31 Days of Green Little Things: Laundry Day Part 2 (Drying Racks)

Whoa, it's the final week of my 31 Days of Green Little Things!  This is where I discuss the little things I do to help the environment.

Like I said last week, Sunday is usually laundry day around the Green Stuff house so today I want to talk about my drying rack.

I use a drying rack so I can consume less energy doing laundry.  Seriously, dryers are energy hogs.  Since I end up putting fewer things in the dryer when I use my drying rack, my clothes spend less time in the dryer and I can dry on a lower temperature setting.

When I need to hang more, I just use more hangers.

The added bonus of using my drying rack is that my cloth napkins and handkerchiefs end up looking like they've been ironed.  O.K., they're not perfect but they're way better than when they come out of the dryer!  And, you and I both know that I'm never going to iron my napkins. (Unlike what the link about suggests, my iron does NOT use $22 worth of energy a year... maybe not even in a decade!)

Oh, and don't forget to clean the lint filter after every load to improve air circulation in the dryer.  This will save energy and also helps prevent fires.  (Lint is highly flammable.) It can even be composted.

Remember, saving energy saves money.

Do you use a drying rack?  What about a clothes line?

Peace,

Stacey

To follow other "31 Days" journeys, check out The Nester.  She's hosting this party. 

I started a Facebook page for my blog.  "Like" it if you're so inclined. (Please.)

31 Days of Green Little Things: Laundry Day (The Cold Water Cycle)

Welcome back to my 31 Days of Green Little Things!  This is where I discuss the little things I do to help the environment.

Sunday is usually laundry day around the Green Stuff house, which reminded me that I haven’t talked about washing in cold water yet.

Back when we were washing diapers, we switched to a front-loading washing machine, which uses less water, and learned about the power of washing with cold water when we could. (Of course, we never washed diapers in cold!)  When someone’s sick, we still use hot water but, other than that, we use cold water almost exclusively.  This saves a lot of energy since most of the energy used by the washing machine is to heat the water. The detergent we use says it is appropriate to use with any water setting and there are many cold water detergents out there today. If you’re wondering, we haven’t noticed that our clothes are any less clean either. 

We buy our concentrated detergent by the case from our local health food store.  We started doing this so we could get one that was powdered without fragrances.  It is packaged in cardboard boxes rather than plastic jugs. "Fragrances" are usually made from petroleum and can be irritating to the skin and respiratory system.  Plus, I don't like how the ingredients are not disclosed. (It seems like the company is trying to hide more than just trade secrets... but I could be wrong.)

Remember, saving energy also saves money.

Give it a try.  If you’re nervous, start with your dark loads then work your way up to whites or sheets and towels.

Peace,

Stacey

To follow other "31 Days" journeys, check out The Nester.  She's hosting this party. 

I started a Facebook page for my blog.  "Like" it if you're so inclined. (Please.)