How do you get good deals on laundry detergent? I have found the occasional good deal, but this seems like the one product I struggle
to really save on. Any advice would be greatly appreciated! Thank you! -A reader
1) Don’t Be Brand Dependent
One of the easiest ways to save money on laundry detergent is to stop being brand dependent and start buying whatever brand you can get on a great sale with a coupon.
My target price for laundry detergent is $2 for a 48-load bottle or larger. By watching for sales on the store-brand at Dillon’s or by pairing a coupon with a great sale on a name-brand, I rarely pay more than that for a bottle of laundry detergent. Aldi and Costco also have good everyday prices on their store brands if you don’t want to mess with watching sales and clipping coupons.
If you can afford it in your grocery budget, stock up when the price is low so that you don’t ever pay retail for laundry detergent again!
2) Use Half of the Recommended Amount
I’m not sure who decided you have to use a full capful of laundy detergent in order to run a load of laundry, but I’m not buying it. In fact, I pretty much always use half the recommended amount–and I think our clothes are plenty clean.
Maybe this is going to sound over-the-top frugal, but it was a trick my mom taught me: when the bottle has almost been used up, add some water, put the lid back on, and shake it up to get the last remains of laundry detergent cleaned out of the bottle. I can usually stretch the bottle to last for another load just by doing this.
3) Only Wash Dirty Clothes
One of the best ways to cut down on your laundry detergent bill–and your water and electric bill for that matter!–is to just stop washing clothes which aren’t truly dirty. We’re not always 100% perfect about this (especially since my 2-year-old has discovered the joy of changing her clothes multiple times throughout the day!), but we try to re-wear clothes whenever we can.
I can often make a pair of jeans last for two to three days without needing to be washed. I just spot-clean them and re-wear them. (I know some people think that is terribly unsanitary, but seriously, who made up the rule that you have to wear an entirely new outfit every single day? If you’re bathing everyday, I really don’t see what’s the big deal. It works for us and it saves us time and money.)
4) Make Your Own
Truth be told, I tried making my own laundry detergent once and it was a total fail. The goopy, baby-spit-up-like solution was not only icky, it did a horrible job of getting our clothes clean. So I gave up that idea and decided to go back to buying detergent on sale with coupons.
However, I have friends who think homemade laundry detergent is the best thing ever. And when I’ve seen the cost breakdowns, I would wholeheartedly agree that it’s very inexpensive to make your own.
Tammy has a great tutorial on making your own laundry detergent. Or, if you’re a visual learner, check out The Simple Dollar’s step-by-step video below:
How do you save money on laundry detergent? I’d love to hear your ideas! (And anyone want to “fess up and tell me that you also re-wear your clothes?!)
photo credit: Pixel Drip
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I do #2 and #3 all the time!
I tried making my own, and it just wasn’t worth it to me. I hated shredding the soap, so I just decided that detergent on sale with coupons was a better deal when I considered time, money and frustration factors! I try to get the more natural, fragrance free detergent at about 2 dollars for 25-30 loads. I just picked up the new Method detergent for that price yesterday, so I’m excited to see if it works well.
I have also started making my own detergent, but I make dry and it’s not at all a messy process, and it’s fast! I had ALWAYS used liquid detergent prior to this and was concerned about how/if the homemade powdered detergent would work, but it does work very well. I’ve had no problems at all. I use the following formula: 2 cups grated Fels-Naptha or castile soap, 1 cup Borax, 1 cup Washing Soda. Use 2T per load.
@Shelly, I use this same recipe, plus one other ingredient. The recipe I use calls for 1 c. all-fabric bleach or oxy-clean. I find that this helps to keep the whites whiter as I have hard water!
@Christy,
I pretty much use the same thing. But mine has 2 cups borax, 2 cups washing soda, 1 bar of grated Napatha & 2 cups baking soda.
Our clothes and pet bedding come out very clean, fresh smelling and they don’t have that greasy residue that the store bought gunk leaves. I will never go back.
I’ve been making my own powdered laundry soap for the last few months. It’s quick, easy, does a great job on the clothes, and smells nice too. Here’s the recipe I use:
3 cups finely shredded bar soap (3 bars if Ivory or other similar soap shreds to 3 cups)
3 cups 12-Team Borax
3 cups Arm and Hammer washing soda.
Combine in a large container. Shake to combine.
Use 2 T per large load.
I just started making my own, but I use a powdered laundry detergent recipe. No goop, doesn’t take up much space (I actually store about 3-4 months worth in an old icecream pail). You can scent it with whatever bar soap you like too! And, white vinegar works wonderful as a fabric softener. You can scent it with essential oils. I haven’t done that and my clothes don’t smell all vinegary, and come out nice and soft. The only actual laundry supply I buy now is dryer sheets to get out the static cling.
I thought everybody re-wore jeans. Really. Why would you wash something that’s not dirty? I wash after 2 or even 3 wears. If I’m going somewhere where a spot or two matters, I’ll be wearing something besides jeans anyway!
@Cindy, I totally agree! I rewear jeans unless I got dirty or sweaty. Also nice (delicate) clothes. If I dress up for an event and am only wearing my nice blouse or skirt for a couple of hours, I’m definitely going to wear it again rather than putting the wear and tear on it by washing it an extra time.
@Cindy,
I thought most people rewear clothes. I wear my jeans 3-4 times before washing. Same goes for pjs, sweaters, dark pants. Washing dark clothes less often preserves the color. Unless the article is really dirty (which my toddler’s clothes usually are) it gets reworn at least once.
@Cindy, I wish I could re-wear my clothing, but I live in Orlando, FL and it’s just too hot to re-use clothing most of the year. I enjoy the winter/early spring season because I am able to re-wear my clothing, but in the summer when it’s 97 degrees and 95% humidity you just stink too much to even think about it!
@Cindy,
I agree! I also re-wear clothes, especially jeans. Plus it helps darker wash jeans from fading so quickly.
I usually lmake my own (from The Simple Dollar’s tutorial) especially since I use cloth diapers which can only take some types of detergent. But, thankfully Purex is a brand I can use so I got 4 free bottles a few weeks ago at WAGS.
I started making my own laundry detergent using the Simple Dollar Method almost 6months ago. I love using it! I use Ivory soap and usually warm water to wash unless I know the clothes being washed are not super dirty. I do use stain spray on the kids clothes when there is something on them. But in my opinion its so much easier than trying to budget in laundry detergent from the store. Making it is not hard at all takes maybe 15min tops! My other big concern is the environment…I just think of all the plastic bottles I am saving each month. Makes me feel good to do something a little eco friendly.
You aren’t the only one who rinses and shakes up the bottle!! Not only does this use up all of the remaining detergent, but cleans the bottle for recycling! I do this with all product bottles (shampoo, body wash, etc) and can usually get 2-3 more uses out of it! And rarely do I not wear clothes more than once (everything but undies and socks)! You wear undies so you CAN wear jeans again right??
@Abbygail Mendoza, LOL! So true!
I am pretty brand loyal because I find that many “cheaper” brands tend to fade our clothes. My favs are Tide, Gain & All Free & Clear.
When using fabric softener sheets, I cut them in half because I only use for static control & it doesn’t take much. I use what ever I can get for free with coupons!
When washing clothes, do not wash your clothes & towels together as that will cause your clothes to not only pill, but to wear out as well.
@Kristi, I use dryer sheets 2 or 3 times before I throw them out. Sometimes, instead of throwing them away I put them in my sock or underwear drawer (or any clothes drawer) to make things smell nice longer.
@Emily,
Ooo. Don’t throw them away. Use old dryer sheets to clean your shower or bathroom sink. They remove soap scum like nothing else. Just wet and rub!
I am pretty brand loyal too, I think Tide, followed by Wisk are a lot better than other brands, so here is what I do to save money…..I stock up on my favorites when they go on sale, but I only use those for outerwear……hubby’s dress shirts, dress clothes, school clothes, jeans, etc. Then I use cheaper brands to wash other items like towels, pajamas, play clothes, etc. I cut my dryer sheets in half too!@Kristi,
I am very brand-loyal to Tide. It is one of the few household items that I always buy a name brand of. I have always been paranoid about how my clothes smell, and Tide always make them smell great. Although rinsing clothes in vinegar actually removes odors (the vinegar smell disappears when it dries), and is a good alternative to bleach, if you want to be more eco-friendly.
We make our own. This recipe works great for us:
1 bar fels naptha
1 cup washing soda
1/2 cup borax
Melt the shredded soap, mix everything together in a 5 gal bucket and fill to the top with water. Let it gel overnight then stir and put in empty containers. We rinse with white vinegar and do add an oxygen cleaner to our “whites” loads.
@Lindsay,
That’s the same one we make and it works great! With the really dirty boys’ jeans/work clothes, I just add extra and sometimes use Shout for tough spots.
I make my own too! It’s super easy, SUPER cheap, and has always worked great. I dance ballet, and one day I got terrible blisters on my feet that bled into my tights. With no pre-washing, my home-made detergent got the blood out! I love it!
My husband and I regularly re-wear shirts and pants/jeans a few times assuming they are still clean. I think the fact that they are not subject to the constant washing/drying makes them last longer too. But for some reason we have let our kids get in the habit of tossing their clothes right into the dirty laundry pile at the end of the day. I don’t know why I never looked at that more closely. Especially on school days when they have not romped around much or gotten dirty at all- thanks for making me think!
I couldn’t agree more with these tips. Especially about re-wearing clothes that aren’t dirty. And not filling the cap to the fill line with detergent – there is just no need. I implement all of these daily!
-Lauren
We’re loving soapnuts right now. They work super well on cloth diapers if you use those too, and hubby’s construction work clothes and everything. I just paid $30 for about 6 months’ worth- family of 4. I think that’s a pretty good deal.
I do 1, 2 & 3
I buy what is on sale and I have a coupon for.
I only use 1/8 cup of detergent for a full load of laundry at the most.
Try this: wash your clothes. Then rinse them again and again and again. See how many times you have to rinse your clothes till the water comes out CLEAR & CLEAN with NO SOAP RESIDUE. Then you will realize how much laundry detergent you really need or DONT NEED to wash your clothes. If you have the new machines you will need even less. I think my mom said 1 TABLESPOON per full load.
Remember.. SUDS dont make your clothes clean… and when you use TOO MUCH soap in the end it breaks down the fibers in your clothes and causes fading AND… if your one who is sensetive to detergents… did you ever wonder why…. YOUR WEARING DETERGENT BAKED IN YOUR CLOTHING !…
Rebecca
MOM OF 3 GREAT KIDS
Andrew 22 US ARMY
Bella 3
Liam 2
I haven’t tried making my own yet. Had a hard time finding all the ingredients but the last 4 bottle of detergent I purchased for less than $2. 2 I got for $1.97 each then this week I purchased B1G1 free at $3.97 for a bottle so I got those for half that. I was thrilled. Either way I feel like I’m saving big on it.
@Alyssa, I couldn’t find washing soda at walmart and assumed it was non-existent, but i found that kroger carries both washing soda and borax, which are the only two ingredients i use other than bar soap (simple dollar recipe).
I totally agree about wearing clothes a second time. I can’t do it with shirt as I sweat waay too much, but pants? Absolutely! I always had to do that when I worked and had to dryclean clothing. Can’t imagine my dry cleaning bills if I hadn’t worn my pants more than one time. Would have been out of control!
I put water in all my bottles to get a few more uses out of them.
We love making our own! It takes a few min a month and costs less than 10$ for a year worth of detergent! Great stuff! And it doesn’t act up my kiddos excema- love it!
I have had a good experience making my own laundry detergent. It is gloppy and looks weird, but it did the job. but then I ran out and just started using the stuff I had bought on sale again. I guess it’s time to make some more.
I tried making it once and it was one of the rare times that my time was worth more than the amount I saved. Plus, with clothes that get really dirty (i.e. teen boys, country living girls), the few extra dollars are worth it…and I rarely say that.
I always rinse the detergent out. I do the same with the last bits of my soap, sauces in the can etc….not over the frugal….just smart living….hee hee. Over years and years, this adds up to quite a bit.
I don’t make my own. I have everything I need to make my own except the bucket. We are a family of 6 so I do a lot of laundry. I have been using the same bag of Norwex detergent for about a year. We have a front loader so I only use between 1/2 and 1 teaspoon per load. There are no fillers or additives so you don’t have to use as much. I do add borax or a cheap (or free) laundry enhancer for whites. It does a good job abd I think that 22.00 per year for detergent is pretty good.
I buy Tide when it’s on sale, and use it in my homemade soap instead of the bar soap. It doesn’t glob up, it makes nice bubbles, and smells nice. I measure 3 cups Tide and pour it into my “re-usable” 300-oz Tide container. Then I boil enough water to dissolve 1 cup washing soda and 1 cup Borax, and add it to the container. Then I fill the container the rest of the way with warm water, give it some good shakes, and we’re back in business!
@Merrilee, I think using laundry detergent instead of soap is a wonderful idea. No shredding and you get that nice smell of the detergent you use. Thanks for the tip.
I also use less than the recommended amount. In addition, we rewear clothes (shirts, pants, pajamas) unless they are obviously soiled or stinky. I figure, 100 years ago my great grandparents didn’t have the luxury of multiple changes of clothes and a machine to launder them in at their whim, so I don’t need to do that either!
It also saves wear on the clothes and lets your clothes last longer.
I tear dryer sheets into 1/3 and don’t get static. And I only put underwear, socks, fleece, bed linens and towels in the dryer. EVERYTHING else gets hung up on my drying racks in the basement.
Oh, and I wash everything except bed linens in cold water.
I re-wear jeans and things like sweaters or sweatshirts if they arent dirty. In the case of the sweater or sweatshirt lots of times they have a layering piece like a t-shirt or cami underneath them (I do wash those). My husband wears the same pair of khakis to work usually 3-4 times before washing them. (He calls it his version of recycling.) We also re-use our towels by hanging them on towel racks to dry out in between uses. All of these things are not only bulky in the wash, they also are slow to dry in the dryer. By not washing your clothing as much it helps prolong the life of the clothes themselves.
I do buy my laundry detergent but I just keep an eye out for sales to match-up with my coupons.
I rinse out my detergent bottle to try to get out every drop. I do this with body wash, shampoo, liquid hand soap, dish detergent, and things like spaghetti sauce. It also helps to clean them out before I put them in the recycling bin.
I have not tried making my own yet, several of my friends do though. I stocked up last fall when All was on sale B1G1 and with coupons it was only $1.87. As we have started getting a little low I was able to get Purex when they wear on the B1G1 deal at Walgreens a month ago for free! Two weeks ago All was on sale again B1G1 and with the $2 coupons I got them for $.85 each. For simplicity sake for now I will continue purchasing but I am open to trying to make mine in the future!
I used to think detergent was expensive, so I stocked up when I got a 32 load bottle for .50 at Walgreens. Since then, I have always been able to find GREAT deals, and now have more laundry detergent than I need. I had to give some to a friend. I shoot for .05 or less a load. I certainly like some brands above others, but I am willing to use a “cheaper” brand if it is really inexpensive. I was able to get Purex for less than a .01 a load the other day so I will use it rather than a nicer brand…but I have also found Tide for .04 cents a load. You just have to look and stock up when you find it!
@Ashley, I sent Purex an email about a month ago letting them know how handy their 3-in-1 detergent was when we went on vacation (way cheaper than what was at the hotel and easier to travel with than liquids or powders) and they sent me a couple coupons for free detergent! It was definitely worth my time to let them know how I felt about the product and they got some feedback! Win, win!
I’ve been using homemade liquid detergent for almost a year and a half. We use cloth diapers and I have sensitive skin and we are trying to be environmentally responsible. I always do clothes in cold water. And we all rewear our clothes except socks and underwear. We don’t use dryer sheets any more because they make cloth diapers, towels, and cleaning rags less absorbent. Instead we use those nubby dryer balls. I make detergent 10gallons at a time. That lasted about a year with one kid in diapers and using rags instead of paper towels, since I use about 2 oz per load of clothes or 4oz for diapers in a front load washer. I use vinegar in the rinse on diapers too.
We re-wear clothes all the time too! My boys love changing their clothes and I have a stack of clothes in their room that are “worn but not dirty enough to wash” – once they’ve been worn awhile they’ll get thrown in the laundry. And yes, my jeans get worn at least a couple days before washing. We don’t have a washer and dryer at home right now, so it made me think how much laundry I am creating to carry out and do elsewhere….. totally helps cut down on the laundry!
Your re-wear jeans comments made me laugh.
I do the same thing and I figure 100+ years ago women only OWNED two maybe three dresses and only did laundry once a week so basic math tells you they were re-wearing dresses. AND they didn’t take nice hot showers every morning either. I say go for it. 
I always use coupons on detergent, wear our clothes more than once or twice before washing so you certainly aren’t alone in that area either!
Ditto those who make their own laundry detergent. I make dry as well because it’s so easy and cheap!
I use: I cup borax (Marcs ~$3/9+ cups), 1 cup washing soda (Acme ~$2.50/9+ cups), 1 cup baking soda (Marcs ~$.25/cup) and a bar of grated soap (Marcs ~$1/3 bars)
One batch washes about 30 loads (I use 1-2 tbsp/load depending on how dirty the clothes are), so close to the amount a small bottle of liquid detergent washes. It costs me less than $1.25/batch to make this, which is a deal that’s hard to come by on other laundry detergent! Plus, it’s way better for the environment than regular laundry detergent, and I can use whichever bar soap I like, so I have a variety of scents to choose from! Love it!
I absolutely agree with only washing clothes that are dirty! My main reason is not necessarily the cost savings as much as it is that “worn” jeans feel 1000x’s better than jeans that have been washed.
Another tip of mine is to only wash clothes when you have a full load. If you only have a few items that need to be washed, hold out until you can fill the washer to capacity so you aren’t wasting time, detergent or energy.
I totally re-wear my clothes. Not usually tops, but jeans can defiitely go 2-3 days. Unless you spill something on them or drag the hems in the mud why not? I’ve tried to get my husband to realize that he doesn’t have to wear new jeans everyday, but it hasn’t caught on yet. I think he changes his clothes more times than our baby sometimes.
I would think that most people re-wear jeans! I know I certainly do – 2 or 3 days! As for the laundry detergent, I’m getting all the ingredients together for the dry laundry soap. I have heard it works great. For those of you who had a hard time finding the borax and washings soda (as I did), Alice.com sells both of them, and they deliver for free!
I wash my jeans very irregularly. They hardly ever get dirty (and if they are, you can’t tell!
), and I find that they last much longer if I only wash them every few wears. I do sometimes toss them in the dryer for a few minutes between washes to regain the shape.
@Cate, I read the word “wears” as “years.” LOL! I’m checking in as someone who only washes jeans when dirty, which isn’t very often.
@Katie, I did, too! Then I went back to read it again! Totally agree on only washing clothes when dirty. Last night, however, my youngest son (who is 5) wore pants that WERE dirty- to CHURCH! He’d been out playing and gotten his church clothes wet and, without my knowing, went home and changed into a pair out of his dirty laundry basket. (My husband is the pastor and we live right next to the church). Too late to go change again, so I endured the grass stained knees and hoped no one else noticed!
I read it the same way and I was like “holy cow.” LOL!
@Ln, I read the same thing!
Maybe something about the “y” on the end of “every” tricked our eyes? Ha Ha 
Glad you don’t wait that long to wash them!
@Katie, LOL! No…I think that would be a bit much!
We do the same thing with jeans in this house! 2 maybe 3 times. Especially my husband who only wears them for a few hours at a time if even that since he dresses up for work. And I do your little trick with shampoo too – add water, shake and use! Never thought to do it with the laundry detergent, duh! And I use half of what’s recommended as well.
We rewear jeans, shirts and pajamas too! I thought everybody did this. Our exceptions are my husbands work clothes ( he gets really dirty at work) and my three year old who manages to make stains appear out of thin air!
We too try and look for deals on laundry detergent. I have found that some store brands are not as good for getting stains out as the name brand. Does anybody have any great tips for getting stains out?
Heather
@heather, Heather– I’ve found that there is nothing that won’t come out with an overnight soak in hot water and Oxy Clean.
@Lucky, An overnight soak in Biz works great on my kids’ clothes (even if they’ve had a bloody nose!)
@Christie, Ditto! I always soak baby clothes overnight with a scoop of Biz and a half ‘cup’ of detergent. Soaking is the real secret to clean clothes!!!
Sadly, I did find one thing. I pack my off-season clothes in bins and put them in storage. I recently discovered my favorite “Easter” sweater had grown mildew! I soaked it in hot water and Oxyclean for 24 hours. The ugly mildew spots lessened but are still visible. I’ve tried washing with vinegar, washing soda, everything I can think of except bleach. I may have no choice but to bleach my hot pink sweater to see if it is wearable again. Bummer! Any ideas?
@Laura,
I use M30 Stain Remover (Dollar General for $1), takes out anything and haven’t ruined a garment yet.
I use Charlie’s soap for detergent – it’s marvelous and cheap per load. I like that it doesn’t add anything to the clothes, but just cleans them. And I’ve heard multiple people say online that it’s much more effective than homemade soap.
I hate to wash my jeans! Then I have to squeeze and “dance” back into them!
@Jaclyn, I was scrolling through here wondering if I was the only one who hated washing my jeans because then they’d be tight again – not to save on my laundry!!
The homemade recipe with the borax, washing soda, and Fels-Naptha works well! When I first made it, I took an old t-shirt outside and ground it into the grass, then smeared another part with chocolate. I let the stains set overnight without pre-treating, then washed it with the homemade soap. The chocolate came out completely and all but one little faint green part of the grass stain came out, and that was good enough for me! I have a front loader so the recipe makes about 640 loads. Using coupons from the Dial company and A&H the last time I made it, the recipe cost apprx. $1.40, so that’s .002 cents per load, or apprx. 10 cents for a 48 load container. Yay! (I hope my math is right, hehe)
I have to use certain kinds of detergent (free and clear – brand is less important), so I’m not always able to take advantage of sales. But, I watch for sales and coupons, and I recently got one of the gigantic jugs of Tide free and clear for around $9. They were on sale for $10.99 and I had a coupon for a couple bucks off. The 2x concentrated version goes a LONG way.
My husband uses fabric softener on some of his clothes, and I got a coupon out of either the Redplum or Smartsource from Sunday for $3 off a bottle of Snuggle. The big bottle was $4.88 so I ended up paying $1.88 for enough softener for six months! The smaller bottle would have been $.88 after the coupon.
@Ashley R. I have severe skin allergies, so I have to go for the free & clear ones too, and generally stick to All free & clear or Method detergents. The All detergents go on sale quite frequently though, and have coupons, plus I tend to use a little less with each load too.
For detergent I make a homemade batch (a dry recipe) and mix it half-n-half with Tide. I have really been liking this.
I tried just homemade and my clothes just were not getting clean. I also tried the homemade liquid and it didn’t work AT ALL for us.
Soap Nuts are super cheap and get everything (including our cloth diapers!) clean. You can google to find out about them or look at the LaundryTree.com website. The only (semi) drawback is you have to wash in warm water to use them as-is.
I’ve thought about making my own, but my boys have very sensitive skin and eczema and I think the Borax would be too harsh. We always get free and clear detergents. I thought $2.50 for a 32-load bottle was a decent price; looks like I need to raise my standards!
And funny; there was just a thread last night on the Bump about re-wearing jeans. Looks like most people do! http://community.thebump.com/cs/ks/forums/thread/34060573.aspx I do re-wear clothes if they’re still perfectly clean.
@Amy, We thought the same thing when we made our own but it has actually helped my daughters condition. There are no dyes or anything that you don’t add yourself. When I ran out we had a bottle of tide free to use up and the flare up came back so now we always make our own saop.
1. I only like the fragrance-free brands, so I used to get the cheapest one and stock up on sales. And yes, I did rinse out the bottle for the last load or two.
2. I wouldn’t say I use half the recommended amount, but I do look for the actual level marks inside the cap and use the lower one. I do have hard water.
3. There are some clothes I will wear two or three times.
4. I just started making my own. I do the powder kind because it’s quicker and takes less space. It’s not that quick for me, though; it does take a while for me to grate the soap. I consider that to be my arm workout for the day. Yes, I do switch back and forth between my two arms. Even with my hard water, it seems to work just as well as my old detergent (maybe slightly better–a dried stain I didn’t expect to come out did once). (I used Shelly’s recipe, #3 above, with the (unscented) Castille soap–one bar made two cups!)
5. Another hint is to wash things only once:
* I always check pockets for tissues.
* I get the clothes hung up right away before they start smelling mildewy.
* Whenever something spills, I try to clean it or get the garment soaking right away so that the stain comes out the first time.
* For really dirty loads, I leave the washer lid up so that the washer will stop and let the clothes soak for a while. This makes them much more likely to get clean the first time.
When it comes to re-wearing jeans, I’m pretty sure I’m a pro. I have two pairs of jeans that I wear regularly and I only do laundry about every two weeks. You do the math (I wear jeans just about every day)
@Jordan, I do the same thing. One pair of jeans that I wear, and laundry once a week. I just wear ratty pants or shorts and stay home when washing my jeans.
I’ve never thought of making my own laundry soap. Wonder if hubby would let me.
You definately don’t have to use the recommended amount of detergent. Our washer recently needed to be repaired, & my repairman specifically instructed us not to use the full cap! He said it’s too much for most loads, and can cause buildup in your machine.
We so wear our clothes more then once. If it doesn’t have a spot on it and it doesn’t smell then why not wear it again. I usually don’t do this for underwear or socks but pants, shirts, pj’s and especially sweatshirts and sweaters we do wear a second time. Even my 2yr old has learned which clothes go in the laundry and which ones go in the re-wear pile. Though she is now in the pick out her own clothes and dress herself stage so there have be days she has re-worn something that should likely have gone in the laundry. We also tend to forgo changing out of PJ’s if all we are doing is hanging around the house, no need to dirty clothes to stay home. I’ve also been known to let her go out in her PJ’s if we are just making a quick run to the store, saves clothes and time in the long run.
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