Itty Bitty Bonzai #6

May 6th, 2009 - filed under: Furthermore » Itty Bitty Bonzai

Itty Bitty Bonzai is a collection of tiny tips and tricks for living a life more mindful. Small actions, collectively and compounded, become a powerful force of change.

#6  Lately I’ve been thinking a lot about laundry, and the many opportunities to ‘clean up’ the clothes cleaning process.

The easiest way to save energy is during the drying.  I always try to hang out my clothes to air dry, but there are some pieces that just require the dryer.  In these cases, be careful you don’t overdry.  Not only is it wasteful, but you can actually damage your duds!  Most machines have a ‘more dry/less dry’ setting, and this is what you should use.  There’s an apparatus to sense the moisture inside, so the cycle will only run for as long as it’s needed.

Using this setting instead of the timer can cut costs by 10-15%.  And of course, always skip the dryer if possible.

BONZAI!
sign-off

  • Meghan

    I live in an apartment and our laundry machines charge $1.50 per load to dry clothes. Our drying racks quickly paid for themselves!

  • http://bonzaiaphrodite.com Sayward

    @ Meghan – It’s a great investment, even for people who own their own machine. Energy is expensive! ; )