If you’re still doing your laundry the way they taught you to in your middle school home economics class, chances are you could use a refresher.
When you’re single and living by yourself, your laundry costs are already probably decently low. The Folde estimates that if you only do one load per week, your yearly costs for laundry will clock in at around $66 per year. But if you have a large family, it could cost you over $500 per year just to wash your clothes!
How to Save Money on Laundry
Believe it or not, there are more frugal ways to do your laundry, and they can even extend the life of your favorite articles of clothing.
Here are 10 of the most impactful tips to save money doing laundry…
1. Wash your clothes less often
At the risk of our readers thinking we’re stinky, we’re here to tell you that you’re probably washing your clothes too much. This can lead to unnecessary wear on your favorite jeans, and wasting water and electricity.
Instead, only wash your clothes when they’re actually dirty. If you’ve only worn an article of clothing for a few hours, you can probably wear it again before washing it (unless you were sweaty or doing a messy activity).
Things like towels can be used a few times before washing if you hang them up after use. And items like jeans and sweaters can typically be worn many times as well. When in doubt, give it the old smell test!
2. You need less detergent than you think
For years, I would fill the entire cap of the detergent bottle with soap to do even a small load of laundry. The truth is that it just isn’t necessary, and it’s wasteful!
Using too much detergent can also negatively affect the quality of your clothes. Soap residue can get trapped in the fabric and turn your soft clothing scratchy or “crunchy.” According to the New York Times, the perfect amount of detergent to use is 2 tablespoons at most.
Plus, laundry detergent can be expensive, costing about $10-15 for around 60 loads. If you have a big family, that could last you less than a month! So be sure to stretch that purchase by using less laundry detergent in each load. Your clothes and your wallet will thank you.
3. Wash with cold water
This is one of the easiest ways to lower your electric bill and save you money doing laundry. It takes virtually no effort and can save you up to $60 each year!
When doing laundry, 75% of the electricity used can be attributed to heating the water used to wash your clothes.
Using the coldest setting on your washer will use less than half the amount of energy it takes to wash your clothes in hot water. This can easily translate to hefty savings on your electric bill.
Best of all, washing with cold water can make your clothes last longer. Garments will retain their size, shape and color better without the unnecessary heat. You’ll spend less money because you won’t need to replace your clothing as often.
4. Line dry your clothes when possible
I’ve lost many good pairs of jeans to the dryer…
Each time you use the dryer, it could be costing you up to 45 cents! Again, that might not seem like a lot if you’re only running the dryer once a week. But if you’re running multiple loads each week it can really add up!
Probably the biggest cost of dryers though is the heavy toll they take on your clothes. Dryers can cause microscopic wear and tear with each cycle that can eventually add up to visible damage. All this leads to buying more clothes, more often.
Line drying your clothes not only slashes the amount of energy it takes to complete a load of laundry, it will also prevent your clothes from warping and shrinking in the dryer. Pick up a small compactable clothes rack. Even if you aren’t able to line dry everything, I highly recommend doing so for your favorite items to keep them looking new for longer!
5. Use wool dryer balls
We get it. If you live in an apartment, you might not want to turn your home into a clothesline obstacle course.
If line drying your clothing just isn’t practical for you, try using wool dryer balls. They help to cut your drying time by helping to separate your clothes while they’re spinning in the dryer. Best of all, they only cost a few dollars (under $10 at most stores)!
6. Only do full loads when possible
It might be tempting to toss in a smaller load of laundry when you have some extra free time, but if you want to save on electricity, it’s best to wait until you have a full load.
Your washer and dryer use basically the same amount of energy per load, so you might as well take advantage of that and do as much laundry as you can per cycle.
Just make sure not to overfill the washer, saturating it with clothing, as this can permanently damage it!
7. Use “off-peak” energy times
This is an one of the ultimate frugal hacks… Many utility providers offer “time of day” programs, where you can get a discount on electricity and water for using it at off peak times. Typically, if you can do things like run your dishwasher and laundry overnight, you can save big time on utilities.
Be sure to call and ask your utilities provider if this is something they offer. Find out the peak energy times, and do your laundry outside of those times! Anyone can save money on laundry this way, without even changing their existing habits!
8. Use a shorter wash cycle
If your clothes aren’t that dirty, you probably don’t need to wash them for a full hour (many washers run for much longer). For lighter loads, consider using the “speed wash” or “quick load” settings. This is also a great way to cut back on the time spent doing laundry, especially when paired with air drying your clothes!
9. Take advantage of a warm dryer
Even though it can sometimes feel like laundry is taking over your entire day, it’s a good idea to do multiple loads back to back. That’s because you can save on energy when you take advantage of a dryer that’s already warmed up!
10. Consider purchasing a more efficient washer and dryer
While this might not save you money right off the bat, if your washer and dryer are on their way out, consider purchasing ENERGY STAR-certified appliances to replace your old ones.
ENERGY STAR appliances are estimated to save you about $550 over the life of the product, which certainly isn’t chump change. Plus, you can even score rebates for some of the models!
The Bottom Line:
I think it’s pretty safe to say that most people don’t love washing and folding clothes. While these tips may not save you a life-changing amount of money doing laundry, it’s all about spending less money on the things we don’t like → so that we have more to spend on what we love!
Bottom line is, try taking a more mindful approach to this household chore! You’ll save money in the long term and be able to enjoy your favorite outfits for years to come.
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