To have sustainable laundry habits you could clean each item of hand-sewn clothes that you've made from 100% organic cotton that you've grown using compost from your thriving vege garden in a bucket of water collected from the creek while the birds are chirping you on. Or you could adapt how you wash and dry your clothes. The birds will still froth.
Use zero waste powders that you can buy in bulk (oh, I wonder whose...). Environmentally-friendly detergents won't contain the harsh chemicals and bleaches that can make clothes deteriorate faster.
Only wash your clothes when they're dirty - Don't just throw something in the washing pile simply because
Do full loads at a time - don't bother with half loads or single items, it's a waste of money and water. C'mon!
Go Cold - using colder water saves energy and money and allows the integrity of the clothes fibres to last longer.
When it's wrong, it's right!- wash and hang your clothes inside out so that any agitation caused by the machine or fading caused by sunlight is done to the "wrong side" of the garment.
Lets Hang- by using a clothesline you can save 400kg of CO2 emissions per year! Also, since the sun has Ultraviolet Radiation, by hanging clothes outside to dry, clothes can be further sterilised. Plus, by not using a dryer, no more magically disappearing socks.
Is there a payoff ? Duh!
Kiwi homes do an average of 7 loads of washing per week.
By using colder water with a FULL load, this could save up to 40c per load equating to $145 saved per year.
Bulk buying washing powder means that the larger volume saves money. Each scoopful of powder tends to be 25g. Based on the kiwi average, if you only used our 2kg washing powder for laundry, is could last up to THREE MONTHS!
Tumble dryers cost $1 per load. By simply hanging clothes on a line outside or on a clothes horse inside, you can save at least $182
Altogether, you're saving over $300 per year simply by adapting how you wash your clothes. So yes, it is better to be well hung...