No matter what the purpose of your clothes are (practicality, fashion, or both), proper laundry will ensure that your threads last long enough at least until newer trends force you to finally relinquish them from service. But have you also thought about how you can make laundering your clothes a more environment-friendly task?

Wearing it once is not enough. Just think about it, unless you are mining coal in Wyoming or playing Cinderella in your company play, just how dirty can your clothes get? Use your clothes more than once, especially heavier garments like jeans and jackets. Of course icky items such as used socks and underwear don’t count, but you get the picture— less clothes in the laundry, less water and energy used!

Use less water. Whenever possible, load your washing machine to capacity. You can check how much load in pounds your washing machine can accommodate in one washing so that you don’t underload a wash and waste both water and energy. If you’re only washing clothes that are lightly-soiled, you can use the suds-saving feature of your washing machine to save the water which it will use for the next load. When it’s time to buy a new washing machine, choose a front-loading washing machine instead of a top-loading one. The latter uses about 20 gallons of water compared the former’s 40-gallon average. In addition to this, also use lower water temperature settings to save on energy. Remember, the more heat you use, the more energy you waste and pay for!

Opt for safe and natural laundry solutions. The chemicals found in conventional laundry detergents are harmful for both your family and the environment. Opt for safe and natural household solutions like BabyGanics’ Loads of Love Laundry Detergent, which has no chemicals or toxins that can harm or irritate your baby’s skin. It’s safe for the environment too!

Use an old-fashioned dryer—a clothesline. They say that using the dryer eats so much of our electricity that it’s contributing global warming. What can we do? Well duh! That’s why we have the good old-fashioned clothesline! Whoever decided to put them out of commission? It has its benefits, you know, like prolonging the life of your garments by not exposing them to the rough tumbling and drying of electronic dryers. They also let gravity smooth out the wrinkles on your clothes by taking advantage of the weight of excess water, which eliminates the need for energy-consuming, dreary and tiresome ironing. So don’t tell us you just don’t want to go through the bother! On a good weather, take those clothes out and hang them on the line. You’ll get some exercise and some sunlight at the same time.

Maximize your dryer efficiency. Of course you can still use your dryer but make sure to maximize its efficiency. Dry full loads whenever possible and don’t add wet items to an already dry load. You shouldn’t over-dry your clothes too unless you want them to wear and tear faster. You can also take advantage of the heat still in the dryer from the first load by drying another load. If your dryer has a moisture sensor, use it instead of the timer so the dryer can stop as soon as your clothes are dry.