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If Simon sounds like a bit of a muppet for his impetuous offer to live without a fridge for a month, how much more muppet-like am I for offering to give up our family washing machine? Perhaps I just wanted to seem like one of the cool kids? Perhaps I just like jumping on bandwagons. Either way I’m totally committed to taking up the challenge.
Of course, I’m not really giving up doing the laundry. What I’m hoping to find out is whether it is cheaper and more energy efficient to use the local launderette for big loads of washing a couple of times a week, or whether the convenient, at-home machine that gets used more or less every day is more economical.
Simon has already established some ground rules for greater energy efficiency for home washing. And I do my level best to wash at 40 degrees, use economy programmes and our machine sits under the boiler (which may or may not make a difference depending on who you ask).
However with the best will in the world, I can’t say I never have to run the machine through a wash twice (because everything has gone a bit musty from being left in the machine too long) or that I don’t just stick the odd single item in for emergency use.
So will the discipline of having to organise washes at the launderette and to pay directly for them there-and-then make things more efficient or less? Come back in October to find out.
Header image by Flickr user Tim Patterson
In post image by Flickr user JasonRogersFooDogGiraffeBee
Good luck Tamsin – sounds like you’re going to have to ask the launderette owners some searching questions about their electricity bills.
I’m already wishing there was a fridgerette around the corner where I could go for a spot of milk-not-yoghurt to go in my coffee
The logistics are going to be reasonably complex on this. But not impossible.
I’ve spoken to my local launderette who are happy to let me measure the electricity usage of their machines.
Once I’ve worked out my energy measuring framework I’ll update everyone with a more detailed post.
I used to live in a flat with no washing machine and I had a little Sunday ritual of taking my laundry up to the laundrette, popping to the shop for the paper, having a coffee, heading back to the laundrette to put the washing in the dryer then having a large glass of red wine in the pub next door. It was a great opportunity to have a bit of quiet time and read the whole paper. Also – did you know that loads of people love laundrettes – my friends little sister always has her photo taken in laundrettes she stumbles upon (in an arty way) and I’ve put a link to a laundry loving blog in the name.
Love the museum of laundry blog, thanks Caroline.
And hadn’t come across this before, but apparently the right to line-dry your laundry is a real issue in parts of US http://www.makeitandmendit.com/2009/09/23/hang-your-washing-out/.
Ouuuu – One of the comments in that article talks about an amazing vegetable soap that is brilliant for handwashing. That sounds like it would be very handy for you Tamsin – maybe for emergency washes in the week.
I am staggered how much washing I seem to do. Do we all were our clothes less before washing them – or are modern fabrics more prone to harbour odours. I know my teenagers see the dirty washing basket as a more convenient solution than putting anything away! We replaced our washing machine recently and I found the website http://www.sust-it.net really useful in finding the most energy efficient make, we had to pay a bit more, but if it means it lasts longer, and costs less to run per wash it will be worth it. I’ll be interested to see how using the launderette works out – I bet it makes you think more about what really needs washing.
I get really stroppy if I see something I really like that’s dry clean only, so I can only imagine how daunting not even being able to machine wash in the comfort of your own home will be. I used to have to visit laundrettes when doing the house share thing. Like seedless grapes, I’d never go back to the alternative now! Living without central heating is posing a related issue – we have no tumble dryer and drying laundry on the old whirligig could be out of the question. Without radiators to drape things over, I’m guessing buying a tumble dryer is against the spirit of the thing?
So challenge has begun – Cara, take a look at the fist post here: http://living.morethan.com/2009/10/09/suds-lore-the-washing-machine-challenge-begins/