Taking care to wash and dry garments in a more sustainable way can contribute to an eco-conscious household. Here are a few ways to make your laundry routine a little bit greener. WEAR IT MORE THAN ONCE
This doesn't go for everything (underwear and socks etc), but the simplest way to cut back on your laundry's impact is to simply – do less of it. Wearing your clothes more than once before tossing them in the laundry basket is the first step in greening your laundry habits. You can consume up to four times less energy by wearing your jeans three times, washing them in cold water, and skipping the dryer or the iron.
BAKING SODA
Baking soda (or bicarbonate of soda) in the washing cycle is absolutely brilliant – it removes odor, whitens your clothes and softens the fabrics. I simply add ½ a cup of soda to a full washing load, and then only use half of the amount of washing detergent that I would normally use.
SWITCH TO PLANT-BASED DETERGENT
Since becoming a mother I have always been wary of laundry detergents, all those harsh chemicals! Plant-based detergents actually don’t cost that much more and they are free of chemicals and the micro-beads that can really irritate your skin, damage textiles, and pollute waters. For everyday use, I love Ecover.
USE YOUR WASHER TO THE MAX!
And by that I mean fill it up to the max before every wash. Washers use the same amount of energy regardless of the size of the load!
AIR DRY YOUR CLOTHES
I know it seems obvious, but sometimes we just get lazy and just opt for the dryer. So, set yourself up with a couple of drying racks, I use them outdoors when I know no one will be popping around and indoors if its raining. And for things that need a tumble to be softened like towels, just pop them in the dryer once they are nearly air dried to fluff them up a bit.
DRYER BALLS
Many people are only just discovering these! The are little wool dryer balls help to absorb moisture from our clothes, which means you can put the dryer on a lower heat setting, and they can significantly cut down on the overall drying time. As an added bonus, they also help soften clothes and reduce creases!
You can make a big impact making these small changes: If you’re committed to a more sustainable home routine, don’t forget that an eco-conscious lifestyle can extend to other rooms in hour home too!
Magical Maids