Thursday, May 1, 2014

Star challenge #4 - The LAUNDRY month!



Laundry is a big strain on the environment, and if you think about it you probably do way more of it than is really necessary. This challenge should be particularly interesting since doing laundry (in my opinion) is terribly BORING. So, to do less of it is a win-win for me and the environment! Cheers to that!

It is a disturbing thought, that most of what you wash your clothes with is flushed right out into the ocean along with the dirt you want gone. Maybe it's time to make conscious decisions about what you put into that washing machine? Time to make sure what goes in is DIRTY, not just "worn"?



This month's challenge is to make laundry a conscious business of the household!
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Complete the following:

  1. Estimate the amount of laundry your household produces during a normal month (and make it official), then try to reduce that amount by 20% during this month. This means, if you usually do 10 loads during the month you should try to do only 8 (or less).
  2. Only wash full loads.
  3. Change to a earth friendly detergent - make sure it's free from phosphates, zeolites and EDTA.
  4. Do not use fabric softner! If you must use something, use vinegar instead. 
  5. Avoid dry cleaning.
  6. Check the water hardness and make sure you don't overdose the detergent.
  7. Avoid using the dryer and instead air dry the laundry inside or outside. Get set up with line and pegs!

If you manage this, you'll receive a star and 10 points.

Good luck!

Note! If you are a newcomer who wishes to jump on board the Sew for a change challenge, then you'll start with 54 points instead of 75. Check out all the rules here. Welcome!!!

1 comment:

  1. And here is my washing amount statement: on five persons in the household we usually do around 15 loads a month. Added to that is cloth diaper laundry for the baby, about 10 loads a month. That adds up to 25 loads of laundry. Which means we are now aiming for 20 loads for May. Since the cloth diapers will be the same amount this means we will have 10 loads on the household washing this month (which is then actually cutting down 30%). Yikes!

    ReplyDelete

C'mon and make my day!