Laundry Day Instead of Every Day

In my clearest memory of my grandmother, she was washing laundry was on her back patio in a large tub-like contraption with two rollers at the top. My mother tells me those white monsters washed everything amazingly clean. It was wash, wring, rinse, wring, and rinse and wring again. She heated water on the stove for the whites and scrubbed tub after tub of clothes hour after hour.

She quickly hung the dripping garments out to dry, folded them, and put them away all on the same day. Yes, that was the Dark Ages. But what can we draw from those memories? Actually, I get tired just thinking about the whole process, but I am wondering if there isn’t a lesson in frugality in the midst of that dinosaur technology.

What about the concept of having a fixed laundry day? When the loads are fuller, there will be less loads to wash. The clothes are sorted better with the larger amounts, and the dryer never cools down. Better yet, hanging clothing out to dry on a breezy, summer day could save you up to $.50 per load. That’s not only frugal, that’s green, too.

Get the family involved. Setting a laundry day will bring renewed discipline in how kids dress. If they are involved in sorting, folding, and hanging out they may think twice before donning that second or third outfit of the day. They may also realize that some things can be worn twice before pitching clean clothes into the hamper.

Laundry day…imagine what it could save you!