How To Save Money On Laundry Costs

Women are always talking to me about the ongoing expense of buying clothes, but no-one ever really mentions the cost of maintaining them. The water, the detergents, the drying, the dry-cleaning… it all adds up. Here are a few hot tips to keep your laundry bill down (so you can afford to buy more clothes, of course!).

 

Wear Less

I know what you’re thinking but I’m not suggesting nudity here, people (what dirty minds you all have)! What I’m getting at is a little bit of wardrobe repetition. Do you really need to wash that jacket after only one wear or can you get another wear out of it before the week is up? If you wear only a few garments more than once, you can literally save yourself a whole load of laundry.

Dry Cleaner Sheets

Oh my goodness, do I love this brilliant invention. I used to spend over $50 a week getting my suits and shirts dry cleane, especially if I spilled something which, being my oafish self, I did on a regular basis (think every day…). Then I discovered Dry Cleaner’s Secret by Ozkleen (http://www.ozkleen.com.au/products/dcs.php).

I know I’m starting to sound like an infomercial but they are seriously awesome. With these little dry-cleaner liquid infused wipes you can dab stains out of silk and give suits that fresh, clean smell in the tumble dryer in 20 minutes. At $12.95 for a pack of 3, that’s less than $4 for a whole dryer full of dry cleaning, that’s a saving of $46 a week!

Things are Getting Steamy

If you’ve got dry-clean only clothes that don’t actually have any marks on them and are just smelling a bit musty, hang them in your bathroom when you have a shower, turn off the air-extractor fan and let the steam air them out. As an added bonus, most of the creases will drop out too and your clothes are ready for you when you step out of the shower. Genius!

Hanging Tough

When it comes to saving money, the little bits all add up. Hanging your laundry out to dry is obviously cheaper than putting it in the dryer but you can save yourself the power (and time) of ironing too if you hang cleverly.

I have about 10 wire hangers in the laundry and when the washing goes outside, so do they. By hanging business shirts on the hanger, instead of the line, the creases naturally drop out and the shirts don’t need ironing, they can just be worn! I do the same thing with all my dresses and jackets. Trousers can be folded down the centre crease and hung on the clotheshorse as though they were going into the wardrobe and by only placing pegs in inconspicuous spots like the armpits in tops, you won’t have to spend hours with the iron on, trying wrestle out peg marks. And no-one wants to wrestle their clothes.