Low Waste Laundry

First let me say that I can’t take much credit for our household laundry. My husband has been doing our laundry for the last 10 years, and I like to remind him that he saves my sanity every day and I’m forever grateful for his modern approach to husbanding. I just handle operations and distribution.

Keeping our laundry on the low:

We inspect and sort. If it looks and smells clean it doesn’t go in the hamper and we give it another wear or two. The exception is underwear and socks.

We wash with cold water. The “clean” is the same.This saves energy because our hot water is natural gas powered, so that also saves some money. We wash on hot if we are stripping laundry (have you ever stripped laundry? It is amaaaaazing for getting dinginess out) or if we’re sanitizing.

We use the quick cycle. I love a simple, older machine for this. They also allow for soaking much easier if you need to add that your wash.

We use the small load option. Or at least the minimal amount of water we can. Again, a vote for the older, simpler machines.

We use natural, unscented detergents. I can no longer handle the smell of Tide or fabric softeners. They last FOR EV ER which is not a good thing if you want to avoid the toxins in synthetic fragrances. I’ll sometimes add drops of essential oils to unscented detergent. I prefer to use a brand I can refill locally (ECOS is one) otherwise I would choose a powder in a cardboard box I can recycle. Check EWG’s app for the health ratings to help you choose!

We use dryer balls. I can’t believe I used fabric sheets for all those years. They’re fragranced sheets of plastic. Who is still worried about static cling? I’ll spritz the dryer balls with essential oils or straight into the dryer to give it a little yumminess.

We line dry. I love line drying, especially when it’s sunny and hot. Things dry so fast and it feels so lovely and old fashioned. If towels are crunchy I’ll spritz with water and give them a 5 minute toss in the dryer.