Saving money room by room: The laundry room

The laundry room is a place where you can considerably reduce costs while being environmentally-friendly. What do you do?

Saving money in the laundry room

* Make your own laundry detergent. Here's my recipe, and some other recipes as well.

* Use vinegar in the rinse cycle to boost detergent. You need less detergent when you use vinegar. It can also be used in lieu of fabric softener, again used in the washing machine. I just put a half a cup or so in when I start the water. The clothes come out clean and very fresh.

* Baking soda can also be used as a detergent booster. It also freshens clothes, gets rid of odors, and lets you use less detergent.

* Wash in the cooler part of the day, early in the morning especially. Electricity is less expensive then.

* Wash in cold water, at least the clothes. I sometimes wash towels and linens in hot, just to be sure.

* If you use fabric softener, use only half a sheet with clothes and none with towels.

* Hang your clothes, towels, linens, etc., out to dry.

* If you don't have a clothes line (I don't; I'm working on that) you can dry at least your linens and blankets by tossing them over chairs, bunk beds, the exercise machine, etc.

* Clean out the lint collector after every use and scrub it with soap and a toothbrush every couple of weeks or so. Stuff off of fabric softener sheets builds up and air can't get through.

* Keep the outside vent clear of lint. We learned this the hard way. We got rid of two probably perfectly fine secondhand dryers because they wouldn't dry our clothes. Turns out the outside vent was clogged with lint.