Thursday, September 8, 2011

Ahhhh Laundry!!

I HATE laundry.  I think it would be easier if we had a room like this one below.


But we don't.  We have a hall closet.   The washer & dryer are touching and there are shelves above them (which you inevitably hit your head on) and its cramped.  Folding happens anywhere and everywhere, if it happens at all.

Because I despise laundry so much I can go from waiting until the husband complains about not having clean underwear to do it.  But when I start here are my tips:

1. Sort if you can.  Smaller loads make for faster drying times.

2. Use cold water.  Everything still gets clean and you save money.

3. Cheap soap.  We are using the big bottle of environmentally friendly soap from Sams.  Its great.
If you don't have skin allergies then the cheapest stuff works fine.  We have a water softener system so luckily only have to use half of the called for amount.  After our current bottle is gone we are going to experiment with homemade laundry soap.  $10 for 5 gallons!  How can you get any cheaper than that!  Plus my SIL said you only use 1 cup per load!  That's going to last FOREVER.

4. Don't be ashamed to air dry.  We constantly have underwear and bras hanging from door handles, jeans hanging from doors, etc.  Heavy things are air dried.  I air dry towels about halfway then stick them back into the dryer so they still have some fluffy softness.

Another reason to air dry?  Possible fumes coming back into the home through the vents causing cancer?  See the article Here.



5.  Folding.  I HATE FOLDING.  The husband has agreed to let me just throw his work stuff into a basket.  I love it!  The kids and I each then have our own basket.  Sometimes I put stuff back in the drawers, sometimes I don't.  I just don't see the point when you have a one year old boy always trying to empty the drawers so he can sit in them.  Then I just waited a half hour folding for no reason!

The kids always attempt to help...which is not helpful but they love it!


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