Laundry has always been a chore I have a hate-hate relationship with. It seems that no sooner do I get a load out of the dryer that I'm doing the whole darn process all over! Not only do I seem to waste lots of time on laundry but I've found that we also waste a lot of room in washer loads which translates into wasted cash. We try to always run loads of laundry which are full but since we don't have a lot of space we kept all of our laundry in one hamper which made it difficult to figure out what we had the most of as opposed to what's easy to grab.

Last week we splurged on a $20 collapsible hamper with 3 compartments and I'll never look back! After only a week I can honestly say this is the best $20 I've spent on a household item for our apartment. The new hamper takes up only slightly more space than our old hamper but the way we do laundry is transformed. We no longer need to guess at how many towels lie hidden below our work clothes; each type of laundry has its own spot which is conveniently 1 load's worth of laundry.

I don't have any hard data from my experience to back up the savings yet but the cost of one load of laundry depending on utility costs and detergent ranges from $.60 to $1 so even if I only save one load a week I've paid of my hamper purchase in 2-3 electric bills. That doesn't even factor in the reduction in time spent sorting laundry or dealing with moving a half load through the entire laundry process which I can use to do other things like write posts like this one. Finally, since the basket is collapsible it takes up less space than our old one and I feel a sense of accomplishment from finishing a load!

According to research by Procter & Gamble, 75% of us re-wear dirty clothes as much as 3-4 times per week. Hoping to capitalize on this trend, Procter & Gamble, which already owns 60% of the $7 billion laundry detergent market, is introducing a line of products designed to clean clothes without actually washing them.

Swash comes in sprays and wipes, and the four different varieties are designed to remove wrinkles, stains, and odors. For about $5 for a small package, consumers can pick up a product that will make clothes re-wearable within minutes.

Swash tested well among college students, but I have to wonder if it will really save anyone any time, hassle, or money. If three quarters of the population was happy to pick up unwashed clothes from the floor without "swashing" them already, why will they think they need this product? Does a $5 Swash stick go as far as a $5 tub of detergent and the energy it costs to run a wash cycle? My guess is that no, it doesn't -- but perhaps the immediate gratification factor will be enough to attract consumers.

My other concern is that those in the habit of re-wearing between washes will perhaps become overly confident in Swash, doing even less laundry than they do now, thus going out in clothes that are smellier than ever. Even Procter & Gamble states that this is not a miracle stick -- it's not meant to replace the washing machine altogether, just reduce the amount of washing we do. Still, this blogger suspects that the product may do little more than perpetuate nasty habits.