Sunday, October 2, 2011

31 Days: Day 2 - Cold & Wet

If this is your first visit I welcome you to my little corner of the world!  You might want to start at the introduction of this series.  It explains what 31 Days of Change is, and has links to each day's post as they occur.  Just click on the 31 Days to Slash Your Budget Painlessly button at the top of my sidebar on the right.


I know what your thinking.  Cold and wet is NOT painless!  Well in this case it is.  Today's post ties in with yesterday's in that we are still in the laundry room.  I have always heard you could save money by washing your clothes in cold water, but I never broke the habit of using warm water in the laundry. 

I did a little poking around,  and what I found out made me feel all cold and wet when I think of all the money we could have saved over the years with this one little tip.  I honestly didn't realize how much.  I'm not going to regurgitate all the figures, but quoting Saving Electricity, you can save an average of $112/year or $9.33/month if you have a top loading washer like I do.  There are too many variables to be able to tell you exactly what you would save.  It all depends what type and how old your washer is, what your electric company charges per watt, and in some areas of the country, at what time of day you use your washer. 

You can read more about it here to get a better idea of your unique savings, but whatever your circumstances, you can save a lot.  My hubby is a bit of a grease monkey, always tinkering with motors and other stinky, greasy stuff, so I may continue to wash his work clothes in warm water, but I'm switching to cold for the rest of it. 

Based on our electric rates, with a top loading washer, I should save about $164/year or $13.67/month. You can figure your savings at Saving Electricity, using their handy calculator.   Be sure to click "none" for dryer, so you are just looking at the figures for your washer.

If you are benefiting from this series, I’d love it if you would grab my button from the top of my sidebar.  I will be back with another money saving tip tomorrow that could save you anywhere from $150 to $250 per year!!   I will keep up a running tally of my savings at the bottom of each new post. Just scroll down to the bottom to see. Hope to meet you here tomorrow!

Tally so far:
$221.00/year
$18.43/month


6 comments:

  1. Vewry interesting and instructive post dear Deborah!
    Happy new week, kisses.

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  2. Super post again. I will grab your button. I am trying to save and this is so helpful. Always need to do a double check on the budget. Hugs, Marty

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  3. What a GREAT idea for a series!!! I definitely will be following along! :)

    Please stop by if you have time. I'm writing about 31 Days to Love your Neighbor....
    Blessings,
    Melanie

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  4. Great series. I will be following along. Thank you for stopping by to leave a comment. I think your strategy for housework is great! :)

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  5. Nice!!! Unfortunately my washer is a little weird. I can't choose cold water (unless it's a short cycle of 6 min.) - just warm or warm/hot. Will 6 minutes do the trick for bigger loads?

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  6. Love this! :) I am your newest follower! :)

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