The Laundry Chronicles

For some people, laundry is the bane of their existence. I, however, don't mind it. I've been doing my own laundry since I was in high school - not because I had that type of mother that made me do all my own chores, but rather because she always ruined my clothes. I could have a brand new shirt made of the most durable material, wear it once, have her wash it, and it would be ruined.

Since taking over, I have rarely washed anything in hot water and I have never sorted by color. Instead, I sort by area of the house. I wash my and my husbands clothes together, I wash my sons clothes in a separate load, I have a separate load for towels and rags, and another one for bedding and blankets. I always wash in cold water and am very proud to report that I have never ruined a piece of clothing. The reason isn't the cold water - that just saves energy and money. The reason is because I read labels. If there are any special type of care instructions, those items are put in a special pile and cleaned with a Dryel at-home dry cleaning kit. When I have enough garments for a load, I toss them in the fabric bag with a Dryel sheet and let the magic work. To help keep things extra clean, I also take these garments to the dry cleaner at least once a year or if they get really dirty. I usually keep a running pile for the dry cleaner as well so it's not a wasted trip.

My laundry room is in the basement, so I learned early on to never leave a load of wet clothes just hanging out in the washer. It only took one load of mildew-scented clothes and the multitude of extra washings needed to get rid of the smell to help me remember. The good news is that I always try get the best deal on laundry detergent. To me, soap is soap and the bottom line is that it should clean clothes. I do try to be conscious of what's in the detergent and will buy "free" detergent and earth-friendly detergent whenever possible, but I admit that my checking account sometimes wins out. I have looked into making my own laundry detergent, but with only a family of 3, it wouldn't be efficient enough. We'll see how I feel about that in about 15 years when my house is riddled with teenagers.

Unfortunately, there is no consequence to forgetting a load of clothes in the dryer. Even running down to a cold cement-floor basement at 6 a.m. in the middle of winter in nothing but a towel is sometimes easier than folding the laundry and putting it away. Because of this, I often find myself drying clothes twice - once to dry them and once to get the wrinkles out from letting them sit in the drying/laundry basket in a crumpled pile for a few days.

I am also a recovery dryer-sheet junkie. I would always buy the cheapest I could find, thinking that I was saving money. However, I would then use 2-3 sheets per load and still end up with so much static I would have to wear rubber soled shoes just to fold laundry. I then discovered the Bounce Dryer Bar. Amazing. No static, fantastic smell and nothing to remember or throw away (meaning no pulling a used dryer sheet out of your pant leg during that important meeting - been there, done that.) It is a little expensive, and I find that they never last as long as they say they will, but I think that's more due to my laundry habits. It's still well worth the money and I would never go back to the dreaded dryer sheets.

I grew up with a clothes line and have wanted one since leaving home. At our rental house in college, I managed to string up some clothing line from the house to a tree in the back yard. It was not pretty, and it never lasted long, but it worked for what I needed. Luckily, this spring, I invested in a Household Essentials Parallel-style clothes line from Amazon.com. It was very reasonably priced compared to others that I had looked at, but the real selling point was that it can be folded up and taken down for storage. It did require a permanent ground fixture, which included digging a hole and filling it with concrete. Luckily, we had some laying around (yes, I have that kind of husband) and it was actually very easy to set up. Now, I have laundry out every chance I can get. I will even save laundry and wash it on the weekend to ensure I can dry them on the clothes line. If you are able to purchase a clothes line, please do. It's better for your clothes, your energy bills and the planet. Even for the area that I live in where it's winter half the year, it's still a great investment. And my clothes and sheets smell and feel amazing. Sometimes clothes can sometimes feel stiff after hanging on the line. For towels, this is okay. For the shirt you'll be wearing on your skin for 10 hours, maybe not so okay. I always fluff my clothes in the dryer on a low heat setting for about 20 minutes, which seems to cure the stiffness

So here are my tips for laundry:
1. Wash/rinse in cold water: it saves money and you don't have to sort by color or worry about bleeding colors.
2. Read labels: special instructions are there for a reason. These clothes deserve extra care to last any amount of time. Likewise, undergarments should be given special care. I don't put my bras in the drying because the straps get twisted and the cups often get deformed. Instead, I hang dry them.
3. Sort by area, not color: this helps in the putting away department. You'll save time by going to one area of the house instead of hopping all over.
4. Don't leave wet laundry in the washer: it only takes once and you'll know why.
5. Invest in a clothes line: if the fresh air scent isn't enough of an incentive, the energy savings should be.

Products I love:
1. Dryel at home dry cleaning kit
2. Bounce dryer bar