Two Loads a Day Without Using A Dryer

Two Loads a Day Without Using A Dryer

by Christy
(Florida)

Taylor says:

Have to do lots of laundry, but don't want to use a dryer? Christy shares how she does two loads of laundry a day and saves electricity at the same time.

Christy says:

I don't really have a specific schedule other than two loads a day. I determine what two loads need to be done by looking at what there is to wash. The reason I do two loads a day is because I have two drying racks (we've been avoiding using the dryer so much as a trade off to using the air conditioner - trying to save electricity).

Most days I do one light load (underwear, socks, towels, dish cloths) and one dark or colored load. I try not to do any load that is not full unless absolutely necessary.

Bed linens are done once a week and hung on the outside line so I try to pick a weekend day (when I'm working) that is nice weather. Otherwise, those items are done on Monday.

My biggest issue is keeping my 5 year old from tossing clothes that really aren't dirty into the laundry. I have found that if he doesn't want to put something up or if he has only worn something for an hour or so, he wants to wash it. We will be working on getting that straightened out over the summer with some better consequences for tossing things that truly aren't "dirty."

Taylor again:

So, that's how Christy does it -- I think she has some good ideas. I also know what she means about kids throwing in basically clean clothes to wash again. It can be maddening. Anyone have some good suggestions for how to fix that problem? I know I would love suggestions.

Taylor

Photo by uberculture

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Two Loads a Day Without Using A Dryer

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Mom of 3 rarely uses dryer
by: Mary

I live in cold SD in the winter, but use my basement and a fan with clothes on drying racks. Just as the clothes are barely damp (very very close to dry), I throw them in the dryer for the final 3 minutes to "fluff them up" and dry them. Also, I only use the fan when I want to speed up the process, it uses less energy than the dryer.

To get kids not to put clean clothes in the laundry, I would tell them what they could put in the laundry before they went to their room for the night. I explained why. Sometimes they don't understand why until they are 9-10. Takes a few seconds, but I chose my battles before they started. My youngest is now 18 and oldest is 31 with 3 children and doing this too. Good luck!

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Save time and energy
by: Janell

I do not use laundry as a punishment. Each child (I have 5) has a day during the week for laundry. They do their own laundry. If you skip your day or do not have enough to make a full load, there is always Saturday and Sunday. My youngest is 9 my oldest is 16. We have been doing it this way for several years and it seems to work best. We also save electricity by hanging clothes to dry in the laundry room during the Winter and on the line in the summer and drying only socks and underwear in the dryer.

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Better Consequences
by: Karma

I have four children (all boys) that used to create tons of extra laundry for me this way. At wits end one day, I announced that whoever continued to do so was going to buy themselves the responsibility of doing all the laundry for a couple of days. It still requires your supervision, and will slow down the process for a couple of days, but in the long run they learn really quickly when faced with the additional chore. :)

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