How to Do Less Laundry

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Wouldn’t we all like to spend less time washing, drying, and folding laundry? How about spend less money on laundry detergent, unnecessary energy costs, and maybe even help the environment? Did you know that washing your clothes shortens the lifespan of the garment too? Check out these tips on how to do less laundry.

When I was traveling through Sweden and Finland a few years ago, it became apparent that the way we (Americans) treated our clothes was different. First of all, people in general had less clothes. A simple single clothes rack in a bedroom was all that I noticed. Not the heap of clothes found in a large walk in closet, or piled above a dresser.

Also, clotheslines were present in the home, outside, and in most apartment complexes. The large hampers in every bedroom overflowing with clothing daily, was not a common sight. As a result, their homes looked much cleaner, and less cluttered.

Additionally, here are a few ideas to consider about America’s laundry habits as provided by the book The Conscious Closet.

1. “85% [of Americans] have tumble dryers, an anomaly in other countries.”
2. “Americans run a load of wash at least every other day, doing between three hundred and four hundred loads of laundry per year on average.”
3. This is “more than two weeks a year spent sorting, loading, folding, and putting away clothes.”
4. “Cutting the number of loads you run by just 10 percent could save as much as five thousand gallons of water a year.”

It seems obvious when you compare our lifestyle to other countries, that there is room for improvement. It took me to actually see the difference, and a very passionate hate of folding never ending piles of laundry to make some changes in our household. Check out more reasons why you should be doing less laundry.

Why You Should Be Doing LESS Laundry

1.Washing and Drying Shortens the Lifespan of a Garment

Washing and drying causes “shrinkage, fading, and tears in our clothes” (214). Just “twenty rounds” of washing and drying in a machine “can make textiles twice as easy to tear” (214). Also, consider that in other countries, a dryer is actually used sparingly, if at all.

2.Less Washing and Drying Saves You Money

Saving money on energy costs is another reason to wash and dry your clothes less. Just by washing and drying, “Americans consume as much electricity (66 billion kilowatts) per year as the entire state of Minnesota (Cline 213). It’s also no surprise that the most “energy-intensive step of doing laundry by a long shot is heating the air in our dryers,” which consequently can be completely avoided (Cline 213).

I also make my own laundry detergent by buying bulk ingredients. You can check out the other products I no longer buy for our home here.

3.Less Washing and Drying Helps the Environment

If energy costs are high, then we also can assume it has an impact on the environment. Americans doing laundry “emit more than 46 million tons of carbon dioxide equivalents” (213). Even by washing one less load a week, washing in cold water, or skipping the dryer and line drying instead, you can significantly lessen your carbon footprint.

How to Wash Your Clothes Less and Not be Gross

1.Wash when Garments are actually Dirty

We use the washing machine and dryer to freshen our clothes, but most of the time they are actually not dirty. Instead of washing a garment after one wear, actually check to see if it is dirty in the first place. Some say the CEO of Levi’s actually never washes jeans, and instead spot cleans and freshens by air drying.

2.Spot Clean First

Garments that are not worn tightly to your skin can be spot cleaned first. Items like jeans, pants, blazers, jackets, and loose fitting shirts or blouses. Spot cleaning first allows you to skip a full cycle of laundering, which will improve the lifespan of your garment, and lessen the opportunity for tears or shrinkage.

3.Wash on Cold More Often

Some clothing requires regular washing on a hot temperature: underwear, socks, workout clothes, synthetic garments that trap odor, anything that has been in close contact to sweat, or needs to be sanitized. However, everything else can be washed in cold water. Washing in cold not only lowers your energy costs, but it also helps to avoid shrinkage, and discoloration.

4.Freshen Clothes Between Wears

Instead of leaving your clothes in a heap on the bathroom floor, make the habit of hanging them out. Smooth out the wrinkles and allow to hang where air can circulate. This might be your closet, if your clothes are not packed in too tightly, or it might be the back of your bedroom door.

Honorable Mention

Use a Clothes Line or Drying Rack instead of the Dryer

You run the risk of shrinking clothes, and decreasing the lifespan every time you dry clothes in a dryer. We don’t all have time to hang out clothes, but for your quality garments this is recommended.

Get in the habit of hanging out jeans, blouses, and that favorite gray T-shirt. This will save the garment in the long run, which means less waste, and less trips to the store.

Here are some best practices for hanging out clothes to dry (Cline 221):

-Line dry when garments are “damp” not “sopping wet.”

-Lay sweaters to dry on a flat surface to avoid stretching

-Smooth out wrinkles with your hands before hanging

-Place clothespins where a wrinkle wont’ be noticeable

-Put whites in direct sunlight (if possible). The sunlight will naturally bleach.

-Place colors out of direct sunlight so they do not fade.

Final Thoughts

Since adopting a more minimalist lifestyle, it didn’t take long to notice I was doing an awful lot of laundry. Furthermore, I was not enjoying this task. As I continued to simplify my wardrobe, what was left were quality pieces that I cared deeply about. I didn’t want to decrease their lifespan by stretching them in the bottom of the washing machine, or shrinking them in a dryer. I came to realize that taking care of my clothes actually required less washing, especially for my jeans, which I rarely wash now.

Wouldn’t the literally simple answer be to wash your clothes less to save time, money, and the lifespan of your clothes?

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Join the Discussion

What’s your opinion on washing jeans? Line drying? Or the amount of time you spend doing laundry per week?

Author

Maria Halcumb is a teacher, reading specialist, and mother. You can find her reading books, being in nature, minimizing her life, and spending time with family and friends in the great PNW or Northern MN. If you want to learn more about Maria, check out the About page.

Sources

Cline, Elizabeth L. The Conscious Closet: the Revolutionary Guide to Looking Good While Doing Good. Plume, an Imprint of Penguin Random House LLC, 2019.