5 Ways To Be Green At Home -- The Laundry Room

This is the latest post in my series called "5 Ways To Be Green At Home".  Each posting includes suggestions for a different room/area of the house.  They are by no means the only ways, but the first five ways that come to mind.  For the most part, the suggestions don't require much effort and may be things that you're already doing and you don't realize it.

For some of us, the laundry room may be a dark corner of the basement.  For others, it might be located in a room that also functions as an entry point into the house (what many call the "mud room").   Whether you use the room on a daily basis or only when absolutely necessary, it is often a neglected room when it comes to green living.  The following are ideas that will be good for the environment and good for your bank account.

1.  The washing machine and dryer play a critical role in the functioning and efficiency of the room.  When purchasing, make sure to chose Energy Star rated appliances.  In the case of a break-down, have the machine repaired (or better yet, fix it yourself and save more money) rather than buying new.  This will reduce the number of appliances entering the waste stream (landfills). 

2.  After washing your clothes, hang them to dry -- either on a clothesline outside, or on horizontal pole installed in your laundry room.  Not only will this save energy, it will also extend the life of your clothing when they aren't subjected to the tumbling and rubbing in the dryer.  If you must use the dryer, time the washing and drying cycles such that a second load can be placed in the dryer immediately after the first load is removed.  This will take advantage of the already warm dryer; therefore, requiring less energy and time to dry the second load.

3.  Some people prefer to make their own laundry detergent as I'll be discussing in a future post.  But this may not be for all of us.  As I'm not ashamed to admit, I'm lazy, and sometimes making my own detergent sounds like too much work.  When you use a store bought laundry soap, pay close attention to the instructions on the bottle.  Most brands have measuring lines inside the caps.  There may be 3 lines and people automatically fill to the highest line.  However, the instructions might specify to fill to the first line for a small load and the second line for a large load.  By filling to the third line, you're using more detergent than necessary.  

4.  Make a pile of clothing that needs ironing and wait until several items are in the pile before ironing them.  By ironing several items at once, you are saving on energy by eliminating the need to heat up the iron for each article of clothing.

5.  Keep in mind that clothing doesn't have to be laundered after every wear.  Some items, such as jeans, sweatshirts, sweaters, blazers, can be worn a few times before washing.  This will reduce the number of loads you wash, saving on energy, water, and detergent.  It will also extend the lifetime of the clothing.  So sometimes the lazy way is the better way…

For those laundry rooms that serve as an entry into the house, it is essential to have a rug by the entry door.  Any dirt, pollutants, chemicals, and/or toxins that are on a person’s shoes will be transferred to the rug rather than tracked into the other areas of the house.