I'm sorry Matt, I don't know enough about the subject to give a qualified answer. It sounds plausible that the steamers could be useful. I personally cart my stuff to the launderette though while I've been laid up with a bad back I've been having my washing collected for a service wash (which pushes the cost up of course).
I bought a terracotta contraption (bit like an inverted flower pot but it's on a 'stalk' like a lamp but of course nowhere to put a bulb. You put tea lights under the terracotta and they heat up the inverted plant pot bit. I found that it worked but it didn't heat the whole room. On a very cold day it was okay as a supplement to my small plug-in heater (don't have central heating - not that works anyway). I've also heard that air fryers can be economic for cooking. My microwave went bump - I'll have to replace it in due course, naturally, but if I was in a position to rush out and buy everything I'd like, or even get it online, I wouldn't be visiting themoneyshed.
A few months ago I made a DIY batch of soap powder. I followed the method recommended by a Dripak video - mixing up a certain amount of washing soda with borax substitute (sodium sesquicarbonate) with shaved (shaven?) soap. Being indisposed (ref above) I've used it for washing clothes by hand rather than for machine washes. It works okay for me as an old cat lady - whether it would work for a young family with a houseful of lively kids I don't know. I've also read that some washing machine manufacturers say the homemade stuff can invalidate washing machine warranties and I imagine it would have to be dissolved in warm or hot water if someone wanted to use it to wash clothes at a cool/cold temperature. Then large packs of detergent can be bought online making a saving. I was looking at an ebay offer for 25kg of washing detergent that was being sold off cheap because it had gone lumpy. The only thing that dissuades me from buying it is that I'm not sure if I would be adept at pushing around a 25kg bag.
