How to Save Money in the Laundry Room | 5 Penny-Pinching Tips

Stretch your dollars with these money saving tips for your laundry.

Make Your Own Laundry Soap

Have you seen the prices of laundry detergents lately? They are just sky-rocketing! I started making my own laundry soap back around 2006. It is easy to do, and a batch will last a good, long while. And here’s the kicker – for less than what you would spend on one package of laundry detergent, you could make multiple batches of homemade soap. Find out how to make your own here: Homemade Laundry Soap

Ditch the Fabric Softener & Dryer Sheets

Along with getting rid of the pre-made laundry detergents, I also stopped buying fabric softeners or dryer sheets. In case you didn’t know, these products can actually cause a build-up in your dryer, making it less efficient.

So what do I use instead?

Vinegar.

Fill your fabric softener dispenser with white or apple cider vinegar, which ever you prefer. Not only will the vinegar help the clothes to rinse cleaner, but once they dry, there is no odor at all. I found that once I started using the vinegar, I strangely had almost no static in my clothing either.

A gallon jug of vinegar is way cheaper that the little bottle of fabric softener you might buy. Not to mention, vinegar is chemical free.

Only Wash Full Loads

Don’t run the washer & dryer for a tiny load of laundry. Wait until you have a full load to do the wash. It’s simple. The less often you run the machine, the less you will pay on electric or water bills.

Wash in Cold Water

I pretty much always wash my laundry in cold water. All of the laundry. It doesn’t matter what it is, what fabric, colors or whites. These aren’t the days of boiling the laundry because we have no soaps. Laundry soap – even homemade laundry soap does a great job. Save on that hot water and just use cold.

Use a Clothes Line

Folks, I have to tell you, this is probably the biggest money saver of them all. Even bigger than making your own laundry soap. Back in the late 90’s when I had little kids, I did an experiment. I installed a clothes line in the back yard and started drying all of the laundry, exclusively on the clothes line. Then I compared my electric bill to with and without dryer use. You know what I found? I was saving $30 per month with a clothes line. That’s an average of $360 per year!

So what if you don’t have a yard, or the space for a clothes line? Get a space-saving laundry rack. I have one just like this.

 

I got it in Germany, used. I have had it over 2 decades and it is still going strong. In Germany, you will often see these set up on balconies or patios, as the Germans enjoy drying their laundry outdoors.

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Have any money saving tips for the laundry? Share in the comments below!