My DS & I spent a few hours this weekend creating a way to use the wash water outside. Our biggest hurtle was getting the water "up" to the ground. Our washer is in the basement below ground level. Here's what we did: Bought a 55 gallon drum. Set it next to the washer. We use the existing hole to put the washer hose in. We cut a hole in the top that was big enough to drop a utility pump into (Be sure to cover the hole so nothing falls in!). We then attached a regular garden type sillcock to the outside of the house. On the inside of this sillcock is a section of garden hose that attaches to the utility pump. When we want to save the water from the wash, we put the washer hose into the drum. When the load is finished I attach the section of garden hose to the pump, drop it into the drum & plug it in. I then use a garden hose that is attached to the outer side of the sillcock to direct the water to where ever I want it. Cost of this project: $10 for drum, $3.59 for sillcock, $7.94 for garden hose, $.59 for extra garden hose end, $57.00 for utility pump. Total $79.12. I already owned the utility pump, bought it last year for my rain barrels. Lessons learned: If you buy a utility pump spend the extra $10 & get one with a float switch. Mine has no switch at all, it is strictly plug-in & un-plug. That means someone has to stand & watch it, because if the pump runs without water for very long it will burn up. Keep the washer hose out of the water, other wise it will suck the used water back into the washer machine. Use some screens to filter out the lint. I use one on the end of the washer hose, one over the end of the pump & another on the outside garden hose. This is so I can use the water in my soaker hoses if I want too. This was a very easy project that almost anyone can do. We were surprised at how much water is used, about 35-40 gallons for a single load. ThatÂs a lot of water for the gardens! If a person wanted to, they could set up some drums outside & drain the washer water into them so the water could be used in the future. If my rain barrels run empty during the summer, I can refill them with washer water if I need too.

I bleach all my towels and washcloths. they stay pretty white, but I've noticed if I do as Oakleyok says and soak them once in a while in hot water with Oxiclean, they really whiten up. I do the same thing, detergent and Oxiclean in the washer, let it fill and spin enough (I have a front loader)to dissolve the Oxiclean then pause it for a couple of hours. I do the exact same thing to get greasy spots out of tablecloths or clothing (except I use warm water). Works every time.

Kitchen towels are only in white and therefore you don't have to worry about anything matching or needing to bleach anything or using the "wrong" towel for anything. They're all the same. I buy cheap 100% cotton terry Doctor Joe automobile polishing towels and use them in the kitchen and garage. Once they get a bit stained from kitchen use, they become garage towels. If you buy in bulk cheaply and have plenty on hand, you won't be searching for one when you need it. Group some by the sink, and others by the prep area and yet others in the laundry area. Yes, I use them for cleaning up cat puke. The yuck goes down the toilet and the towel goes in the laundry with bleach. About 2 dozen is a good starting number for the average household. If you have a large household, then maybe double that. I use an old bucket that cat litter came in as the "hamper" in the pantry. If I'm doing a project that requires a lot of them and they're too many to just drape over the side and air out behind closed doors, I usually put them on a baking sheet and place them in the oven as it's cooling down. Use that "lost heat" for something! Do you want to talk about bottled water? We switched to a filter pitcher several years ago and bought a case of bottled water annually and just refilled the bottles as we drank the original water. But they were difficult to sanitize properly and after a recent bout with a nasty GI bug that the other half blamed on a water bottle, I received a dozen plain stainless steel water bottles as a holiday present. So far, they've been a lot easier to clean and fill and I'm really glad we switched.

I have a front loader washer, and I've taken the front bottom panel off (required removing 2 screws) and removed a thingamajig, that is removable (memory is a bit fuzzy on the exact details but I was following the lead of some DIY how to from the web after an acquaintance had described a professional service call that had fixed their washer in such a manner.) Among the probable items in the thingamajig, legos, coins and whatnot, the one item I vividly remember was a small pencil. Repeating the clean out has been on my Martha Stewart list of seasonal things to do as a number of years have passed. ************* I did the job. I guess the thingamajig is a trap. Plastic part that unscrews. Spills about a pint of water on the floor, but mine is concrete, so no biggie, and maybe next time I'll remember to put more towels down. This time there was only a penny and a dime, but that makes sense because the residents of my house are older and legos and pencil nubs aren't the treasures they once were. Still it's a worthwhile activity because like any trap, the innards get nasty. It sounds like my cleanout job was easier than doing your top loader, but I don't think I'd buy a new washer just because of that. This post was edited by onedogedie on Sat, Jan 24, 15 at 12:49