Friday, July 30, 2010

Frugal Friday: Less Drying Time

When using the dryer to dry a load of laundry, I've started consistently timing the dryer for a little less time than what I had done before.

Most of the time, it doesn't make that much difference and the load still gets dry. Other times, it may need a bit more time. 

After you do this for a while, you will start to notice  exactly how much time it really takes to dry the laundry instead of just setting it for the same time as you always have.

Sometimes, especially with towels or jeans, everything will be dry except for a few pieces. Instead of restarting the dryer for just a couple items, I'll take them out and hang them over a chair, on the shower curtain rod or on a hanger. It doesn't usually take that much time for them to dry and it saves a little electricity, too!

Even though I line dry most of our laundry, I still dry towels and the occasional load of clothes on extra busy days.  Using the dryer for less time and less loads saves me money in the long run!

**This post is part of Frugal Fridays!

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5 comments:

L said...

That is a good idea to do, Mary Ann, and I try to do the same. My dh would just put a load in there and turn it to almost twice the time, yikes. Not only does that use too much power but the clothes get overly dried as well. More shrinkage too!

Mary Ann said...

Thanks, Lyn.

I forgot to mention that less drying means less wear and tear on your clothes. Therefore, they last longer!

~katie~ said...

My hubby just put up two retractable laundry lines out in our yard!! I'm thrilled to be able to able to line dry our clothes ~ especially linens! I totally agree that cutting down drying time in a dryer is a huge savings in many ways!

TJ said...

I do the same with our clothes - I only dry for around 5 minutes (it may be bad getting the machine hot and then turning off so fast). Drying the clothes for about 5 minutes takes the wrinkles out, so basically I line dry (inside) all of our clothes.

*carrie* said...

Mary Ann,

This is something I need to pay more attention to!