Frugal Challenge Room By Room - Saving Money in the Laundry Room

Thought I would start off this series with a room I spend a great deal of time in. With four kids, dogs and a husband that works out doors, I have to do laundry every day of the week except Sunday and at least two to three loads a day. That is sheets, clothes, dog beds. You get my drift.

So here is how I try to save money in the laundry room. I literally am going to do a detailed list of all efforts to save in this room.

1. The light:
  -Changed the ceiling fixture to a flouresent bulb years ago. It is still going strong and costs very little to run.

2. The washer:
    - Run the washer only full. This is easy for us.
   -  I have also turned down the number of minutes recently. How few can I use to get a load of laundry clean? Instead of running it 12 minutes I am now running it 10. Clothes seem fine.This may seem like nothing but two minutes times four loads is eight minutes a day times six days a so 48 less minutes the washer is churning a week. That has to save some electricity.
   - Can you get a load clean on cold water instead of warm? Our water does not get that cold in winter so I have turned up the cold tap on the warm cycle as well. If your homemade detergent does not dissolve then you can put it in a cup of hot water for a few minutes before you pour it in the washer. This has happened to me and this is what I do.
   -I do not use fabric softener so no money spent there.

3. The Dryer:
    -Keep your buzzer on. If yours is like mine it will buzz when the dryer is done and then keep going for a few more minutes. I try to get the clothes out on the first buzz.
  - Put the next load in while the dryer is warm still. This will save money on the dryer heating up again.
  -Clean the lint trap every single load.
  -I rarely use dryer sheets but if I do need one I tear them in half. Works fine and you get twice as many dryer sheets.
  -Of course you could hang your clothes. I do have a small line out back but I do use my dryer. I just don't want to spend the time with all the loads I do hanging it out. We have a gas dryer and our gas bill is very low so this is an area I feel is worth the use of the dryer.

I make my own laundry soap and stain remover. Recipes for homemade laundry detergent and stain remover
are here and here. I will buy laundry soap if I find a really great deal. Have not bought stain remover in over a year since I started making my own. You can see the post where I buy my supplies cheaply here.

Frugal Challenge - Room By Room and my Faves from the .99 Cents Store

I have been doing some inventory in our house examining where we can save in each room as part of my frugal challenge. Making my own cleaners is one way and what to buy at the dollar stores to save money making homemade cleaners. We have had brief meetings at the kitchen table reminding the kids of ways to save around the house. So I thought I would take my money saving challenge around the house and share with you so I will be doing my Frugal Challenge Room by Room.

It will challenge me to see where I can save in greater detail in each and every room.

Also wanted to share what I think are good buys at the .99 Store. Basic cleaning supplies are a good buy there and since I am committing to making as many of my own cleaners cheaply, I stocked up.

Today, I took a few bucks and bought some things I use for basic cleaners. I bought ammonia, cleanser, scouring pads, bleach (you can't find it for .99 anywhere else around here) and some dish soap.

The ammonia and dish soap go to make my homemade laundry stain remover. It will easily last the year.

The Zote which I grate for my home made laundry soap, is .59 a piece at the .99 Store. Better price than any where else. I now use Zote to make a great all purpose cleaner and also an all purpose bleach cleaner. So cheap to make my own and costs just pennies.

I also buy rubbing alcohol that I mix with water to use as my all purpose spray cleaner. It is the best glass cleaner ever and I use it on counters as well. The recipe is here. You will see other items I use like vinegar and baking soda. Check out all of our Frugal Tips on our Frugal living page.

Laundry Tips And Stain Remover Guide

Here is a host laundry tips and a laundry stain remover guide. My mom was the laundry queen. She could get anything out of clothes. She kept our clothes clean and pressed so nicely. She had no dryer and had to iron weekly. She even ironed my dad's old work shirts. Below you will find a laundry stain guide to get out any kind of stain.

I try to take care of our clothes in hopes they will last longer. I check for stains before they go in the washer.

Here are some tips on what I use to keep my kids and my lineman's clothes clean. Oh and me, a messy cook and gardener.

You can see in the basket above some of my arsenal. I always keep shout for common stains. Of course treat as soon as you can. I also keep a container of vinegar for the rinse cycle. It is a wonderful chemical free softener and deodorizer. 

I want to show you these pants of my hubby's. They went through the washer and dryer and while folding I noticed a ring of a grease stain on the back side. I had missed it going in. Something I use to get out old grease stains is De-Solv-It. It is an orange oil based laundry stain remover. You put a dab on and let it sit on the stains for 30 minutes. I then spray some Shout on it and scrub with an old tooth brush to make sure the De-Solv-It doesn't leave a ring. Even though this had gone through the washer and dryer already it removed all the grease stains.

I buy it at Target or Walmart. Lasts a long time. It has removed paint from Q's clothes too. Great stuff.

**Update on grease stain remover. I now make my own laundry grease stain remover for pennies. 

Check it out. You may already have the ingredients on hand.

I have been making my own laundry soap for years and you can find the recipe here. But I also will add about a half cup of Borax in the water these days. You see we have hard water and our water softener is not working. We will replace it but it is a few items down on the list of home repairs we are working on. So I was reading up and found it helps to soften water in your laundry. This keeps whites whiter and helps to just get clothes cleaner.

I also found this great stain guide online and it tells you how to get out all manner of laundry problems.

laundry stain guide

Hope these tips are helpful. Let me know if you know of any other great tips of getting stains out. I am always working on some sort of spot on clothing in this house.