Urban Blog

Making the switch to an indoor clothesline during the winter months can be an annual event for some homes.  As we continue to try to find ways to pinch our laundry dollar and be environmentally friendly at the same time, there are a few other things that you can do today that involve little to no expense and will start giving you positive results immediately.

We have collected six ways that you might not have heard of before, that will help you make a real difference:

• Make your own homemade laundry detergent.  This recipe we found online uses inexpensive, tried and true ingredients that even grandma would recommend.

• Adding just 1/2 a cup of distilled, white vinegar to your rinse water helps remove any traces of detergent residue which can cause stiffness or create a reaction for sensitive individuals.

• The best of our 100% natural cleaning product suggestions is the powerful little lemon, which when mixed with cream of tartar, makes an excellent stain treatment.  Add juice to the wash water to freshen, whiten and brighten your laundry.

• A spray bottle of a half water/half white vinegar solution is also a great stain remover that only costs pennies to make and should be close at hand in every laundry room.

• To make your ironing more efficient, place a large piece of aluminum foil between the ironing board and the cover.  It will help hold more heat and make for faster ironing.

• It may be possible to avoid the added expense (and deeper carbon footprint) of dry cleaning by cleaning typical dry clean only items at home.  You may be able to use a mix of cold wash water and 3 or 4 tablespoons of baking soda instead of chemicals.  Make a light paste to test an inconspicuous spot first.

We hope that you will find these to be valuable and useful tips to remember as you try to find ways to thoroughly clean your clothes while not contributing to possible environmental damage.

Urbanclotheslines.com would like to invite you to contact us to find out more ways to do better laundry, even in these tough economic times, and still be kind to the planet.