If you’re conscious about the environment and the clothes dryer is something you’re trying to avoid during low winter temperatures, there are alternative measures to get the laundry dry.

Cool winter weather can make it tough to get laundry dry, particularly if you don’t want to rely too heavily on the energy-consuming clothes dryer. So what can you do? Plenty, according to environmental adviser Lynette Bourne. "Lots of people get by fine without clothes dryers," she says. "If they plan ahead and give themselves more time to get their clothes dry, it becomes less of an issue." According to Lynette, there are many other ways to dry clothes in the colder climate.

Adding a retractable clothes line in the laundry or bathroom is a great way to create extra space for hanging wet . These are cheap and can be tucked away when not in use. Or consider building in a drying rack, so that the clothes-horse isn’t always in the way. If you live in an apartment where space is king, don’t do all your laundry loads at once – let one load dry before starting the next, so you have space to hang it all up.

If your hot water service is located indoors, you can even take advantage of the warmth it generates by creating a small drying cupboard – provided the area is well ventilated so the room doesn’t fill up with steam. Hanging the laundry out on warmer days.

Drying clothes in the outdoors shouldn’t be off the cards, either. You may be surprised by how laundry can dry in the cold weather, particularly if it’s windy. Try stringing up a clothes line under a carport or in a sheltered spot. Choose the nicest day of the week to do laundry, and do it as early as possible in the day. If you have to use the clothes dryer, be smart about it, says Lynette. Take out items that will dry quickly on their own, such as undies, leaving only the larger, harder-to-dry items.

And most importantly, always spin your clothes. "Spinning clothes on the highest speed in the washing machine gets rid of as much water as possible, which means the dryer has less work to do," says Lynette.

Lastly, if you’re concerned about the environment but need to use the clothes dryer, consider switching to 100 per cent GreenPower.