Save Money and Time and the Environment - In the Laundry Room

• We hang our laundry to dry on the clothesline as much as possible.
• I never, never, never, never for any reason whatsoever at all buy dry-clean-only clothes. Never.
• I don't iron. Actually, I don't know that this saves any money or makes a bit of difference to the environment, but I do not have time to iron and I hate ironing and therefore do not iron. I don't buy clothes that need to be ironed and I just plain don't iron things, unless I'm sewing and I need to iron a seam or something.
• Some people make their own laundry soap. I haven't ever tried this. We use the Purex free and clear because it's very affordable and doesn't make my kids break out in hives like, say, Tide does.
• We've used cloth diapers, off and on, for both kids. I feel good about using them but the disposable are, for us, easier. And since we're lazy, we go for the disposable option more often than we should.
• When I take off my clothes for the day, there are two options. 1) They are dirty and need to be washed. These clothes go in the hamper. 2) They are not dirty and should be put back in the drawer or hung in the closet. There is no in between. If they aren't clean enough for the closet, then they need to be washed, and vice versa.
• I accept all hand-me-downs. I have no pride, because I can't afford it. However, I don't accept anything that someone will want back someday because that's too much pressure for me.
• I told one friend about this and she said, "EWWWW! That's nasty!" I told another friend and she was like, "Why didn't you tell me about this sooner?!" So, judge for yourself. We wash, in the washing machine, swim diapers. They come out just fine, even if they go through the dryer. If there was poop, we toss them, but otherwise, we wash them. Because, dude, those are expensive.
• This is more of an organization/time saving tip than anything else, but what the hey (hay?). I sort all of the kids' clothes by outfit and store them in their dressers this way. I only ever have a second or two to grab an outfit and I don't have time to mix and match. (Probably because I'm busy planning some elaborate grocery list, huh?)