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My favorite day of the week when I was a little girl was Saturday, laundry day with my grandmother. Mimi’s washing machine sat in the middle of the basement of the tenement where she lived above the landlady. The shiny white metal monster with a handwringer and big gears shook and moaned while Mimi wrung sheets and I scrubbed stubborn stains on an old-fashioned washboard. Afterwards, we lugged the heavy baskets of wet laundry up the three flights of stairs and got a good workout. Mimi told stories while she leaned out the kitchen window to hang sheets on a clothesline attached with a wheel to the side of the house. I can still hear her voice today when I hang my laundry outside and smell the fresh scent of sheets dried in the wind.

Mothers are experts at utilizing resources. Our grandmothers used the energy of the sun and wind to conserve electricity, which was expensive. Today we know that the cost of electricity is measured, not only in dollars and cents, but in the cost to human beings and the environment. Reducing electricity use lowers mercury emissions from coal-fired electric plants and coal-mining pollution—and can have a dramatic impact on helping to heal the Earth.

Using homemade, natural and time-tested washing, drying, dry cleaning and moth-prevention techniques can also aid the Earth. Our grandmothers did not have the dubious luxury of buying boxes of laundry detergent. They mixed their own non-toxic cleaning solutions using natural soaps, baking soda, white vinegar, hydrogen peroxide and lemon juice—saving money and resources in the process. As an added advantage, they toned their muscles by using human energy on laundry day. Everything about laundry day was good for them, their children and the Earth. With very little change to our routine, we can do the same and get similar benefits today.

Washing and Drying Tips
Here are some helpful washing and drying tips:

• Washing machines work best when full; electric dryers work best when less full.
• Wash a big load. Hang as much as you can to air dry and put the rest in the dryer.
• Launder sheets, towels and clothes in cold water.

• Substitute toxic bleach with vinegar—the perfect natural disinfectant, anti-fungal, antibacterial, antiseptic, stain remover, mildew eliminator, soap-scum dissolver, lime descaler, deodorizer and water softener.
• Add ¼ to one cup of white vinegar to wash.
• Pretreat organic stains like coffee, grass, blood and grease with hydrogen peroxide and Castile soap.
• Use any no-phosphate natural detergent or pure Castile soap.
• Add ¼ cup of vinegar to the rinse cycle for fabric softening and lint removal.

Alternatives to Dry Cleaning
Why dry clean when fabrics can be laundered using simple ingredients—or even the ultraviolet radiation of the sun? Supreme Court Justice Brandeis wrote, “Sunshine is the perfect disinfectant.” And the fresh-air smell is intoxicating when you get back into your freshly made bed, confident that you saved energy and created a memory to cherish. So reduce how often you wash linens like blankets and comforters by sunning them between washes. Here’s how, along with some other dry-cleaning alternatives:

• Lay feather beds and pillows flat and hang comforters in the sun for about an hour; flip and keep them in the sun another hour.
• Feathers fluff up naturally and are sanitized by the heat of the sun.
• Most silks, linens and woolens can be hand washed with care in cold water with vinegar and Castile soap if the fabric is air-dried and not agitated. Agitation and dryer heat, not water temperature, cause shrinkage.
• Spray a ¼ white vinegar to one-part water solution on perspiration stains before laundering.
• Hang silks and linens to dry; iron while slightly damp.
• Dry woolen garments flat on a towel in a bathtub, rack or outside deck.
• Reshape while wet.

Natural Moth and Insect Deterrents
Certainly moths and insects can be a threat to certain fabrics. However, there's no need to use harsh chemicals or smelly mothballs when these natural alternatives exist:

• Lavender bunches or sachets in drawers and closets.
• Dried citrus peels broken into inch-sized pieces.

• Orange-clove sachet balls made from oranges studded with whole cloves with a ribbon attached by a thumbtack to hang in closets. The orange scent mixes with the heavy clove scent as it dries. (Children love making these.)

What we do to the Earth, air and water, we do to ourselves, our children, our children's children and all life on the planet. Nontoxic, low-energy laundry day is a small way to respect, honor and care for the Earth as we care for our families. What could be better than that?

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Additional resources:
The Vinegar Institute – Uses & Tips: Laundry Hints
1001 Uses for White Distilled Vinegar
Seven Uses for Baking Soda in the Washing Machine
Use Sun’s Ultraviolet Light to Clean
Air-Drying Laundry Does Both Earth and Wallet Good
What You Need to Know About Greening Your Dry Cleaning
Eco Chic: A Guide to Earth-Friendly Fashion
How to Make Eco-Friendly Cleaning Products at Home
Tea Tree Oil: A Natural Home Disinfectant for the Flu Season
Natural Home Hygiene, Part 1: Cleaning Your House Without Harming the Earth

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