Radical laundry reduction

purpleivy

blue-kat wrote: »

I've tried to seriously cut back on laundry not jsut because of cost, but also the physical effort.

we got some plastic over trousers for 50p at a charity shop for my son to wear for dog walking - it's cut down massively on washing mud encrusted joggers !
the plastic trs can wiped down, or rinsed in the WM.

any ideas where to get more plastic over garments? I'd like to treat husband to a matching pair

I change into old pair of trousers for muddy trips, and change out of them when I get home, and put them aside to use for rest of week, or as long as poss.

the car interior is messed up through

wear an apron whenever cooking, it really does save on messing clothes with splatters, especially ruinious bleach splashes.

also use a tea towel as napkins for family meals, saves spoiling a clean-enough top with greasy stain. Better to have to wash and dry an extra tea towel than a heavy hoodie.

I ALWAYs wear an apron when cooking or doing other household chores. I started when I was pregnant and the bump attracted dirt and I had limited wardrobe.

whosforachat

pigpen wrote: »

.. if you wear it on your bum.. it is dirty after one wearing..

Surely this is only true if you have no buttocks, or if you don't wipe your bum.

Desperate_Housewife_2-2

I read a good tip in Amy Daczyn's book 'Tightwad gazette' to use cloth napkins and each person to hang them at the back of their chair at the end of mealtimes (depending on level of mankiness presumably!) to be reused at the next mealtime. This cuts down on washing and also the expense of buying disposable ones.

churchmouse_3

I normally manage to keep to 1x whites
1x coloureds
1x towels, bathmats weekly and use the line to dry whenever posssible, but i hate it when my in-laws stay and after each shower they take out a clean bath towel instead of hanging up to dry and re-using . One weekend i had 6 large towels to wash !!!!!! Damp ones are often thrown onto the bed.. making the bedding wet...... i thought teenagers were a pain ..lol

jjef

This thread is really interesting and has got me thinking about what I wash and how often.I normally have the machine on once a day and tend to rotate colours ie dark monday, white tuesday & ev else wed. Additional loads when bedding is changed weekly and towels are done weekly in this house. Kids and us have clean undies, vests and socks daily and PJ's get changed every four days.I have been thinking for a while that I should cut back on the amount of powder which I use so will make that the aim from now to reduce and add in a little soda, no harm in trying to see if it does actually make any difference.

pigpen

whosforachat wrote: »

Surely this is only true if you have no buttocks, or if you don't wipe your bum.

no.. the same reasons you put clean knickers on each day.. it isn't all from your bum is it.. *icky*

mama67

HelenKA wrote: »

You get the net bags in Lakeland. You can get them elsewhere but I've had several cheapie ones and the lakeland ones I've only just replaced......after 13 years!

Check out www.lidl.co.uk they have the laundry nest on special from thurs 28 feb

helsmadhouse

jjef wrote: »

This thread is really interesting and has got me thinking about what I wash and how often.I normally have the machine on once a day and tend to rotate colours ie dark monday, white tuesday & ev else wed. Additional loads when bedding is changed weekly and towels are done weekly in this house. Kids and us have clean undies, vests and socks daily and PJ's get changed every four days.I have been thinking for a while that I should cut back on the amount of powder which I use so will make that the aim from now to reduce and add in a little soda, no harm in trying to see if it does actually make any difference.

I worked in a reasearch laboratory testing washing powders, we actually used soda crystals to make the water soft to do our experiments. If you only use the amount needed for soft water and add 1/2 cup soda to the drawer (more for bigger machines) you will drastically reduce the amount of washing powder. It also should be more effecient as washing powders are not as effecient in harder water. I've also found that using a scoop of borax in the wash is a cheap natural stain remover. Before washing, I squirt stains with liquid soda crystals, then sprinkle borax on before shoving in wash. Removes grass stains, mud, grease, tomato, blackcurrant - brilliant stuff! If you have stains on white clothes sprinkle with ecover laundry bleach instead of borax. Cheap stain removers, kind to skin and cheap :j

morg_monster

my god i feel quite minging now! live in a 1bed flat with OH and we probably only do 2 or 3 loads a week... bedlinen in an ideal world would be washed every fortnight but in reality its usually longer... towels for a week then they sit in a pile on the floor til they're all used and fill up the machine. OH wears that day's undies in bed and I wear a nightie which gets worn for a week. OH has a clean work shirt every morning but I think doesn't get his suits drycleaned nearly enough (only before weddings or funerals!!)... I wear jeans etc at work but they don't get washed very often, and I often wear tops for a couple of (non-consecutive) days before washing - I hang them up to air and if they don't smell they get worn again. Tea towels - oh my, well maybe 2 a week and they again pile up for a while before being washed! But then we don't need them much cos we only do the washing up twice a week too usually!!! ooh aren't we terrible.

Oh well while its just the two of us (and in a rental flat) I don't think it matters ... as long as we do a big tidy when the parents come over!... I think when we have our own place, with a washing line and more room to dry clothes, we'll be much more clean and houseproud!

whosforachat

pigpen wrote: »

no.. the same reasons you put clean knickers on each day.. it isn't all from your bum is it.. *icky*

The smelliest part of me is my feet; my rule should be that if it has been within 2 metres of my feet, change it every day!