The last couple of weeks we’ve looked at reducing our closets and keeping clothing out of the dumps.
One aspect of clothing care that is often overlooked is dry cleaning. Hangers and garment bags from dry cleaning account for a HUGE amount of waste. These are usually tossed without second
Let’s help keep wire hangers out of the landfill!
thought. The best option is to bring your own hanger and reusable garment bag with you to pick up your dry cleaning. The dry cleaners can reuse the wire hanger and plastic bag that way.
Another option is to donate the wire hangers to a local school, Boys & Girls club, YMCA, church, etc. for children to use in craft projects. Homeless shelters, thrift stores, church clothing banks, and clothing donation centers will also take the hangers!
(It’s also a good idea to research the chemicals your local dry cleaner uses and find a dry cleaner who doesn’t use harsh chemicals- many chemical-free drycleaners and popping up around the nation)
What do you do to reduce your impact from dry cleaning? Email me at blog@keeper.com or share in the comments below!
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Olivia lives in Boulder, Colorado with her husband and 4 year old son. She enjoys spending time in the mountains, studying about essential oils, natural remedies and herbs, as well as upcycling/ DIY projects. Olivia’s family made the move last year towards becoming a Zero Waste household. They have gotten down to one bathroom sized trashcan a month of garbage but hope to be totally Zero Waste by the end of 2015.
Like this? Check out the rest of our Waste Less and Be Green in 2015 series for more tips!
I use the dryel type home cleaners you put in dryer.
We use wool dryer balls! They work wonders !!
I put wool dryer balls in the dryer to help cut down on the drying time and cut waste of disposable dryer sheets.
we don’t have a dryer !! good old clothesline.
I use the at home bags that you use in your dryer.
I use chemical free detergent for my clothes!
I’ve actually never used a dry cleaning service before in my life. That being said, it’s mostly because I’m okay to just hand wash, or machine wash most of my “dry clean only” clothes, or spot clean those fabrics with 90% isopropyl alcohol.
That being said, I’ve seen dry cleaning tags and receipts in shows and movies. Those seem wasteful. Would it be possible to ask for a paperless receipt so you can just show the cleaner your text or email confirmation on your phone/tablet? It’s probably not a huge difference in the amount of waste, but it seems like over time, it’d still add up.
I simply do not buy clothing requiring dry cleaning. Everything is wash & wear in this house!
I dry clean very few clothing items, maybe 4 a year. I usually hand wash and line dry if the item can’t go in the washing machine.
I never buy clothes requires dry clean
If it needs to be dry cleaned, I don’t buy it! I only have machine wash clothing–no dry cleaning waste at all at our house.