Saturday, August 27, 2011

A Move Toward Simplicity

Awhile back, thinking I was getting a steal on laundry detergent, I bought a giant bottle of liquid fabric softener.   I have never used liquid fabric softener in my entire life and I don't have even the first clue what to do with it.  But, perhaps, it was providence giving me a nudge.

Yesterday I happened on a "cheapskate" tip.  The website said to take a small piece of fabric... a tea towel or washcloth for example, and soak it thoroughly in liquid fabric softener then wring it out and allow to air dry completely.  Then just throw it in the dryer like a dryer sheet.  Only re-usable instead of disposable.  Supposedly one cloth is good to soften 40 loads of laundry.

Heck, I've got the stuff.  I'm game.  I gave it a try.  If I guess-timated well on how much softener the cloth soaked up and my mind didn't boggle on the math, I figured I could dry more than 2,500 loads of laundry from that one $7 bottle of fabric softener.  Not enough to break the bank by any means but that's a tiny fraction of what dryer sheets would cost.  Even buying an off brand.

And I'm happy to tell you the first load came out great.  Soft, smells nice, no static problems.  Will my washcloth-turned-dryer sheet stand up to 40 loads?  I have no idea.  And it will take a long time for me to have 40 loads of laundry to find out!  If it works, it's a pretty easy little step toward greener and cheaper living.

And speaking of small steps, here's something else to think about...

1 comment:

latter-daymom said...

Good idea about the fabric softener.
I love the information about the effort (energy) to make a plastic spoon versus washing a spoon!