The way you do your laundry can cost you more than you might think and it may also be harmful to the environment. Up to 90% of energy used while doing a load of laundry comes from heating water and dryers are the third largest user of energy in the home.
If everyone used cold water to wash their laundry, and if they dried their laundry on an outdoor clothes line, it would save millions of barrels of oil every year and help lessen our dependence on foreign oil.