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By the author of the FREE online course Growing Self-Sufficiency: The Whole Picture
The cost to do laundry at our local Laundromat took a giant leap during the pandemic: from around $2.25 to $3 per load for a wash. This meant that laundry went from something I could do with my spare change to something that was getting difficult to afford every week.
I am a rural resident, so doing laundry also involves an almost one hour round trip drive (think of the gas!). I got busy and put on my Frugalite thinking cap to reduce my laundry costs. I’m sharing my best tips with the Frugalite community in this article today, hoping that you, too, will share your tips on how to keep down the ever-growing costs of doing laundry.
Reducing Trips to the Laundromat
The first thing I decided to do was get serious about reducing the number of trips I needed to do from every week to closer to once or twice a month. Ironically, what this initially meant was spending more money. “Hey, wait a minute!” you are likely saying, how can spending save you?
Well, what I did was invest in more of two key laundry items: underwear and socks! By having a higher number of socks and underwear, I have been able to stretch out my laundry trips to a much longer time frame. In addition, I made I had a complete back up set of sheets, both winter and summer. I can stretch my sheets to two weeks of use. Then, I switch to the second set for two weeks. That way, I can stretch to a single laundromat tip in a month if I like.
Only Doing One Half at the Laundromat
Once the cost of the wash went up, I didn’t want to spend on the drying, too. As I don’t have a proper laundry line outside yet (I will one day!), I invested in a simple drying rack bought at a local thrift shop. I wash, but don’t dry. I save around half the cost this way, if not more. I can hang sheets between two chairs on top of the ladder I keep in the house to reach my attic. Depending on the humidity and time of year (i.e., is the woodstove on?), it can take as little as a day or two and everything is dry, even thick socks. To me, a little bit of inconvenience is worth the savings.
Careful Reusing/Reducing Laundry Volume
Although I was taught to only wear things once and then throw them in the laundry, I have found that this doesn’t always have to be the case. In fact, I think my own clothing lasts longer without excessive washing. If there is a spot of dirt, it can often be cleaned with a damp rag and perhaps a bit of soap. Then, that item just sits out to dry overnight and is returned to my closet.
The idea I mentioned above about my sheets is similar. While many people like to wash their sheets weekly, I find two weeks isn’t terrible, and it saves time, energy, and money!
Ingenious Home Laundry Hacks
Another home hack I use regularly I bought an off-grid foot-operated washing machine. Although this only allows for a small wash (and this can feel like an inconvenience), it does a good job at washing and even the foot operated spin is pretty good. I also tried a (clean! new!) toilet plunger in a bucket and got my clothing quite clean, although doing the wringing by hand is a lot of work, especially on thick towels and sheets.
I also own a wash tub and wash boards, and have done my laundry using them. I found that the glass wash board was just amazing at getting small items clean! I have a bath tub in my little eco-cabin, so in an off-grid pinch, I could certainly put laundry to soak in the bathtub and simply stomp on it to get it fairly clean.
Simplified Soap Only
Many folks spend a fair bit of money on specialized products to do laundry, like laundry soap, fabric softener, and dryer sheets. Not me! I use one soap for everything in my home: liquid castile soap. To make the soap more effective with laundry, I find adding just a bit of baking soda really helps. I buy this in bulk to keep that cost down. I’m only talking about a tablespoon or two per load here. A little bit of castile soap goes a long way, too: just two to three capfuls is fine for a load. For more info on the many uses of castile soap, check out this article.
Your Savings Will Come Out in the Wash
A few simple steps can help reduce the bite of keeping everything clean. Could you see yourself trying any of the thrifty tips offered here? Do you have one you can share with us? Please tell us in the comments below.
About Colette
Colette is passionate about sharing her knowledge of thrifty living and self-sufficiency. She has developed her skills in self-reliance living in the suburbs, the city, and more recently, on her own Half-Acre Homestead. Colette lived five years completely off-grid and without running water in an eight by 24 foot tiny home while designing and building her own 18 by 24-foot eco-cabin. Her website, Half Acre Homestead is attracting followers from around the world who want to become more self-sufficient. Colette invites you to stop by the Homestead and check out all of the great resources including the practical How To Guides, A Tiny Home Resource Center and her organic gardening stories on her blog. She shares her wholistic model (body/mind/spirit) for achieving self-sufficiency in her Free Course, “Growing Self-Sufficiency: The Whole Picture.” Stop by the Homestead today to register free of charge!
13 thoughts on “5 Low Cost Laundromat Solutions”
I usually wear outer clothes 2 days and change underwear and socks daily. Since I now live in a condo, I can’t have a clothesline but use a drying rack for a lot of things —mainly clothing. I use the dryer for sheets and towels. I do have a washer and dryer but use the shorter settings on both. Things get perfectly clean in less time than the longer cycles and a shorter cycle also gets things drier than most people expect. Also using shorter cycles reducing wear on the clothes. Using slightly less detergent also gets clothes clean but makes a boxful last longer.
Hi Mary, Thanks for these tips, which are especially helpful for folks who may have their own washer and dryer, but still want to stretch their washing dollar! Much appreciated!
More and more clothes I’ve bought lately have a specification to wash in cold water only. That challenges you to find (or DIY make) detergent that is compatible with cold water. Often that specification is in small print and/or on the back of the package. So here is one way to save you that search. At Walmart the “ALL” brand has that cold water compatibility (on the back side, of course), and works well.
Alternatively an online search can turn up DIY methods to make your own cold water compatible detergent.
Finally … there are a couple of non-obvious motivations for using cold water. One … (the big benefit) almost all clothes last longer! Two … the lesser issue is not having to pay for the energy to heat the water.
–Lewis
Hi Lewis, What a great comment that looks at all of the savings included in one choice: to go with a cold water wash. Your tip about the “ALL” brand is particularly helpful. I will check the next time I’m there to see if this brand is available in Canada, as it isn’t one that I’m familiar with. Thanks so much!
I loved your article. I was spending $20 at the laundromat plus losing 2 hours of precious time. I bought a drying rack like you suggested and this has worked out beautifully. Thanks since every penny helps these days.
Hi Kathleen, How fabulous! I am so delighted to hear that you are having success with your drying rack. Most times, I even dry my sheets at home, just hanging them on my step ladder that I use to access my attic space. Isn’t it a great feeling to grab those wet items and head home for a nice cup of tea or coffee in the comfort of your own home? Good for you for being open to trying something new. It sounds like it has really “paid off”! Thanks so much.
I had not thought of the possible unavailability of “All” in Canada, so I looked up the DIY method (that works in both cold and hot water):
https://barefeetinthekitchen.com/how-to-make-homemade-laundry-detergent/
Notice there are 37 comments — several are from experienced users They are well worth reading.
–Lewis
Hi Lewis, Thanks so much! You always go the extra mile! I learn so much from your comments. As you mention,t is valuable to see that articles have many comments and take advantage of that wisdom of the reader community. I seem to recall that there may be a DIY laundry soap article on the Frugalite here, too! Thanks again!
Good article. Your Amazon link goes to a plunger and washing bag, not a foot operated one. I’m really interested in something like that. Can you please check it for me? Thanks
Hi Denise, I don’t do the links myself, but I can mention it to the supervisor. If you are interested in the foot operated one, you can put yirego and drumi into your search engine. I hope that helps! I will caution you that the price for these is pretty steep now. I bought mine many many years ago when it first launched. Thanks for drawing this to our attention. Wishing you the best!
Thanks, that’s a help. I’ll check it out.
I have also been using MUCH less detergent, maybe a tablespoon of All Free & Clear per load.
We live on a farm and our clothes can be very dirty but I have found they are actually cleaner and certainly have a better ‘feel’ to them. The fabric is much softer. I use cold water for almost all loads. I do spot clean stains.
The agitation of the washer does most of the work. When we bought our latest washer (used) I made sure the agitator was a full-sized one.
For bath towels, etc, you need even less detergent because so much is held by the fabric. If you put your towels in the washer with NO detergent and ran them through a cycle you would be surprised how much soap is in the water.
Give it a try.
Hi Polly, I especially appreciate your thrifty tips for those who have their own laundry machines at home. If someone is shopping for a washer, they would do well to take your excellent advice to pay attention to the agitator. I worry about new machines, as they don’t seem to last very long these days. Thank you for encouraging folks to try new ways to save on soap and get the best machine for their money. Much appreciated!