Ah laundry. The bane of my existence. I get so jealous when I run across a blog post where someone says “We came home from our trip and I had an entire load to wash”. HA! Yes, I ha’d you 1 load people. I’m not bragging or trying to play the martyr here but with 7 1/2 people and a smelly dog in our family I have at least 12 loads a week of just clothes and towels. Add sheets and blankets and dog stuff and our house is basically a 24 hour laundromat.
Since I’m elbow deep in clothes all the time I thought I’d give my $.02 on laundry and how I make it a little more bearable.
I can almost hear the gasps coming- I only buy white towels, kitchen and bath. I know you probably think I’m crazy but I swear by it. My kids are hard on towels and don’t always get them into the laundry when they should so they end up smelling gross or stained. I used to have dark green towels and I would have to wash them several times to get them to smell okay and sometimes they would still have a stain or two on them that no amount of stain treating or soaking would get out.
Not with white towels. I throw my towels in the wash with bleach and let it soak for a while. Being able to bleach them is key. My towels are several years old and look great. It works for restaurants, hospitals, and hotels and by golly it works for big families to. I do buy colored beach towels just so the kids know which towels they can take to the pool or outside. No white towels leave the house.
Here’s my other dirty (clean?) secret. I don’t fold or match socks. We have a sock basket and everyone is on their own for finding socks. As I’m folding I put all the socks I find in the load in a separate pile and if there happens to be a match screaming at me I’ll fold it, the rest go in the basket. Moral of this story, make sure both your socks are together in the dirty laundry or you get to play find and seek. This isn’t so much for convenience as it is that I just hate socks.
Each child over 6 also folds his/her own laundry. I’ll happily wash and throw their clothes in their baskets but it’s their responsibility to see that they get folded. Let me tell you, it sure cuts down on the amount of clean clothes they “accidently” put in the dirty clothes bins because eventually they do have to fold them again.
Long post but it’s been on my mind, and covering my coffee table at the moment. Any tips that save your laundry day?
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Oh laundry why must you torture me? Not only do I do all the laundry for our little family of 6 but also twice a week I wash my friends family of 6s laundry who doesn't have a washer or dryer. Curse this being nice crap. I am elbow deep in socks and towels.
ReplyDelete~Andrea aka kira's friend.
I'm totally going to copy your "only buy white towels" idea. Oh, and having the kids fold their own clothes. I usually assign folding the kids laundry to one kid every couple weeks. I think you're right, that it will cut down on the rewashing of clean clothes that happens at our house. My 8 year old is the biggest offender in this area and he HATES to fold the clothes.
ReplyDeleteI love only having white towels! I used to hate it because they were so blah but it really does make things so much easier!!!
ReplyDeleteThank you for sharing. I do laundry every Tuesday so I am knee deep right now.
ReplyDeleteI like your ideas and plan to use the white towel one.
Great tips! If I ever get caught up on my laundry, I'm going to shout it from the rooftops!
ReplyDeleteFirst of all, my hat off to you for the amount of laundry you do. Incredible!
ReplyDeleteSecond, you are a laundry genius. Love your tips.
Third, I hate socks too. Why on earth do two socks go into the laundry, but only one comes out? This will be a mystery never answered. ;)
I have the perfect laundry method - I make hubby do it! Heee
ReplyDeleteMy thing is, I forget to take the laundry upstairs once it is folded. Shame on me, because then I come back downstairs and realized Abbie (15months) has "helped" me by taking all of the clothes out and then back in no longer folded. Or, Asher (2 1/2) has dumped all of the clothes out to make a bed with all of his cars, blankets and trains. Sigh, I too despise laundry because it NEVER goes away. I guess it is better than walking aroung naked though:)
ReplyDeleteHey speaking of Towels here is a hint to make them last longer..Do not use fabric softener as it put a coat of wax on the fibers and prevents the towel from absorbing..thus breaking them down faster. I learned this from a Lady who worked in Towels at Macy..Do you know that the sales people are educated in the products that they sell?
ReplyDeleteAna
Huntington Beach CA
A friend of mine gave me this useful tip for funky smelling towels or other items that have been wet and sat for a while. Just put your funky pile into the wash with your regular detergent, then add 1/2 cup to 1 cup white vinegar (I just add it to the bleach dispenser) and wala...they smell good again or at least not funky! Thanks for your blog!
ReplyDeleteI am there with you! We only have 5 people and 2 dogs and a cat in the house but it seems about the same as you are speaking. I am thinking of going to the all white towels here as well. Our towels are starting to get worn out, been years since we have bought any and most of them are actually from before my hubby and I, so that is at least 11 years of constant use. The kitchen towels are all hand me downs from my grandmother, bless her soul they have been my faves. But they are getting to that point.
ReplyDeleteMy other pointer that I have is that we try to seperate by child, makes washing, drying and putting away much easier for me. None of my kids are quite to the age to help do the laundry yet so it still falls all on me and we don't use the dryer much if any in the summer so its a lot of work, but something that must be done.
So do you have any tips on keep this kitchen from driving me insane? I hate cleaning the kitchen, even with the dishwasher
I've done the only white linens thing for 30+ years! Wonderful plan. ;)
ReplyDeleteMrsSW
I raised two (now 26 and 23) and homeschooled them. When the kids were 11 and 14 we sold our home and moved into a 30-foot RV and travelled the continental U.S. We each went to the linen department-- including DH-- and selected our own (1) bath towel and (1) hand towel and (1) face cloth. To this day (and our children share an apartment now), towels are hung up on a department store skirt hanger after each shower and used all week long to dry a clean body. Wash your hands? Use your own towel. Keep your hands off a towel that doesn't belong to you. My towels have lasted more than twelve years like this because it's the dryer that murders clothes and linens!
ReplyDeleteWhen the children were 13 and 16 we moved to Manila, Philippines. No longer using laundromats, I gave the children their own laundry day. I washed DH's and my laundry each Monday. On Tuesday #1 did hers; on Thursday #2 did hers. Unless company was coming, no laundry appliances were used on any other day of the week. I now preach that by 12 years old, every mother's/father's child should know how to launder their own clothes. I know of a family with four kids who had this rule by age 10. It works.
Further, I never dry my DH's dress shirts or casual shirts. Keeping them out of the dryer extends their lives. Also, my best laundry aid besides bleach and color-safe bleach is a Spray 'n Wash stain stick. It's marvelous! There's one in each of my children's laundry baskets today. I have one in my perfume rack and so does my DH. The instant he takes off a collar-shirt, on goes a good smear of that stain stick.
We couldn't distinguish between his navy Gold Toe dress socks and his black ones, so I stitched a red threaded "tag" in the toes of all the navy ones. When they come out of the dryer, they are tied in a knot in pairs while the black sock-tops are folded over like "normal."
I only dry his jeans for ten (10) minutes in the dryer (the timer is my friend) and then I hang them up. DH likes his jeans "crisp."
Roll up your bath towels before putting them away.
I only buy white towels, too. Another reason I have discovered this is good ... my daughter is using Proactive, and it bleaches clothing! I had one colored hand towel for the guest bathroom that she used one night, and now it's ruined. If it had been one of my white towels, it wouldn't be a problem.
ReplyDeleteHi Bridget! Just found your blog. Love it!! Thanks for the great laundry tips. I'm going to start using some of those especially the one about them folding their own clothes! Why didn't I ever think of that?!?!? Take care! Love your tutorials too. Jenn
ReplyDeleteI LOVE your laundry ideas. . .white towels, socks. . .who knew? I think I have steared clear of the white because of the stains. . and I don't use bleach. . .so that could hinder that idea.. but I like your ideas all the same:)
ReplyDeleteBless your heart doing all that laundry. I'm only working on child #2 and I feel like laundry is never-ending. You have reminded me that it could always be (and someday will be) worse. Thanks for the tips...the only tip I have is to have a laundry room with a door that closes so no one (including me) can see the heaping piles of unfolded laundry. :)
ReplyDeleteI have a tip to add! I gave up separating underwear and pajamas along with the sock thing! I have a DH and 3 DD's so occasionally one of the girls appears in too small or too large undies but, not often enough to convince me that I need to go back to trying to read the little labels to figure out who's are who's, lol! Also, I hang everything else up of the girls so I don't have to fold it. Each child has their own color of hanger so I can quickly separate them appropriately once they are on the hanger. I even sometimes get around to making them hang their clothes up by themselves! These changes have helped at my house tremendously since I am back at work full time. I still have a mountain of laundry at all times regardless. I guess I will until I am wealthy enough to hire a laundry person, lol! I'm off to buy white towels. Thank you :)
ReplyDelete