One of the ways to save money that I find is simple is to line dry my clothes. I live in an apartment without a balcony so I bought a folding drying rack.
I simply put the clothes in the washer and then when they are done I hand them on the drying rack in the second bedroom. The windows are open during the day so fresh air and sunlight come pouring in. The clothes dry in a few hours and I save money from not using the drier.
It is especially great now because now that I am home for most days during the summer I can do laundry in the morning and the clothes are dry by afternoon. I really wish I could dry the clothes in the sun so they get that wonderful sun dried scent but that will have to wait until I have a house.
I am going to continue hanging my clothes out to take full advantage of this super hot weather because it will be too cold and damp to do that once winter comes around.
Good tip but I’ve always wondered how you avoid having hard, crunchy clothes after they come off the line. We couldn’t take advantage of that as our subdivision is one that prohibits clotheslines, but I’ve always thought this was a good tip. I remember my grandma always line drying things like towels and sheets, so it brings back good memories!
At first the clothes were a bit crunchy but I found two things that really helped. I used to use powdered laundry detergent and then when I started adding ammonia to the wash, the clothes were no longer crunchy after being hung.
The other thing that helped with the softness is using those Purex 3-in-1 sheets instead of powdered detergent. It has a strip of fabric softener that is supposed to work when you throw the clothes in the drier….but it always seems to disappear in the wash, even when I use cold water. So using the sheet instead of powder makes my clothes dry softer after being hung.
I line dry a lot of my clothes. Especially my jeans because I don’t want to ruin them by drying it. However, I hate the feeling of the line dried cotton tshirts. It’s just crinkly and I can’t even put it on because it looks so itchy! It looks like I’m not the only one with that problem. I’ll try those Purex sheets next time.
Another way to save money while doing laundry is using only cold water. That way you save energy that would be spent heating water.
That is so simple but very smart. My grandmother used to hang her clothes out. Great tip thank you.
I air dry on a laundry drying rack year round. If you are running a furnace in the winter you may actually need the added moisture in your home. Wet laundry is a great humidifier on those cold days. Especially if you can get your rack near your vents so the warm dry air goes through the clothes before circulating through the rest of the house.
This is a great way to save money by air drying them. Especially if its hot outside, it saves good money and they get dried just as quick but I love the feeling of cloth coming out of the dryer especially with softeners.
Thanks for the tips on preventing the crunchiness. I was about to ask that question myself as I too line dry clothes and just lived with the crunchiness as I didn’t think there was any way around it.
As a kid, mom used to line dry our clothes all the time during the Spring and Summer. She told us it was too expensive (and hot) to run the dryer. I love the fresh smell of line-dryed clothes. As an adult, I would love to put my clothes on the line, but living on a dirt road would mean I would have to re-wash them Oh well…
Very nice tips for saving money. I line dry some of my expensive clothes so that they last for long.