Debt Dumpers 2026

[barkley]

Jeans (denim) is actually the one things you shouldn't wash super frequently (unless there's visible stains then it doesn't matter if you just washed it you could at the very least spot clean them). It's not necessary and breaks down the denim faster.

Febreze is your friend

febreze is a friend so long as you have no scent sensitivity. I've worked in situations where staff made it known that colognes/purfumes could cause them to become ill and people would accommodate by not wearing it but they totally spaced when it came to using febreze (or downy) on their clothes. for me personaly the sickly sweet smell of those products will trigger a migraine.

the best product i've found as just a standard detergent that works really well getting stains out that also has (for me) the benefit of being scent free is arm and hammer with oxy clean.

All the antibacterial things you use are not really helping you. It can be hurting you as well since the germs can become resistant to it.

it can also prevent someone from catching a mild variant of a disease with minor symptoms which will provide them with lifelong immunity vs. catching the stronger variant which can have much more severe and dangerous consequences. it's fascinating to read of how polio was commonly encountered with little to no consequences in children in the 1800's but the unforseen consequences of advances in better hygiene and sanitation reduced their exposure/immunity so they were at much greater risk when they were subsequently exposed to the more aggressive variant.

Don’t over-wash them. Some hardcore jean enthusiasts say you should never wash your jeans (including the Levi’s CEO), as this can cause them to fade and the fabric to weaken

when I was in school jeans and 'cords' (corduroy) were pretty much the only pants the guys wore. you could tell whose moms insisted on washing after every wearing of jeans b/c there was a noticable relaxing of the fabric over time. the girls LIKED wearing jeans that had softened so it wasn't uncommon for their new pair to be washed repeatedly right after buying but the guys? I knew several who would activly try to hide their jeans from mom's well intentioned (over) laundering.

 

[Twilghtsprkle]

None on hot water. Most things dried on low, except towels.

Bedsheets, towels & underwear I always wash on hot & dry hottest setting. Because somehow I had to deal with my kids picking up pinworms more than once (last time when the oldest was a HS freshman). So that kinda mentally scarred me.

 

[WDW_fan_in_TX]

febreze is a friend so long as you have no scent sensitivity. I've worked in situations where staff made it known that colognes/purfumes could cause them to become ill and people would accommodate by not wearing it but they totally spaced when it came to using febreze (or downy) on their clothes. for me personaly the sickly sweet smell of those products will trigger a migraine.

Very true. I'm allergic to fragrances. So we can't have any candles in the house. No colognes, perfumes, fragrance free soaps, detergents, shampoos, toothpaste, even. It's crazy. I never thought someone could be allergic to fragrances.

 

[barkley]

Bedsheets, towels & underwear I always wash on hot & dry hottest setting. Because somehow I had to deal with my kids picking up pinworms more than once (last time when the oldest was a HS freshman). So that kinda mentally scarred me.

my high efficiency shows what temp it will default to for a particular setting unless you override it-i was curious so I just went and played with the buttons

my washer only hits HOT on sanitize and spot clean (but I set to hot for towels/bedding b/c I feel those SHOULD be sanitized). on drying, again it's sanitize with the addition of speed dry. I use hight heat for towels (I detest getting a musty smell if they partially air dry) and a lower setting for bedding (sherpa type comforters call for a lower heat setting-it takes longer but prevents wear/loss of softness). 99.9% of our clothes go into medium heat washer. stuff prone to shrinkage I put on hooks to air dry a bit while the dryer is initially running the other stuff on a medium setting which I jack up to high at the end and toss those air dried items into to 'de-wrinkle'.

 

[Tygerlilly]

A $100 hold on your debit card at the gas station should be illegal.

End of rant.

 

[barkley]

A $100 hold on your debit card at the gas station should be illegal.

End of rant.

the only reason my oldest was put into one of our credit cards as an authorized user when they were younger was b/c of that practice. we opened a VERY low max balance card with our credit card that was exclusivly for the purposes of buying gas. it also was a nice safety net when 'skimmers' started appearing on local gas pumps*


* I have found that credit card companies are EXTREEMLY quick to resolve reported fraud if they see a history of traditional/exclusive use on a particular card. with the card we used exclusivly for gas it was obvious it had been used for something out the norm and quickly dealt with, a couple of times with my amazon card (which I've only ever used for amazon orders) one glance at my purchasing history mid phone call of reporting it to customer service and it was immediatly resolved in my favor.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

febreze is a friend so long as you have no scent sensitivity. I've worked in situations where staff made it known that colognes/purfumes could cause them to become ill and people would accommodate by not wearing it but they totally spaced when it came to using febreze (or downy) on their clothes. for me personaly the sickly sweet smell of those products will trigger a migraine.

You're talking to someone with sensitivities to scent. Do understand that not everyone is the same there. Febreze has no effect on me, nor does scented candles or scented lotions. Colognes rarely do but perfumes are an instant trigger to me and I can smell it a mile away leading to allergy symptoms depending on the situation can be bad (for me just like pollen). In perfumes it is often the binding ingredients that can cause a problem. I do not wear perfumes because it triggers my allergies but I do wear and use scented lotion.

Regardless I think it's fairly common sense especially by people who have sensitivities to stuff to not use a product that would trigger them. If it's not a product you can use it doesn't mean it isn't something that can be mentioned, it just means you don't use it.

ETA: when you use something like Febreze you don't douse your clothes in it either, there are a lot of people who do not understand the concept of less is more with respects to perfume.

 

[barkley]

I'm surprised you opted to call out my comment when someone else after me (who you chose to quote also but a different comment) also spoke about febreze hailing it's positive things.

since when is quoting someone calling them out? if that's your perception of being quoted then this post will be my last ever doing so with regards to you.

so should i perceive your subsequent quoting of me a retaliatory 'calling out'?


peace one and all.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

detergents,

I switched several years back from using detergents with dyes because they really aren't important and are unnecessary to the actual laundry process. Like a lot of people years back as a kid Tide would cause reactions to my skin and even though supposedly they adjusted the formula I never went back to it. We use Purex (as did my mom so I guess I got used to it). I use the Naturals version now which doesn't have dye but because I'm not sensitive to the scent I'm fine with that. I did try the Free and Clear first after getting the normal formula but didn't particularly like it so I stuck with the Naturals. I can't remember if you said you use Purex Free and Clear but that one does and should effectively clean in cold water or warm if you're not quite ready to switch all the way down to cold from hot.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

since when is quoting someone calling them out? if that's your perception of being quoted then this post will be my last ever doing so with regards to you.

so should i perceive your subsequent quoting of me a retaliatory 'calling out'?


peace one and all.

Well you did choose to just quote me instead of quoting the other person as well when we both said the same thing and you quoted that person on a different comment. While not required of course and may just be your personal style people do tend to quote multiple people who say the same thing when they choose to comment about a particular topic. Otherwise sorry I can't see why you would specifically quote my very simple 4 letter comment saying it's your friend when someone else said said more "Febreze ( I assume you have it in the US) is marvellous for extending wear between washes"

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

look into purchasing more of your fav jeans and pants.

I've done that before! And that's also what my husband does. He has a size that is not as common at least in quantity in stores so when he finds one he likes he'll buy a few at a time. Look for sales if you can or if they have it look for a different color variation so you could technically buy the same jeans but be able to match it different with different shirts for a different look. I don't think men's jeans are nearly as varied as women's but there is still usually a few to choose from (light, dark, medium, that kind of thing). That could also help someone rotate through so you're getting more usage out of a singular jean if you can wear one one day and wear the other one another day.

It's a style choice but ever since we started doing longer international trips my husband has really gotten into tech pants. He gets a lot of them from Costco. But those tech pants can look very nice (they have variations that aren't cargos) and match well with a nicer shirt. Those often have quick drying properties or moisture wicking properties which can help there. I haven't had as much luck finding ones for me that I like but for men's he's been pretty successful.

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

Today's lesson on the differences between the US & UK (whether you want it or not )

Here I would say 99.9% of washing machines are front loaders, and use of tumble dryers is probably no more than 50% (I have not had one for 20 years and didn't use the one I did have before that which is why we got rid of it). Most people dry outside in summer and on indoor airers the rest of the time. High spin speeds mean that most of the items come out pretty dry anyway.

We do 3 loads of clothes a week for the two of us, normally on Sunday for half price electricity, and then towels / bedding as extra loads.

Our washing machine self doses - you fill a reservoir with liquid detergent and fabric conditioner, set the dosage levels for a standard load, and then the machine determines how much is needed for the weight of the wash load with options to use more for dirtier items. I thought this was going to be a bit of a gimmick, but it is actually great.

We wash clothes at 30 degrees Celsius, which is about 90 Fahrenheit but washing in cold water is becoming increasingly popular with detergents formulated to clean at that temperature. Obviously we wash bedding and towels at hotter temperatures.

Ironing seems to be more common here than I am led to believe it is in the US, possibly linked to the use of dryers. I tend to only formal shirts and trousers (pants), much of the rest will be fine if hung on a hanger to dry.

What is an indoor airer?

 

[Nettlelondon]

What is an indoor airer?

https://www.lakeland.co.uk/25891/dr...eated-airer-and-full-accessories-offer-bundle

Something like this - either with or without heat (and obviously the heat doesn't have to be switched on.

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

https://www.lakeland.co.uk/25891/dr...eated-airer-and-full-accessories-offer-bundle

Something like this - either with or without heat (and obviously the heat doesn't have to be switched on.

That’s cool. None of our rooms are large enough that one would fit. Well maybe the living room in front of the tv. That would not go over well with dh.
We have foldable racks here but they’re much smaller and not electric.

 

[Nettlelondon]

That’s cool. None of our rooms are large enough that one would fit. Well maybe the living room in front of the tv. That would not go over well with dh.
We have foldable racks here but they’re much smaller and not electric.

Our kitchen and living room are effectively one room with a pillar in the middle the divides the two spaces. The airer stands behind the pillar so that in the living room you can't see it when it is in use and when it is empty it rests against the pillar. It isn't ideal but our house is very small so compromise is second nature and it works really well.

If the weather is nice we pop it outside the back door instead of using power but when it inevitably rains, we are in the UK after all, we can bring it all in in one hit rather than fight with every item.

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

This is one of those times when I wish we had a basement. When we get heavy downpours and some people have flooded basements, then I’m glad we don’t.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

This is one of those times when I wish we had a basement. When we get heavy downpours and some people have flooded basements, then I’m glad we don’t.

Growing up my mom used the steel support beam for the basement as the spot to hang the clothes to let it dry (the washer and dryer being in the basement). Her basement was unfinished and legally couldn't be because it only had window wells but it worked well enough to have the support beam to be used. It did get flooded though repeatedly but mostly due to tree roots in the clay pipes down at the street.

I like our laundry room upstairs but do wish it was bigger to put what the PP is talking about (and we could have had them put another outlet if we wanted). We have our laundry sorters that take up the space where a drying rack would be. We did however build a shelf for a rod on the opposite side of the washer and dryer. In hindsight we should have had the builders do this because the space behind the washer and dryer is not readily accessible for someone as short as me especially with the washer and dryer having pedestals and the builders pre-built the shelf as a norm above where your washer and dryer would be. When we've traveled to places that have towel warmers (more common in Europe in our experience) we have been able to put light in weight and small enough in size on the warmer to help dry our clothes that we wash in the sink. When we were in Glasgow several months back though that was a towel warmer that did not have a coating on the metal and it was always on, it was too hot to safely put what clothes we had on it.

 

[mmbrad02]

Kicking off February with an Update: (Well, I'm a few days late)

Financial…

• We paid off our 0% Capital One Venture One credit card in January. Woo Hoo. But in return I ended up opening a Capital One Quicksilver card with 0% interest to pay for some car repairs (tires, brakes) for my daughters future car (only has a permit right now) and my DH talked me into buying a tv. For what it’s worth he is an IT guy through and through and I hold him back on many many cool things he would like. He has been wanting a newer tv for many years now, so when he got promoted back in November, I said “Go get your TV”. With the holidays and life events, that purchase didn’t end up happening till January. So we will get those two things paid off by the time the 0% is up… not a major issue except I had hoped to eliminate a bill, not replace it!
• Paid off CC with 0% interest that we used to buy new furniture last April. We were able to pay it off early which is a nice feeling. We have zero plans to buy anything else in that regard this year
• HELOC is just getting our regular monthly payment (which is more than required by the bank for interest only). I do hope our tax refund is in the ballpark of prior years and we can use that to pay the HELOC down some more.
• As I shared earlier this month, we did buy a new car. First payment goes out on February 9. She is fun but that payment hurts after not having one for several years Paying $60 extra toward the principal and hope the increase that amount as time goes on.

Personal…

Life has been happening around here and I have not made much headway at all in this area! My dad has open heart surgery this coming Tuesday and I’m going to be on the road a lot between their house and mine (3 hour drive each way) so I honestly suspect my spending may be increased in February between meals on the go and fuel. But that’s okay. Anyway, as for the list I put on this board earlier this year…

• I haven’t done anything in regards to teaching my daughter more personal finance skills. For what it’s worth she hasn’t had any side jobs to earn any money and has been out of school at home for two weeks due to snow/ice, so there hasn’t been a lot of spending happening. We did shop for her boyfriends Valentine gift and she was actually very conscious of her spending and what she got him, without me having to offer up anything on that. Also, she told me she wanted her Spotify Premium renewed, so I told her to give me the $25 Amazon giftcard she got for Christmas and I would get her a $30 Spotify in return. She hesitated at first but I knew she could survive so she had to decide which was more important. She went with Spotify. However, what she doesn’t know is I kept the Amazon giftcard and will probably toss it back in her Easter basket this spring. I want there to be time for her to not automatically assume I’ll always do something like that, but at the same time she is a good kid and I kinda hate taking her Christmas gift
• DH and I have made little effort to curb our daily spending. With DD being home for two weeks, and I was also home for a few days with the weather, our grocery spending was increased. I don’t have a good true grocery budget so I can’t offer specifics, but I know we all 3 went grocery shopping twice together in January (we rarely do that, I usually do pick up orders) and with 6 hands tossing stuff in the cart, it isn’t going to be cheap My friend and I were discussing out monthly credit card bill and I did make a list of what we spent each month in 2025, so I have the target numbers. I just need to take the time to see where we can improve them.
• I wanted to get 200 items listed on Ebay and I am happy to report that I currently have 215 listed. I have more to list but run short on time to do it. Sales were slow in January so it kind of made it discouraging, but I’m hanging in there. I follow a lot of sellers on social media who have said it’s not uncommon for January and February to be slow so just have to make it through

 

[barkley]

Kicking off February with an Update: (Well, I'm a few days late)

Financial…

• We paid off our 0% Capital One Venture One credit card in January. Woo Hoo. But in return I ended up opening a Capital One Quicksilver card with 0% interest to pay for some car repairs (tires, brakes) for my daughters future car (only has a permit right now) and my DH talked me into buying a tv. For what it’s worth he is an IT guy through and through and I hold him back on many many cool things he would like. He has been wanting a newer tv for many years now, so when he got promoted back in November, I said “Go get your TV”. With the holidays and life events, that purchase didn’t end up happening till January. So we will get those two things paid off by the time the 0% is up… not a major issue except I had hoped to eliminate a bill, not replace it!
• Paid off CC with 0% interest that we used to buy new furniture last April. We were able to pay it off early which is a nice feeling. We have zero plans to buy anything else in that regard this year
• HELOC is just getting our regular monthly payment (which is more than required by the bank for interest only). I do hope our tax refund is in the ballpark of prior years and we can use that to pay the HELOC down some more.
• As I shared earlier this month, we did buy a new car. First payment goes out on February 9. She is fun but that payment hurts after not having one for several years Paying $60 extra toward the principal and hope the increase that amount as time goes on.

Personal…

Life has been happening around here and I have not made much headway at all in this area! My dad has open heart surgery this coming Tuesday and I’m going to be on the road a lot between their house and mine (3 hour drive each way) so I honestly suspect my spending may be increased in February between meals on the go and fuel. But that’s okay. Anyway, as for the list I put on this board earlier this year…

• I haven’t done anything in regards to teaching my daughter more personal finance skills. For what it’s worth she hasn’t had any side jobs to earn any money and has been out of school at home for two weeks due to snow/ice, so there hasn’t been a lot of spending happening. We did shop for her boyfriends Valentine gift and she was actually very conscious of her spending and what she got him, without me having to offer up anything on that. Also, she told me she wanted her Spotify Premium renewed, so I told her to give me the $25 Amazon giftcard she got for Christmas and I would get her a $30 Spotify in return. She hesitated at first but I knew she could survive so she had to decide which was more important. She went with Spotify. However, what she doesn’t know is I kept the Amazon giftcard and will probably toss it back in her Easter basket this spring. I want there to be time for her to not automatically assume I’ll always do something like that, but at the same time she is a good kid and I kinda hate taking her Christmas gift
• DH and I have made little effort to curb our daily spending. With DD being home for two weeks, and I was also home for a few days with the weather, our grocery spending was increased. I don’t have a good true grocery budget so I can’t offer specifics, but I know we all 3 went grocery shopping twice together in January (we rarely do that, I usually do pick up orders) and with 6 hands tossing stuff in the cart, it isn’t going to be cheap My friend and I were discussing out monthly credit card bill and I did make a list of what we spent each month in 2025, so I have the target numbers. I just need to take the time to see where we can improve them.
• I wanted to get 200 items listed on Ebay and I am happy to report that I currently have 215 listed. I have more to list but run short on time to do it. Sales were slow in January so it kind of made it discouraging, but I’m hanging in there. I follow a lot of sellers on social media who have said it’s not uncommon for January and February to be slow so just have to make it through

-congrats on the payoffs

-sorry to hear of the car repairs. we had to help out our oldest w/ replacing a transmission this past month-ouch-

-good thoughts and best wishes for your dad's surgery


-if you're interested in teaching some personal finance skills to your dd you might look online at some credit union sites b/c many (like the ones we belong to) offer free online educational videos on various aspects of personal finance that are spec. geared for different age groups. no need to be a member to access them. one of our credit unions also recommends an app called ZOGO which is free of charge and does lessons in some kind of 'gamified' manner.