Say Goodbye to Your Dryer

SimpleLiving Topics

BACK TO BASIC COOKING
Strawberry Buns & Spreads

GREEN MONEY SAVERS
Say Hello to Spring and Goodbye to the Dryer!

ENVIRONMENTAL CLEANERS FOR THE HOME They are cost effective and safe the planet!

Debbie’s Bio

I have many roles but my favourites are being a mom to my incredible two year old son, an aunt to my wonderful nephews and a wife to an awesome husband who encourages me everyday. I love being at home with my son and to be able to watch and participate in many of his life journeys. I enjoy taking long walks in forested areas and grabbing a free minutes to write in my journal. I am a woman that dives into many new adventures. I love to sing and dance but many walk out the door with my singing performances.

As well, I love to participate in activities that energize the mind, body and spirit. My desire to write simple living articles was the lack of information on natural homemade products. I did a great deal of searching and experimenting before I felt confident to write about alternatives to commercial products in the home. This search has been great and continues to feed my mind with wonderful ideas to decrease commercial products in the home and increase products made from nature and the heart.

Green Money Savers

Say Goodbye to Your Dryer

Every week, my family has about 4 loads of laundry to do. When nicer weather is on the way, I bring the washed laundry to the outside clothesline to let the warmth of the sun’s ray dry our clothes. The sun is invaluable to saving us much money if we harvest it. Drying your clothes on the line is natural and simple. It takes a little more time to put the clothes on the dryer line then tossing it into the dryer. But that extra time saves you money, and you are making a difference to preserving the environment. Solar energy is free and will be available until the end of time.

Great tips to keep your dryer turned off.

Set up a permanent or collapsible clothesline in your backyard or on your balcony. You can purchase an inexpensive camping clothesline that will do the trick. They are lightweight, compact and are easily set up. There are many clothesline products on the market.

Purchase durable clothespins that will last for many years. I prefer the old fashion clothespins because there is no wire that may rust and harm your clothes.

Use ¼ cup to ½ cup of vinegar in the rinse cycle for your fabric softener. Your clothes will not smell like vinegar and there is no static electricity.

For items that wrinkle, tumble-dry the articles in the dryer for 5-10 minutes to erase the wrinkles. Let the damp articles dry naturally on the line. There will be fewer items to iron.

Time is important, you do not want to do the laundry every weekend. Wash the clothes just before you retire at night. In the morning place the wet garments on the line to dry when you are at work. In the evening bring the laundry in and fold and put away. You are saving on the energy costs for the dryer and in most places the water costs for the washing machine. It is usually cheaper to use water at off times.

The smell of sunshine on clothes is wonderful. You bring spring to the clothes.

Dry your clothes year round on an indoor drying rack.

I have a few more great tips to save you money in the laundry room.

If you use fabric sheets cut them in half. Use a half a sheet for each load, very effective. Saving—A box of fabric sheets for half price.

Use vinegar as your fabric softener. Saving—pennies a load.

Use less detergent than required. More is not always better.

Laundry Detergent: Grate a bar of ivory soap. Place in a pot and cover the soap shavings. Heat at a medium-low heat until the soap has liquefied. Stir the liquid soap into a large bucket of hot water. Mix well. Stir in 1 cup of washing soda (found in the laundry section) and mix well. Let the mixture cool before using. Use 1-2 cups per load, it depends on your water type and how dirty the clothes are. For added stain boosting power, mix in 1/4-1/2 cup of borax (found in the laundry section).

Clean most of your clothes in cold water. Experiment with cold water.

Turn down the water heater.

Invest in a non-electric washing machine. (Wonderwash : http://www.laundry-alternative.com ) Saves you money on water, energy and detergent.

Say goodbye to bleach and clean those whites with the sun. You will have whiter clothes by drying them with the sun energy. Another solution, soak your whites in a diluted vinegar bath. (2 parts water: 1 part vinegar)

Ironing: Take the iron cover off the ironing board. Place foil, shiny side up onto the foam board. Replace the ironing board cover. This should reduce your ironing time in half.

Be smart and reduce waste in the laundry room. April 19^th is National Hanging Out Day (info@laundrylist.org). A day to hang out your wash and to say yes to conserving energy and protecting the environment from future energy plants.