latenightleader:

confession of a no-sorter 

Tracy, you crack me up!

 I do sort quite a bit here, but usually my loads are something like lights versus darks and gentle vs regular cycle.  DD in particular, she has a large load of gentle cycle stuff (embroidery, sequins, appliques, etc-girl's clothes seem covered with delicate stuff!).  But I do throw cotton stuff all together usually-lights together (even if they are colored) and darks.

But, you are especially right in that once clothes have been washed for awhile, they no longer bleed which makes it easier to throw colors together.  Have noticed this too.  Maybe I will try to become less of a sorter!!

 The extent of my sorting is lights, darks and reds/pink/purple.  I have combined all three before if there are only small loads of each and are clothes like jennylyn said have been washed for awhile. 

For years, my kids played ball for the local high school, whose school colors are maroon and white.  Consequently, most everything we owned had a nice "pink" tinge to it, which came from waiting until the last minute to launder a uniform and throwing it in with the wrong stuff!  Good thing we looked great in "white with a sorta-kinda-pinkish tinge" to it--ha!  Miss Paula in Texas

I know this is an old thread, but I just joined and saw your post. Not sure whether you've solved your problem yet, but my mom is a hard-core corn-cobber and she uses the 'gray water' from her laundry rinse as the wash water for the next load. She diverts the water to a couple of giant buckets and then pours it back in. Less water in the drain field, lower water bill.

 That's a great idea, Stacey. I've been trying to use gray water to keep things watered, but when it gets hot, the household doesn't produce enough. If I can catch the washer at the right time, this would definitely help. 

 Oh that's so true (about the sequins etc on girl's clothes) - my daughter has loads of things with iron-on transfers or screenprints or sequins. A dress covered in glitter that ALL washed off....

 When I was ironing five hundred pinch-pleats into a skirt I own (I'd assumed it was permanent-press...!) I determined that half of our wardrobe is NOT frugal or 'simple' - too much high-maintenance fabric!

I made the mistake of buying some Indian style clothes a while ago that were 'overdyed' - a couple of washes and most of the dye washed out making them look patchy, and it continues to wash out so that they can't go in with lights.

Toni,

 My son drives every day from Lockport NY to RIT in Rochester to work.  He had an SUV, has parked it and is driving an efficient Honda now. BTW, my husband was born in Seneca Falls. His cousin owns Robinette's Jewelers. I love your little town.

Momtwo 

Great thread.

So many things that I do which are so "every day" normal to me.

• Line dry.  I line dry outside in the summer, and inside in the winter.   I have 5 lines strung in the basement, and it is enough to hold 2 loads.
• Save grey water.   I leave the lid up on the washing cycle, and save my grey water to 3 buckets in the downstairs bathroom to flush with.   When we shower I save the water into buckets to flush the upstairs with.
• reuse baggies
• use only half a paper towel~~rarely use paper towels
• use ½ the amount of laundry soap called for
• no lights on during the day
• thermostat set to 64º in the winter time~~it is brutal, but it saves when you have to pay the bill
• switched to flourscent light bulbs
• no cable or satellite
• minimum telephone service
• make most of our food from scratch
• very, very, very rarely go out to eat
• make 1 tank of gas last a month
• sew, patch, reuse clothing 

Since I have moved, I am feeling really odd. I am the only one in the cluster of houses around me that hangs laundry, I don't see any veggie gardens and we are among the very few who have older vehicles.

Makes me feel really corn cobby now.

I am one of 2 people in a 3 block radius that has a garden.

I am the only one that hangs laundry out.