Tag Archives: laundry

Make Your Own Stuff and Save

If you want a great way to save money, try making your own items instead of purchasing them. From growing your own food and making your own mixes to creating your own laundry detergent and sanitizing wipes, there are so many ways to save. Plus, it is nice knowing that you don’t have to rely on expensive commercial products if you don’t want to do so. Check out this round up of “Make Your Own” articles. Try one recipe or instructions, or try them all! Frugal Food: Make Your Own Granola Bars? Make Your Own Yogurt Make Your Own Fabric … Continue reading →

Removing a Cooking Oil Stain

Cooking oil can find its way into the strangest places. The most obvious place is clothing of course, but I recently had a run in with cooking oil on our playroom couch. A little imp got into the lazy susan where I keep all of our spices and oils for cooking and baking. He proceeded to open up a jar of olive oil, which inevitably spilled. With oily hands, he moved on to the couch. Yikes. I mentioned in an earlier blog that chalk can sometimes be used to help get out oily stains including cooking oil. Here are some … Continue reading →

Getting Out Stubborn Ink Stains

In my house, I have to hide all of the pens. This is because if I don’t, my two-year-old tends to create ink drawings all over himself and occasionally on a casual tan couch that we have in the play area. That isn’t all. Once school starts, my oldest son is bound to come home with stray pen marks on his clothes. it is just inevitable (sigh). Fortunately, I have a few tricks up my sleeve for getting out the stains. As with any new pretreatment or stain removal, you should test the fabric in an inconspicuous place, if you … Continue reading →

Getting Out Grass Stains

With summer in full swing, chances are that your family has been playing outdoors quite a bit. And with all of that outdoor play comes the grass stains, especially if you are running around on a fresh-cut lawn. You might be tempted to try every laundry detergent in the book or just give up and throw the garments away. But there is an easier solution to banning those grass stains. And the best news yet is that you probably already have everything you need to get those stains out for good! Grass stains can occur on two types of items. … Continue reading →

Making Ironing Easier

Some people hate ironing, while others don’t mind it at all. Whichever the case for you, there are ways to make the task easier. Just follow some simple techniques and preparations, and you’ll be done in no time. Remove any clothes to be ironed when they are slightly damp. Fully-dried clothes have fully-dried wrinkles set in, so a slightly damp garment is easier to iron. If you use a machine dryer, set the timer or setting to leave the clothes slightly damp. If you line dry, shorten the time that the clothes hang and check them every so often. Then … Continue reading →

Minimizing Your Wash Will Maximize Your Savings 3

Do you find yourself constantly doing laundry? Each load may be costing you between $2 and $3. I have been talking about ways to minimize doing laundry and therefore maximize savings. If you missed the first two posts in this series, catch up here: Minimizing Your Wash Will Maximize Your Savings and Minimizing Your Wash Will Maximize Your Savings 2. Let’s continue with our daily scenario… Now try this. Wake up in a t-shirt and shorts. Putter around the house, then change to a more presentable outfit to take the kids to the park. Return from the park and change … Continue reading →

Guide to Six Laundry Bleaching Agents

When you are in the laundry aisle of the grocery store, do you automatically grab the same kind of bleach each time because bleach is bleach? In fact, there are several types of bleaching agents that can be used on clothing. Each one has its own strengths and weaknesses and are more appropriate for some types of clothing than are others. Here is a guide to common and uncommon bleaching agents that are available right now. Chlorine Bleach Chlorine bleach is the old standby that we usually associate with whitening our whites. It is the strongest and fastest-acting bleaching agent … Continue reading →

Minimizing Your Wash Will Maximize Your Savings 2

Cutting down on your laundry will not only make life a little easier for you, but it can also save money. If you missed the first article in this series, click here: Minimizing Your Wash Will Maximize Your Savings. Now let’s talk about combining your wash loads. Washing clothes on cold means that there is very little if any dye transfer, so go ahead and wash reds in with your other darks. (For the very first time with new red garments, I suggest hand soaking them first to get out the loose dye, although I’ve never needed to do this … Continue reading →

Minimizing Your Wash Will Maximize Your Savings

Let’s face it, no one really wants to do endless piles of wash every week, right? Minimizing your wash, besides making laundry easier, has the added benefit of increasing the amount of money that stays in your pocket. Less laundry can mean less time that you can spend earning or saving money through frugal practices. It can also mean less laundry detergent, less electricity or gas cost and less wear and tear on your clothes. So other than living in dirty clothes all of the time, how can you minimize your wash? Check out the following suggestions. Use an extra … Continue reading →

Five Tips for Laundry Bleach

Chlorine bleach can be a lifesaver for your laundry. I can’t count the number of times that it saved a hand-me down dress from being tossed out or rescued dingy socks after being used on the dingy garage floor. How do you use chlorine bleach? Here are five tips that will help you make the most of bleach without weakening or ruining your clothes. 1. Check to make sure that your fabrics can withstand bleach. Just because they are white does not mean that they should be bleached. In general, the following fabrics can often be bleached: acrylic, cotton, linen, … Continue reading →