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If you think the home is a place for single use container and water usage, guess again. Welcome to the era of re-use in the home, where any resource should be assessed and measured for re-use efficiency and planning for the re-use should begin at the original purchase or use.
1. Laundry Detergent Containers
The mammoth plastic laundry detergent containers are wizard utility buckets for quick hand washes of mini-laundry loads. Lingerie, socks underwear, a clean t-shirt or shorts, the kind of stuff you end up running out of because you don’t want to burden your machine with a less than full load. If you have a penchant for one-note single item laundering but aren’t satisfied with your own sink washing skills, try this tip.
Dilute laundry detergent, or use much less than the normal amount shaken in a volume of water at least three times its own volume. Pour an amount of water into the container. The amount of detergent can be varied for the type of wear the garment has had. If you are looking to freshen a nightdress versus clean a white shirt for work, the amounts of detergent, temperature of the water, and potential for bleaching necessity or discoloration might happen in a large wash.
Draw clothing like socks or lingerie into the mouth of the container. Use a dowel or unsharpened pencil to stuff the item in. Finish filling up with water, but leave enough room for “tumbling”. Shake the container about 20 times to agitate, and then drain. Pour out the rinse water onto the next full load of towels or sheets. Fill with rinse water, allow time to settle. Shake again and rinse. Clear water and a very light amount of detergent may be necessary for some items.
The last rinse should fairly clean, but allow time or washed items to settle after a brisk shaking. Then drain onto a graywater receptacle, or fish laundry out and wring wet in sink or bath. Hang over line of twine, or in a pinch use a wire hanger hung on an upper doorjamb hook. Doing this before you turn on the heater at night will be totally sustainable since instead of hitting bare walls the heat can serve a purpose.
Use your warm dry home or apartment during the day. Hang up laundry to dry and allow tennis shoes to air out. Tennis shoes worn every day wear out faster than shoes worn every other day. For bacterial concerns use the green made white vinegar cleaner with lemon and baking soda to rinse the plastic container. That’s one less plastic container hitting the landfill, per household.
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