Whether you’re just getting started on your plastic free journey or you’ve been on the path for a while there’s always another step you can take to reduce your reliance on plastic.
Reducing this reliance may be as simple as ditching your much loved dryer sheets or, on those sunny days, skipping the dryer altogether. Not only will these steps reduce your reliance on plastic, they’ll also reduce your environmental footprint.
Hanging your clothes to try instead of using the dryer means you’ll be not only saving on your power bill you’ll be taking small steps to help save the planet too. A win for you and a win for the environment.
1. Choose Stainless Steel Pegs
Who hasn’t gone to place a plastic peg on the line only to have it snap apart in their hands. The best way to tackle this unfortunately very common problem? Make the switch to a plastic free peg, opt for Stainless Steel Pegs instead.
Those bits of plastic that break apart in your hands can’t be recycled. They are simply another useless piece of plastic that’s headed straight to landfill.
Stainless Steel Pegs won’t break apart in your hands like plastic pegs do.
Stainless Steel Pegs won’t burn your hands in the hot sun – they’re made from one single piece of wire with a hole at the top which allows air to flow through them, keeping them cool.
Stainless Steel Pegs are very strong and hold well to the line, even in windy weather.
The big question everyone asks is “will these pegs rust”? When you purchase 316 Marine Grade Stainless Steel Pegs you can be assured they won’t rust on your clothes line. If you want more information on the longevity of Stainless Steel Pegs visit our blog post on Environmentally Friendly Clothes Pegs.
Switching to Stainless Steel Pegs means you’ll be purchasing one less item of unnecessary plastic, and stainless steel pegs will last you a lifetime.
2. Add some Wool Dryer Balls to your Clothes Dryer
Our next tip for ditch the unnecessary plastic in your laundry room is say goodbye to laundry dryer sheets and hello to Wool Dryer Balls. Yes those laundry dryer sheets are simply single use plastic. You pop them into your clothes dryer then, then toss them after the laundry is done. It’s kind of amazing when you think about how wasteful they are, how they made it onto the market in the first place. But … here we are in a world full of waste.
Wool Dryer Balls are simply wool all bound up into a tight little ball. These balls have many functions, they bounce around with your clothes in the dryer, sucking out the water while allowing air to be added to the clothes. This process not only reduces static, it also reduces drying time and creates soft fluffy fabric. Reducing your drying time means a reduction in your electricity bill. Did we mention that’s a win for you and a win for the environment?
The best part about wool dryer balls is that they can be safely added to your compost once they start breaking down (this could take several years with regular use). You can also add some essential oils onto the balls for a beautiful fresh scent.
3. Spot Clean with Laundry Soap
Have a small mark on your laundry items? Instead of reaching for the bottle of liquid stain remover, or one of those fancy plastic laundry pens — pull out your bar of laundry soap. Laundry soap contains coconut oil which is a great for removing stains. Simply run the bar of laundry soap over the stained area — add water, rub fabric together gently to create suds. You can continue this process until the stain has been removed. For stubborn stains, soak the garment in cold water overnight. If necessary repeat the process above.
Just make sure when you purchase your laundry soap it doesn’t come wrapped in plastic!
4. Swap out your washing detergent for soapberries
What the heck are soapberries? Soapberries, sometimes called soap nuts are berries that are harvested from the Ritha tree, which grown in the lower foothills of the Himalayas. The fruit from the plant is commonly known as Indian Soapberry or a wash nut.
These berries which resemble nut husks can be placed in a small cotton bag which is then placed directly into the washing machine with your laundry items. When these nuts are tossed around in the laundry they release a small foamy detergent which naturally washes clothes.
If you prefer to wash with laundry powder, these nuts can be ground down into a powder — adding a some bicarb soda will add in cleaning and softening the fabric. You can learn more about soapberries here.
5. Hang Your Clothes to Dry
Our last tip on creating a plastic free laundry room, isn’t necessarily only a plastic free tip but one that will save you money, reduce your power bills and reduce your reliance on electricity — one that Mother Nature will love. Unless it’s pouring rain, or you simply have nowhere in your home to hang your clothes to dry — skip the clothes dryer and hang your clothes to dry.
It really is that simple to switch to a plastic free lifestyle!
Have more tips for our readers to follow? Leave them below.
