6 Ways to green up your laundry routine
Let's be honest no one enjoys doing laundry, it's probably the least exciting part of your home routine. But inside your laundry is where around 15-40% of your home's water and energy is spent so the small changes you make here have a big impact. Here are six ways to save the environment and help your clothes.
Fully Loaded
Doing a load of washing uses around 50-100 L of water depending on your machine (the newer the better for water and energy efficiency). If spin drying or washing, try and reduce the speed as the more your clothes are tumbled, the more the fibres are loosened and lost. The microfibres in synthetic clothing are too small to be filtered by waster treatment plants with microfibres comprising 85% of shoreline pollution around the globe. Fish and shellfish are absorbing these tiny particles and adding to our risk in the food chain too. Better still, always opt for natural textiles and avoid the nasties altogether.
Drip Dry
We don't use a dryer in our house to help cut back on power, try to avoid using yours and your towels and sheets will thank you for it. To save the ironing when you hang out your clothes to dry grab a couple of coat hangers and hang your would be ironed clothing on them. This will save you hours ironing when you only need to do tiny touch-ups or often none at all.
Powder-up
A great natural alternative to chemical washing powders are soap berries, they're all natural, compostable and great for people with skin allergies (such as eczema and psoriasis). Add a couple of drops of your favourite essential oil (I love lemon or lavender) to your load to have your clothes smelling deliciously fragrant.
Get Handsy
Hand washing your delicates? Using a natural Castile soap. I like to do all of my hand washing once a month mostly because I find it super tedious but it is also a great way to save water. Start by soaking your palest colours working your way towards the darks only changing the water when it is super murky.
Peggy
Beware of plastic pegs, they have a short shelf life and also often end up doing more harm than good. Switch to a set of wooden pegs or better yet stainless steel that will last a lifetime.
Product-ivity
Cleaning products always seem to live in the laundry. Cut back on the number of products you use and start making your own that do more and cost less. You can make your own all-purpose cleaner with our simple zero waste recipe. Otherwise a couple of pantry staples I always have in the laundry are castile soap, bicarb soda and white vinegar! Together they clean just about anything.
So there you have it, six simple ways to green up your laundry routine.
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