6 Sustainable Laundry Ideas That Will Save You Money In The Whole House

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Last updated on December 23rd, 2023

Sustainable laundry may sound like an oxymoron. The plastic bottles, chemicals and water usage may be standard, but they’re not necessary for your laundry routine!

A non-sustainable laundry routine is taxing on resources – namely, your time and money

Fresh clean towels, a closet full of clothes to wear, an empty hamper – the effects of doing laundry are so satisfying yet it’s still so tempting to procrastinate.

Doing laundry takes up our time, and it also takes a lot of resources: water, electricity, and physical materials. Save on resources and money by developing a sustainable laundry routine. 

Laundry costs also add up over the course of a month, year, or dare I say lifetime. It may seem like an inevitable expense, but there are huge opportunities to cut costs around your laundry routine.

In this case (and many cases), saving money also means reducing waste. With these tips, you will reduce your home’s footprint, save money, and have fewer chemicals in your home.

Pause now and save for later!

Have a question, comment or thought to add? Leave a comment at the bottom and I’ll reply right away 🙂

Sustainable Laundry Ideas That Will Save You Money In The Whole House

1. Use machine-washable kitchen items instead of disposable

If you look around the kitchen, you’ll see a lot of items that could be machine washable but instead are produced as disposable.

Cut waste and money by making these machine-washable swaps:

• Disposable dish sponges –> microfiber scrubber sponges

Microfiber scrubber sponges are more durable and effective at cleaning.

Microfiber kitchen scrubbies on Amazon

• Plastic cleaning product bottles –> E-cloth

You can clean your whole home with specially-designed cloths and water, skipping the chemicals and bottles altogether.

E-Cloth: Chemical-Free Cleaning with Just Water on Amazon

• Paper towels –> washable kitchen cloths

Washable kitchen cloths are better in every way: more absorbent, durable and they handle messes better.

Heavy Duty Reusable Machine Washable Reusable Paper Towel Cloth on Amazon

2. Stop using liquid laundry detergent

When you buy liquid detergent, you’re paying for more water than product.

They’re also made with chemicals, unless you spring for for hypoallergenic or natural products, which always seems to cost more. That still leaves the problem of the plastic bottles.

You can save money and waste less by making your own laundry detergent from scratch or buying a more sustainable laundry product.

Homemade Laundry Detergent

My favorite homemade laundry detergent recipe is from blogger Bren Did. I made this for years, and was so impressed with how well it worked. She did the math and this recipe boils down to about $0.06 a load.

After moving to the Netherlands in 2018, it became too big of a project to try to track down the right ingredients in Dutch, so I started buying laundry soap once again.

Sustainable Laundry Detergent: The EcoEgg

Now, I use the EcoEgg (check out my EcoEgg review here!). It’s a sustainable laundry product that checks all of my boxes:

• effective
• cost efficient
• natural and hypoallergenic
• minimal waste

You throw the whole Eco Egg in the washer each time – no measuring or pouring. The egg is filled with mineral pellets which dissolve as water flows in through the gaps. Only the amount of soap that you need is used, and there’s no disposable packaging.

The initial egg is$17.99 and is advertised to last for 210 loads, boiling down to about $0.09 a load. When the pellets are getting low, you can buy refills for a lower cost than the initial egg, saving you additional money in the long run. You can buy an EcoEgg on Amazon.

3. Skip the dryer sheets

If you’re someone who loves the fake smell of flowers, then you may not be persuaded here but hear me out: clothes don’t need to smell like anything to be clean.

If you really think about it, “clean” clothes wouldn’t smell like anything. Softeners and dryer sheets make your clothes smell like something, but they don’t make them cleaner.

For extra help removing odors, substitute fabric softeners with vinegar. It helps remove odors and bacteria, is all natural, and has no odor when dried. Cutting out dryer sheets transitions well into idea number four.

4. Omit the dryer altogether to save on energy usage and extend the life of clothes

Cutting the dryer out of the laundry equation saves money on electricity and dryer sheets, and also extends the life of your clothes. Machine drying clothes risks shrinking, and wears down the elasticity.

If you don’t have room for a clothesline outside, here are two great indoors options that accommodate a small space.

Accordion-style clothes rack on Amazon

Heavy Duty Metal Gullwing Drying Rack on Amazon

In live in an apartment small enough to be considered a “tiny home,” and a collapsible drying rack has made life easier. The radiator is also a great spot for drying, even in the summer when it’s not turned on.

If you’re set on using the machine dryer, an all-natural solution you should consider using If you’re set on using the machine dryer, an all-natural solution you should consider using wool dryer balls. They absorb water, reduce lint and wrinkles and say they cut down on overall dryer time by 25 percent.

Wool Dryer Balls – Natural Fabric Softener, Reusable, Reduces Clothing Wrinkles and Saves Drying Time on Amazon

5. Only wash with hot water when necessary

Cold water requires less energy, and also helps get certain stains out better and reduces color fading.

6. Have fewer items to wash

Imagine having half as many items to wash each week: you would cut your energy, water and detergent costs in half (not to mention the time spent doing laundry, too).

You can achieve this by creating a capsule wardrobe: a well-organized wardrobe, with fewer pieces but intentionally picked to simplify your life and and whittle down to only what you love.

What sustainable laundry techniques do you use? I hope you found these sustainable laundry tips helpful, and find yourself saving time and money!