Should This Post Have Been Labeled PSYCHIC Shopper?

Jun 27 2008

Posted by NCN as Frugality |

I’ve been working my way through the archives of No Credit Needed, looking for dead links and consolidating a few categories. Well, tonight, I stumbled upon this post - written more than two years ago - labeled “Psycho Shopper“.

If you read the post, you’ll find out that I purchased 14 boxes of fabric softener sheets. You’ll even see a pretty picture of those boxes, stacked neatly on the dryer.

No big deal, right? It’s Just another post about saving money and stocking up on a particular, albeit strange, grocery store item. Right?

Well, not quite. You see, if you read the post, you’ll see the following -

If we wash 2 loads of clothing, per day, and use 1 dryer sheet per load, then we will need 365 X 2 = 730 dryer sheets per YEAR. Well, I have 1680 dryer sheets, so, I should be good for, hmmm, let’s see…2 YEARS AND 3 MONTHS. So, the next time I will have to buy dryer sheets will be… June of 2008! HAHAHA! That is insane.

Here’s the kicker. It’s June of 2008 - and yesterday - we ran out of these dryer sheets! How about that? I nailed it.

Side Note: As I take a look at my grocery store price book - the price of dryer sheets has gone up more than 20% over the last two years. Inflation, especially at the consumer level, is for real.

Share and Enjoy:

10 Responses

Jenny

June 27th, 2008 at 9:25 am
1

Hello, longtime reader, first time commenter.

I’d be interested in finding out if, given the price inflation, if you went out and got another year or two’s worth of dryer sheets. I mean, since the price has increased markedly in a relatively short time, would it not be time now to consider whether using dryer sheets is even necessary? Perhaps you could even consider making your own dryer sheets or using something less chemical-laden like scented vinegar?

Anyway, just some thoughts. Thanks for all the good work!
Mary

June 27th, 2008 at 9:26 am
2

Imagine how much I have saved over the years by NOT EVER buying dryer sheets. We just don’t use them - don’t like to go around smelling like ‘eau de downy’.
Paige

June 27th, 2008 at 10:21 am
3

If you feel that you need to use the dryer sheets, you could cut them in half- they seem to work just as well.
Amphritrite

June 27th, 2008 at 11:11 am
4

Paige is right; my mother did this for years to save money on laundry. Another quick fix is to make your own! Centsible Shopper has a good recipe: http://centsibleshopper.blogspot.com/2008/03/make-it-yourself-monday-fabric-softener.html <– It’s good for that leftover conditioner
Christina @ Northern Cheapskate

June 27th, 2008 at 12:09 pm
5

I cut my dryer sheets into FOURTHs and they work just fine!! I can make a whole box last a year that way!

I love that you nailed the timeline exactly… that’s a great skill!
Aaron

June 27th, 2008 at 1:59 pm
6

Great job!! I’m glad to see that I’m not the only person that does this, although since I signed up at the GroceryGame I think my stockpiling may have gotten worse. We’ve currently got enough razors, toothpaste, toothbrushes, etc, etc to last until the second quarter of next year I think. All for half off or more. It’s addictive.
K

June 27th, 2008 at 4:26 pm
7

Ditto on cutting them in half. It has been working fine for me on full loads. I also save them if they still feel a little ‘firm’ and reuse a couple of used ones for the next load. Once those are done they get shoved into an empty paper towel roll and I use them to clean in the kitchen then toss.

I tried using vinegar and it just didn’t work for me. Perhaps if you only owned cotton items. It does nothing for the static in synthetic fibers.

Next I want to try where you dilute liquid fabric softener with water, saturate and then ring out a washcloth and put it in like a dryer sheet.

And I never put fabric softener sheets or otherwise in a load of towels.

The fab softener sheets have also been down-sized over the years. I have some older used sheets that I had ironed and used for interfacing on sewn crafts. The sheets were much sturdier and much larger than they are now and I used to be able to use a sheet for several loads.
Mike

June 30th, 2008 at 7:39 am
8

In fourths? HAH! I cut mine to infinity, and my clothes smell great. NYAH NYAH NYAH!!!!
CreditBoy

July 1st, 2008 at 9:09 am
9

)) so buying dryer sheets more profitable than bank deposit ))
nil zed

July 2nd, 2008 at 2:48 pm
10

When you’ve been used to line drying with no fabric softener because of the greasy feel, then the softness supplied by tumble drying is pretty impressive! However, the static electricity build up was pretty impressive too, so I got the cheapest unscented dryer sheets and cut them in half.

NOW, I live in the UK, and have a weird machine that both washes and dries the clothes. I have gone back to hanging laundry out to dry, but, that whole stereotype about it raining quite often is very true, meaning sometimes, I do have to use the dryer function. Dryer sheets can’t go through the wash first, so, I dilute the fabric softener by 3/4. Works for Me.