3 Money Saving Laundry Tips

A college student in a cap shakes out their laundry

Since the fall semester is just around the corner, we're sharing a few tips for doing laundry on a budget. We hope the college students out there find these tips useful, as well as anyone else who wants to keep their laundry costs low.

1. Calculate cost per load to find a budget-friendly detergent

If you divide the cost of a detergent by the # of loads per container, you'll find that non-concentrated liquid detergent is often not as economical as other options, like laundry powder. Additionally, liquid easily overflows in measuring cups, which means you may be getting fewer loads per jug than you think.

Standard liquid detergents contain up to 90% water. Why pay for something that your washer already dispenses?

2. Incorporate distilled white vinegar into your routine

A bit of distilled white vinegar goes a long way, especially if you play sports or work out regularly. Mildly acidic, the distilled white vinegar dissolves soap and residue buildup in your laundry, which makes it feel softer. It can also whiten, brighten and reduce odors in laundry.

A large jug costs under $5 at any grocery store. With each load, pour 1/4 to 1/2 cup of white vinegar into the fabric softener compartment to help blast odor and soften loads naturally.

Pouring distilled white vinegar into a washing machine

3. Opt for reusable dryer balls instead of dryer sheets

A good set of wool dryer balls will last you hundreds of cycles—that's all four years of college if you're a student! Fans of natural scent can add a few drops of essential oil to each dryer ball. You can also use that same oil to make your own linen spray.

Not only is this cost-effective, but this also means that you'll never need to buy single-use dryer sheets or conventional fabric softener, which often contain synthetic fragrances made from harmful ingredients.

We carry Woolzies wool dryer balls because they're by far the best quality of all the ones we've seen and used (the picture below speaks for itself).

Side-by-side of Woolzies dryer ball and a competitor's

If you're doing laundry away from home for the first time, don't forget to read 10 Things to Know About Laundry at College for helpful tips and a checklist of things to bring to make your laundry life easier!


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Words by Mutia Adisoma
Photo of student by Francesca Rao (location: Celsious)
All other photos by Gerald Riedler

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