Monday, April 5, 2010

Laundry analysis

Because our water bills have been a little bit higher than we anticipated, David asked me to track how many loads of laundry I run. Our new washer is a high-efficiency front loader, so it actually uses very little water. But I was also curious about our laundry habits, so I kept a tally of loads for the month of March. The results:

12 loads of diapers (every 3 days, on average)
10 loads of regular clothes (about once a week I run a load of lights and a load of darks)
3 loads of scrubs (we always wash David's work wear separately in hot water)
4 loads of linens (2 towels, 1 sheets, and 1 bedding)
-----
29 loads total (an average of 1 load per day)

That's definitely more than I thought; since I don't do laundry every day (I like to run 3 loads in a row to conserve dryer heat, if possible) it seemed like less. Also, laundry is a chore I somewhat enjoy, so I don't make as big a deal out of it (in my mind, anyway) as chores I dislike, such as washing the dishes.

If it seems like our family of 3 washes fewer loads of regular clothes than most, remember my philosophy of wearing clothes several times to make them last longer and consume less water and energy. And if you're wondering whether we regret our decision to use cloth diapers, since they require a good bit of time (all that washing - and folding!): never. They have saved us so much money (and will continue to do so for YEARS!), they've kept an incredible amount of waste out of the landfills (it pains my heart to think of the mountains of disposables people throw away), and they're really not that difficult to use. Plus they're cute to boot!

2 comments:

Diane said...

And remember that the $40 per month you were spending on laundry when you were in the apartment can now go toward that increased water bill! Maybe it's just the cost of having a baby in the house...more baths, more wet washcloths, the diapers, spill cleanups, etc. As frugal as you are, I can't imagine you are wasting any of it!

Katherine T. Lauer said...

I also average a load per day, although my work pattern causes it to be all concentrated Monday through Thursday usually, then I don't do laundry over the weekend.