I know a lot of people talk about how you can get away with using less laundry soap than the directions call for (and I do), but have you ever considered halving other things? Growing up, I watched my mom rip her dryer sheets in half before putting one of them into the dryer. When I asked her why she did that she said she once knew a woman whose husband worked for a company that made dryer sheets. She told my mom that there was no reason to use a whole sheet - half would work just as well (and it's what her husband told her to do!). My mom was skeptical at first, but then - what do you know - it
did work just fine and it made her boxes of dryer sheets go twice as far!
For most of my married life (if I have had access to a dryer) I have fallen back to using whole sheets instead of ripping them in half. But last year when we came back to live in the States and I started actively trying to find ways to cut corners and make a dollar stretch, I started ripping my dryer sheets in half. I rip them in thirds if it's a small load (like when I'm washing something that hasn't been washed before). I was already buying the cheapest dryer sheets I could find, but ripping them in half makes them even cheaper. I used some whole sheets from this box, but even with my partial whole-sheet usage, it took me six months to use 120 sheets. I think I can make the next box stretch even more if I only use half-sheets...it's like a little game.
Before you leave a comment telling me that I should be line-drying if I really wanted to save money, here is my defense (and remember, what works for me might not work for you and vice versa). First off, if we suddenly found ourselves jobless, I probably would stick a line out in the yard and do what needed to be done. However, one of the things I loved most each and every time we were Stateside was wearing dryer-dried clothes and using dryer-dried towels. I've worn my share of line dried clothes overseas and I won't go back to stiff socks and crinkly trousers if I can help it. ;-)
These were taken when we lived in Mozambique - I missed my dryer-dried socks! ;-)
So it's a little thing, but if you are like me and you love your dryer - every penny saved counts! Happy Friday!
Linked to the Frugal Friday post over at Life as MOM and Super Savings Saturday at Money Saving Mom.
That is so funny about the socks! I get them stiff off my line sometimes like that, too, but I just mush them up and it helps.
ReplyDeleteI love line-dried clothes, but there's also something about that warm, fresh-from-the-dryer smell, too!
I 'treat' myself to those Purex 3-in-1 sheets sometimes, when they are on sale. They are pricey otherwise, but I stretch them by cutting them in halves or thirds depending on the size of the wash. I haven't used dryer sheets in years--I usually use liquid softener if I'm using regular detergent.
Girl, i try to line dry our clothes with hopes of saving tons of money on electricity for about 1 months. After meeting several spiders, I made the executive decision to stick to the dryer! :)
ReplyDeleteI have always ripped and like you sometimes in half, sometimes in thirds, I also save the used ones and then sometimes toss a handful of them in the dryer instead and they give me one more load.
ReplyDeleteI don't even bother with dryer sheets any longer! I use 1/4 cup of vinegar in the rinse cycle of the washer. If I forget...which I do often, I wet a wash cloth with vinegar and throw in the dryer.
ReplyDeleteOh! and NO, my clothes do not smell like vinegar. :)
"A stiff towel is a clean towel"--how well I remember! I love having a dryer in the states! I didn't have one when I lived in France, and drying clothing inside doesn't always work so well.
ReplyDeleteA gas dryer, timed drying on low, and no dryer shets works for me!