This is tip took a while for my wife and I to embrace.  With two young children who get into messes on an hourly basis, we struggled with the thought that washing our clothes in cold water would actaully get our clothes as clean as washing in warm or hot water.  However, after trying out different temperature settings and various detergents, we found that if you use the detergents that are made for cold water, you really don’t need to wash in warm or hot water.

Washing in cold water will save you energy by reducing the amount of water your water heater has to heat.  So now, for all but our dirtiest clothes, we wash exclusively in cold water.  Over the course of a years time, washing in cold water will add up to big savings.  

So, take the polar bear plunge!

Photo credit:  Charlyn W