Green Laundry Love

Laundry can be such a chore. And it builds up so fast. But, there are some things I really love about laundry. Like, hanging my clothes out to dry. Now that it's starting to warm up (or out of the rainy season for some of us), we're getting close to a time when you can hang your knickers out.

Doesn't that take longer? Sure does. But, I still love it. At first, it was out of necessity. We moved into a new place and bought an old used washer but no dryer. I liked the idea of saving electricity anyway. We invested in collapsible clothes dryers (about $60 worth, new), which work great. I get about two loads done, up to 3 on a nice hot day.Luckily for me, just before the torrential rains (I'm exaggerating) an inspired friend was getting rid of her dryer and kept asking me if I wanted it. I figured it was better off in my garage than a dump, and it ended up being incredibly useful. I could've hung my clothes inside, but man would our house have been cramped for a few months. Guess I'm not that motivated (sigh). Anyway, here are some of my pros and cons to line/hang/sun-drying.

the Benefits of Sun-drying: Save electricity and give yourself a green ego boost without having to buy an expensive new eco-dryer. Your clothes smell like real sunshine. And spending more time outdoors, which can give a major emotional boost. Oh, and getting to do at least one household chore slowly, giving your brain a breather from the chaos that is modern life. Ahhhh.

the Detriments of Sun-drying: It takes longer; you can't just plow through the laundry in one crazy folding day. Bugs. As in, the occasional spider thinking your clothes horse is the perfect perch or a moth liking your clothes as a hiding place. These two problems only occur if A) you keep your clothes out overnight, and B) you don't use any kind of scent to keep the bugs away (I put some lavender oil and eucalyptus oil in with any washload I intend to hang-dry). Also, if you happen to leave your clothes out in the rain, you may or may not end up with mud splattered on your clothes.


To make my laundry even more economically and ecologically friendly, I use soapnuts (I use Naturoli brand; they also make a heavenly massage oil) with a drop of lavender and eucalyptus oil on the bag holding the nuts. I use Borax with whites. And I use 1/2C white vinegar as a fabric softener. I have yet to discover a really great homemade ecologically friendly stain treatment, but since most of the stains wash out with what I do anyway, I don't really sweat it. I've been using these for over a year with great success.

Someday I'm even going to drain my wash water into a big bucket and use that water in my garden. Since everything I use is plant based with no detergents (I'm pretty sure borax is ok; let me know of I'm wrong), there's absolutely no problem with using it for a garden, especially for flowers. And when my soapnuts are almost dead, I save them in a small container. When it's full, I boil the nuts to get the rest of the saponin (active agent) out and then use that soap to wash my car.

How do you keep your laundry green?