I just read an article about a woman who lived on a fifth floor walk-up in New York City and does he laundry by hand to save her back. The added incentive in doing her laundry by hand (in a very efficient system)is that it costs her very little to do laundry this way.
This took me back to the year that I lived in New York in a 3rd floor walk up. I also found it easier to use my bath tub as a washing machine. Not only was it less expensive than visiting the laundromat which I did once a month or so, but it also made my clothes last alot longer.
My time in the New York apartment was temporary, so I didn’t have my full wardrobe there. I had a couple of pairs of jeans, a few dresses, and some shirts, and similar wardrobes for my kids and husband. We got into the habit of taking off our best clothes when we got home and hanging them up. We also hung up our jeans and slacks to allow them to air out after wearing them. I washed the shirts, underclothing, even towels an sheets by hand once a week. Then, once a month, I took everything, including pants, jeans, and all bedding to the Laundromat or basement laundry for a full wash.
I found that the clothing we wore that year did not wear out or fade like clothes I washed regularly before or after that time period. I didn’t realize it right away, but when I did, I got into the habit of washing slack only when they were really dirty, and washing my other clothing on the gentle cycle and hanging it to dry. I never got back to washing clothes by hand again… and I don’t want to with teenagers in the house, but I do know that clothes fare alot longer when you use the washing machine less.
Andrea Hermitt writes for parenting (specifically teens), the home blog, and also the frugal blog, and homeschooling at families.com.
Also read:
How to Reduce the Impact of Your Laundry
How Much Does It Cost to Do Your Wash?
Tackling Mount Washmore: Easy Laundry Solutions