Are you trying to work out how to save money right now? You’re so not alone. Most of us need to save money fast right now.
One easy way to save money every week – that you may well have missed – is to save money on laundry. Now, I bet your thinking it’s not worth the effort and there must be bigger ways to save money quickly.
But you know what?
We typically spend £4/$6 in total per laundry load on all the electricity for washing and drying and ironing plus all the crazy laundry products we buy. Even if we only do five loads of laundry a week – and lots of us do more – that adds up to £20/$30 a week and over a grand a year and there are some extra hidden costs in laundry that actually double it!!!
Who knew?!!
So if you need to save money fast try these must know tips on how to save lots of money on laundry whilst doing less housework AND helping the planet. How great is that?!!
Do check them out and for more simple tips on how to save money read my other tips on how to thrive frugally.
10 Money Saving Laundry Tips
1. Do Less Laundry
The single easiest way to save money on laundry AND help the planet whilst we’re at it is simply to do less laundry. Get the whole family to wear stuff twice – rather than dropping it randomly on the bedroom floor!! – so you can cut one load of laundry a week and you will save £200 / $300 a year.
How crazily easy is that??!!!
2. Use Quick Wash
We’re constantly told to save money on laundry by washing at cooler temperatures but I can’t believe anyone who suggests this actually does their family’s laundry!!!
Lots our laundry – e.g. sheets, towels and underwear – need to be washed hot to get rid of germs and stinky smells. So it’s better to save money by using a quicker hot wash rather than a standard cool wash.
By using the quick wash on your washing machine you can save at least 15p / 20c per load which adds up to £40 / $50 a year.
3. Air Dry Clothes
I’ve been air drying all our laundry for almost 10 years. It does mean I can’t have one long wash day but it’s very doable. And I say that as someone who does not have a laundry room – I wish!! – and lives in soggy London.
Air drying laundry is a big win for the environment and our purse as each dryer loads costs about 25p / 35c. If we’re doing 5 loads a week that’s £1.25 / $1.75 a week which is at least £65 / $85 a year saved.
Now I’m sure you’re thinking – OK screaming – “But I don’t have time to air dry clothes, you crazy lady!!”. That’s what I thought. But we do because when we air dry clothes we can quit ironing …
4. Quit Ironing
If you air dry clothes the right way you can get away without ironing most things ever again or – if you’re fussier than me – only now and again. My default position now is not-to-iron and I only get the iron out for very special occasions.
Two or three hours of ironing a week costs about 50p / 75c in electricity. So you can save over £25 a year but more importantly free up time when you could be earning money or doing something like growing veggies that actually saves you money.
That two or three hours saved could be worth at least £30 / $40 to you each week. And that over the year is another grand and a half saved.
So with just these first four frugal tips we can save a good £1,800 / $2,000 a year. And we can squeeze even more money out of laundry with these next six money savers.
5. Stop Dry Cleaning
If by any chance you are still dry cleaning then really don’t. The vast majority of clothes with dry clean labels on don’t need to be. They just need to be washed gently or hand washed.
I needed to launder smart, work clothes we were never going to wear during lock down so I could store them safely to prevent moths. They all said Dry Clean Only but were all perfectly fine washed gently and air dried.
If you have got a dry cleaning habit quitting it is a big saving.
6. Use Laundry Nuts
Most of us use at least 10 to 15 litres of laundry liquid a year doing over 250 loads of laundry. That can easily add up to £75 / $100 a year and often more. You can buy a bag of laundry nuts that will be good for the whole year for under $15. So that’s another $85 saved.
And even if you’re not ready to go the whole hog and use laundry nuts for every wash you could go half and half which would still save $40.
7. Ditch Fabric Softener
We’ve come to think they’re essential but most fabric softeners are an environmental disaster. Fabric softener also builds up horribly in washing machines making them stink AND builds up on our clothes making it harder and harder to get them soft without using more products that cost us more money and make the problem worse. Pretty crazy, huh?
If you’re paying £1.25 / $1.50 a bottle you can easily save £15 / $20 a year. Doesn’t sound so much but all these simple tiny changes do add up.
8. DIY Stain Removers
Stain removers can easily cost £5 a pop. And of course you have to have a whole bunch of different ones because stains really do work differently. So before you know it you’ve got 5 or 6 of them of under your sink. And some more. Because they never seem to work. But maybe that fancy new one will so you buy that …
And before you know it you’re spending £30 – and some! – each year on stain removers that don’t work. When you can actually shift ALL laundry stains – I promise you – with a few general natural cleaners.
(BTW I’m writing a whole series on natural stain removers – starting with those pesky grass stains – so do follow me on Pinterest to see the rest.)
9. Reusable Dryer Sheets
If you really can’t give up on your dryer – or at least not totally – then at least don’t chuck money away on disposable dryer sheets. You can easily make your own dryer sheets or use this clever hack from Creek Line House.
Again, it seems like a tiny saving each week, but you know what?
It’s actually a massive change because it starts to change our whole mindset about household shopping. We spend so much every week on things that we use once and chuck. We really are throwing our money away.
10. Quit Buying Crazy Extras You Never Ever Use
So my final tip is to declutter your laundry room or under your kitchen sink or wherever it is you keep laundry stuff. Spot all that stuff you never, ever use and before you get rid of it, clock just how much money you’ve spent on unused, unfinished, not-worth-the-faff, never-worked stuff.
It could be anything from starch sprays and colour catchers to scent boosters and whiteners. Plus iron cleaner sticks and descaler and ironing board arms and clothes steamers and trouser presses and all the other whatnots of laundry paraphernalia.
We all pay good money, week in, week out for all sorts of clutter we don’t need and never use. Breaking that habit and enjoying life clutter free is in the end, the best way to save our money, especially when things are so tight.
I really hope these tips help you save money fast. For more simple ways to cut your spend quickly – and help the planet whilst you’re at it – do check out these other suggestions:
- 101 Things To Stop Buying
- 30 Products That Save Money
- 10 Reusable Products That Save Money
- 50 Extremely Frugal Food Tips
Photo: Laundry Basket with Clothes on a White Background by Marco Verch under Creative Commons 2.0
