on the a/c. Granted, most of the heat is supposed to go out the vent, but the body of the dryer also puts out heat.
Our green and frugal laundry solution is to make our own detergent. Ingredients are Borax, washing soda and a grated bar of soap. It lasts a long, long time, is very cheap to make and all the components are environmentally friendly. The original ingredients cost about $10, and have lasted us nearly 11 months for laundry for a family of four.