Frugal Laundry

Laundry.  Whether you love it or hate it, it has to be done (well, unless you want to be stinky and stained).  I have three tips for you to save money on your laundry (and to be a bit more gentle on the earth, too):  

Aluminum Foil Dryer Balls

Vinegar as Fabric Softener

Make-Your-Own Landry Powder

Aluminum Foil Dryer Balls

If you're like me, you hate unitask, use-it-and-throw-it items.  Dryer sheets are the perfect example.  You use them once and toss them.  And.....what?  They sit in a landfill.  Swell.  There goes your money and our resources.  But you've got no static cling! *Sarcastic smirk*  

A simple and economical solution is to use a ball of aluminum foil.  Seriously.  I've tried it for a couple weeks now and I can attest that it works.  My laundry has no static cling!  And if my cats are lucky enough, I drop one of the aluminum foil balls while walking from the dryer to the kitchen table and they get to play with it!  Kitty heaven.  

Vinegar as Fabric Softener

Use one cup of cheapo white vinegar for each load of laundry.  It will brighten your whites and colors, help to remove stains, and will soften  your clothes.  Your clothes will not smell like pickles after you dry them, I promise!  They will just be clean and soft.  

My washing machine has a compartment for fabric softener, and that's where I add my vinegar.  If yours doesn't, then add your cup of vinegar during the rinse cycle.

Our laundry detergent (re-purposed container, of course).  Isn't it cute?

I liked the label that I made so much that I thought I'd present it to you in all  it's glory :)

Make-Your-Own Laundry Powder

If this laundry detergent works for us, it will work for you.  I've got a husband, a toddler, a dog and three cats, and it's held up to everything that I've thrown at it so far--even dried blood.  When the washer is running, the whole apartment smells clean.  When the clothes are dry, there's not a whole lot of scent left, but your clothes are undeniably clean and fresh. 

There are many recipes out there, but I like this one because it happened to use only ingredients that I had on hand.  I didn't see the point of going out and buying new things in order to save money.   

To make your own:

• One cup Washing Powder 
• One cup Borax
• One bar soap, grated (I used Fels-Naptha for the batch that I'm currently on, but I plan on using whatever I can find underneath my sink when I make my next batch.  I have been called a soap hoarder before, and that's not untrue).

Combine all ingredients either by hand or in a food processor.  Use 2 tablespoons (or 1/8 cup) per load.  Use a bit more if you're dealing with super grimy stuff.  I prefer to get the water started in the empty washer, pour in the detergent, let it start dissolving, and then put in the clothes.  Just my preference, there's no real reason to it, but I swear it works better.  

Here's what your finished product should look like.

As I said earlier, I hate uni-taskers.  I use the aluminum foil for all sorts of things in the house, so to pull off a bunch and make a ball for the dryer once in awhile costs hardly anything.  Ditto for the vinegar.  Regarding the laundry powder, I use both the Borax and the Washing Powder for cleaning the bathroom and for various deep-cleaning jobs around the house (hello diaper pail)!  It gives me a nerdy little thrill to know that I can clean my whole apartment with only a few cleaning agents--and for pretty cheap, too!