Economizing Tips – Laundry

Dear TEAMS,

Here is the fourth installment of practical tips that will help you economize financially by saving you money, mentally (by saving you stress and time), physically (by improving the quality of your life), and/or spiritually (because it will help you with other more important disciplines).

To see the story that inspired this series (Peeing on Your Toothpaste), go here.

1. For an article of clothing that gets an odor (musty from storage, perspiration, etc.) that doesn’t come out when laundered, soak it in about 1 gallon of water with ½ C. baking soda dissolved in it for up to 24 hours.  Then, add ½-1 C. vinegar and let sit another 24 hours.  Make sure you 1) have it in a large container, and 2) let the kids add the vinegar when it’s time and watch it.  If you want, hold an empty jar upside-down over the reaction, close but not touching the liquid, and then “pour” the “air” over a candle and watch the flame go out.
2. If a grease-based product is set into clothes when getting them out of the dryer (or if the lip balm got washed and dried with the load of laundry), put dish soap on the spots and let sit overnight.  Work them into the spot in the morning, and run hot tap water through the spot by placing it right under the spigot with the material stretched out.
3. For a white/colorfast item of clothing that has a small spot on it, dip a cotton swab in pure bleach and dab.  As soon as the spot fades, rinse the spot thoroughly with plenty of running water until the fabric no longer smells like bleach.
4. For spots non-colorfast items, a highly diluted bleach batch will fade the item, but also blend in the stain or spot.  If the item will still look okay with the altered color, then it’s better than throwing the item out.
5. For tiny bleach spots on colored items, buy a fine tipped permanent marker and dot the spots to color it in.  Make the spot darker if necessary, to better blend it in.  (Dark spots on dark are less eye catching than light spots on dark.)
6. You don’t need all the laundry detergent called for by the manufacturer.  Usually, there is enough residual detergent after many loads that the water will still foam up if you forget the detergent.  I use half the amount prescribed.
7. Use vinegar instead of fabric softener—works just as well, unless you are addicted to the smell of the bought product, which your sister, E, is!

In that I’ve noticed my readership has gone up, I am opening comments for other people to contribute helpful hints they’ve adopted.  Please let these comments be related to Laundry Tips.  There are previous posts concerning Overall Concepts, General Household, or Kitchen (click any one of those words to be taken to that posting to leave comments about that specific area there).

Love,