In an effort to make simple changes to going green, one way you can do this is by following greener tips for saving energy and time. I love the added bonus of saving money as well!

Eco-Friendly Laundry Tips

If you are really wanting to go green all the way with your laundry, you might try air drying outside, but that is not always possible where you live. For us, we are not allowed to place a clothesline on our balcony or hang our clothes outside due to living in a city apartment. This is a super bummer for me, but I have found other ways to be more green in my laundry routine.

Tips for laundering a More Green Way:

• Keep Lint Screens Clean. Not only are they a possible fire hazard, but keeping them clean decreases drying time.
• If you can, Line dry your clothes. You will love the fresh clean smell!
• Transfer right away. When you finish a load, use the residual heat in the dryer to start a new load.
• Do your laundry during off-peak hours. Call your energy company to find out when these are.
• Re-use items like towels. Who doesn’t like less towels to do?
• Separate loads for better, more efficient drying. Put heavier items with other heavier items and lighter items with other lighter items. You will get more uniform drying this way.
• Don’t over-dry. This not only puts more wear and tear on your fabrics and dryer, but wastes energy.
• Use hot water only when you have to. Unless it is heavily soiled or a load of whites, cold water will work just fine for most fabrics.
• Pre-treat stains. You can then do a shorter cycle.
• Match your water level with load size. Only do full loads if possible.
• Do laundry when you have time so you don’t forget about loads in the washer. This will save you from having to re-wash those musty loads you forgot about.

Bonus tip! I like to use these wool dryer balls to help speed up my laundry’s dryer time.