By Cherie Lowe
I hate doing the laundry.
Sometimes confession is the very best thing for the soul, right? No matter how “fun” I try to make it for myself, it’s probably my least liked household chore.
Ooooh, I’ll listen to an audiobook while I fold the last three loads I’ve been avoiding on the couch.
This laundry will be much easier to bear if I binge Netflix while I’m taking care of business.
I could talk on the phone with a friend and make this task disappear in minutes.
Look, I’m not trying to whine. I know I’ve got it pretty easy. I have indoor plumbing. I don’t have to beat my towels and sheets on a rock in the middle of the river. I buy permanent press items so I don’t have to iron.
But still, laundry? Ugh. Maybe it’s the repetitive nature of the task or perhaps it’s the fact that I know within a day’s time everything I’ve accomplished will amount to yet another pile of clothes to wash.
Changing my attitude will go a long way to make the laundry blues go away. But there are a few simple life hacks that can reduce the workload and the amount of money we spend on laundry. I may never learn to love it but I don’t have to overspend when it comes to getting the job done.
Lighten the load
Probably one of my weakest areas in the laundry game comes from the tendency to wait until almost everything is dirty before I begin the task. A few years ago, I was struggling with the same pattern of behavior when it came to doing the dishes. To curtail my poor choices, I ended up giving away over half my dishes. It forced my hand and required me to keep up with the task regularly instead of putting off the inevitable.
More than likely, your family is a bit like ours. You own too many clothes. Owning fewer clothing items will mean you have to regularly wash the ones you do have. However, you won’t fall into my trap of Mt. St. Laundry Overload. You don’t have to touch every item and see if it brings you joy or not, but it might be a good idea as you fold laundry to remove two or three worn out or ill-fitting items from your inventory.
Make your own detergent
For years, we were a brand name loyal family. We only purchased one type of detergent, no matter the cost. But then, the fragrance changed and our very sensitive snouts were sent sneezing. So rather than scout out new brands, I decided to begin making our own much more mild detergent at home. You can do it, too.
The basic recipe is 1 cup of Borax, 1 cup of washing soda, and ½ cup of an oxy cleaner (generic is totally fine). Then, you only need one tablespoon of the powdered mix per load of laundry. You can use the mixture in high-efficiency machines, but it works more effectively if you put it in directly with clothes instead of in the detergent dispenser.
We also use white vinegar in lieu of fabric softener. Making the switch keeps our skin and noses happy while also yielding a significant savings in our household spending budget.
Buy scratch and dent or gently used appliances
We’ve purchased both a washing machine and dryer used in the past five years. We spent a fraction of the amount of retail cost and have been well pleased with both units. The store even took care of installation and haul off of the old machine. We were able to afford a much larger machine for far fewer dollars using this strategy.
Wash full loads with cold water
When you can, washing full loads with cold water will help keep your utility costs down. I’m always going to wash towels and gym clothes with hot water. Dr. Oz ruined me for life once when I saw the germs that hang around on clothes. However, for other laundry, we keep it cool.
Greenwood resident Cherie Lowe and her husband paid off $127,000 in debt in four years and now live debt-free every day with their two kids. She is the author of “Slaying the Debt Dragon: How One Family Conquered Their Money Monster and Found an Inspired Happily Ever After.” Send questions, column ideas and comments to [email protected].
