Hanging Laundry---even infrequently can make a difference!

Hanging laundry is one of those things that is only worth it IF you have a little time on your hands.  For me—it saves us about $20 a month in our utilities.  I don’t necessarily hang every load of laundry in the summer. I do make an effort to hang as much laundry as I can during the summer.  The beauty is: in the heat of the summer -- the clothes dry BEFORE they would have in the dryer!!  When I am running low on “spare time” I just throw it in the dryer.  But hanging just 1-2 loads a month can make a difference in your utility bill!

Because it is a slightly time consuming project, I enlist in my children’s help.   My kids love to hang the clothes with me.  They pull out the step ladder and pin the bottom of their shirt with clothes pins.  This way I DON’T feel guilty of doing chores and not spending time with them!  What a great way to teach your children about frugality, work and spending time together all in the same activity!

My “rules” of what I hang to dry:

1.       No towels.   (They go straight to the dryer.  I HATE crispy towels.  I LOVE a plush soft towel when I hop out of the shower.)

2.       No unmentionables.  (I don’t hang our underwear out to dry.)

3.       Use fabric softener.  (It makes a HUGE difference in their feeling softer.)

Happy Stretching Pennies.....

A simple RIP can stretch your dryer sheet box twice as long!

I made the commitment to start documenting the SMALL things I do to save money every day. I had to stop what I was doing THREE TIMES in the middle of what I was doing to take pictures this last week! I don’t know when I will actually upload the “story” of all of them.

It doesn’t matter what room in the house, there usually is some way to stretch money the money. I was doing laundry and was transferring the wet clothes to the dryer-- absently mindedly doing my tasks. After I had gone through the motions, I realized I had done another small $$ saving “tip”. I rip the dryer sheet into 2—only using a half a sheet per load. (I have tried ripping into 3 parts, but was not happy with the results.)

My dryer sheets go twice as far!!

Happy Stretching Pennies...