Do you need an excuse to let your laundry pile up until it is what is affectionately known in our house as Mount Washmore? If you would rather procrastinate until the last pair of underwear is worn and the favorite sweater hasn’t been seen for a month, then keep reading. I have a great reason for letting your laundry pile up to the ceiling. You’ll actually save money.
Yes, I know that there are some of you out there who are shuddering right about now. After all, what would FlyLady say? What about those teams of certified organizers? Doing one load of laundry a day is the way to keep on top of it, right? Perhaps, but you’ll spend less money my way.
How can you save money by letting the laundry pile up? Well there are at least three reasons for this.
The biggest reason to let the laundry pile up is that you use a dryer. Everyone who uses a dryer should consider letting the laundry pile up. This is because your dryer will use less energy to run, when it is working on consecutive loads. When you turn over your laundry and do multiple loads, the dryer doesn’t have to burn the energy to heat up from cold, so you’ll save more on energy costs.
This same thing goes for ironing. Irons eat up a lot of electricity, as anyone who has seen their lights dim or blink when the iron is turned on knows. Ironing at least five items in a row will save you on energy. In fact, the more you can iron in one session, the more money you will save on your ironing energy costs.
Another way you will save money by letting your laundry pile up is when it comes to sorting. The more clothes that are available to be washed, the sorts you can do and still come up with full loads. Matching fabric types together will make both your washer and your dryer more efficient. For example, anything that is easy care, such as a fleece jacket will take less dry time than anything made out of denim. Optimize your sorts and you’ll reduce the wash and dry times.
Frugal Laundry: Make Your Own “Detergent”