How To Save Your Laundry (and your money)

Buying clothes can make a huge dent in your family budget. As it is, most of the time our children grow out of clothes so fast that you’re lucky if they wear an item more than once.

Here are some tips that will lengthen the life of your laundry.

If it’s not dirty, don’t wash it. Hang it up to air out and then put it away.

Spot treat ASAP so a stain will not set. (see also Laundry Stain Removers)

Sort, sort, sort. Darks, Mediums, Whites and Sheets/Towels. Avoid washing clothes with sheets/towels to eliminate lint. (PS: to maintain the absorbency of your towels, don’t use fabric softener every time you wash them – just every 3rd or 4th time)

Don’t dry it. Heat from the dryer will fade the color and wear out the fabric. Not to mention the shrinkage factor. Use a drying rack, hangers or an old fashioned clothes line.

Don’t use more detergent than recommended. Always use the correct amount of detergent according to directions — more is not better.

Turn dark clothes inside out and wash in the coolest water possible; dry on lowest heat.

Read the label! If it says dry-clean only, dry-clean it. If it says hand-wash, then hand-wash it. (PS: I’m not a big fan of the at home dry-cleaning kits. They don’t seem to do a good job and you have to be there right away to take items out of the dryer).

Include a few tennis balls in each dryer cycle. The tennis balls not only cut drying time by 25% – 50%, but also fluff the clothes and towels. This is especially helpful when drying a bed-spread or other large item – no wet spots!