Laundry!

I will confess--I like to do laundry. You feed in the dirty clothes, go away somewhere, come back after a while and they're all clean. In the past I've discussed my "Laundry Euphoria" and my love for hanging laundry to dry.

WELL, today I came across a blog completely devoted to . . . LAUNDRY! I was thrilled. I've just started to read through the posts, but I wanted to pass it along to others who enjoy this everyday task as I do. Click on the button below and see what inspiration you can find!

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Ann's Laundry Plan

Back when I was taking care of my shoes for Clothing Evaluation, I mentioned that a friend of mine shared her laundry routine with me.

This friend is a homemaker extraordinaire. She is amazing. Her house is beautiful, her meals are mostly homemade, she homeschools, she's a Mercedes when it comes to Chassis Maintenance, she has worked outside the home full and part-time as well as being home full-time, and she does it all without being "burned out" in any way.

In short, I wanted to know her secrets! I was able to pump her for information about how she handles the laundry. I will share exactly what she told me. (I took notes!) This was SO helpful to me--perhaps you will find something helpful as well.

Ann's Laundry Plan

Wash

• Monday and Friday, start loads early in the morning
• Have baskets for darks in our room and spare room
• Laundry bag for whites on bathroom door
• Wash darks first, lights, then whites last with bleach (and dishtowels)
• Use lingerie bag for hose (faster and neater in the bathroom!)
• I strip our bed, launder and remake bed for these reasons:
  - Forces early laundry day
  - Keeps laundry bulk down
  - Saves storage space and money
  - Saves on ironing

Dry

• Inspect, fold, defuzz, sort and pile in basket in laundry room
• Drop ironing and mending in back room near ironing board
• Put the rest away immediately:
  - I tidy drawers and closets as I go.
  - Everything goes back in same spot. I leave hangers (color coded) for easy return
  - I note any purchases that must be made for wardrobes and also laundry needs because I do all major housework and shopping lists on Monday as well (to a lesser extent on Friday).

Ironing

• While baby is napping I set up ironing (with music, movie or prayer time)
• I keep mending supplies in same place as ironing and bring them to den if necessary.
• I always do ironing on Tuesday morning if I run out of time on Monday.

Other

• Choose clothes and accessories in advance to avoid chaos
• I keep shoe polish near my shoes, nail polish handy for patch ups, safety pins close by.
• Winter Tip: I sponge woolens for freshen ups between dry cleanings.
• I keep all winter supplies together by back door.
• Move all non-wearables out of way so they don’t frustrate and confuse (unless you’re really planning on fitting into them in less than a decade!)
• If you can’t bear to part with something, move it to a holding zone place "until":
  - Emotions are over
  - The Lord deals with you about it
  - You give it away
• Do "big wash projects" together at certain times of the year. For me, it’s
  spring and before major company! Or, if I’m doing laundry anyway, and
  don’t have much (ie, doilies in white load).

Indoor Clothesline Options

I did some research when I was trying to figure out an answer to Emer Ireland's regional issues as regards drying clothes on a line outside.

Well, looky what I found! (Click on the pictures to link to the websites.)

First, the cheap and simple one that can be attached to your wall. It IS cheap, but if you hang the heavier items over your doors this 5-line dryer could do the rest:

The next one is a heavier duty version of the one above. I would imagine it would last for years. One could take it with one when one goes to the next place to live. Just make sure you spackle the holes in the wall before you leave!

The next one probably wouldn't be good for the dusty conditions Emer Ireland was talking about, but it would be great for those overcast days and possibly winter days if you don't live at the North Pole like I do.

Now this one is my favorite! Look at the room it provides (hangers--well THAT'S a good idea!). AND, it folds flat behind the door. The price is about medium.

Hope this is useful. I'm always happy to enable the Laundry Addiction.

My Line Drying Thoughts

Hi. My name is Roxanne and I line dry my laundry.

I LOVE to line dry. To dry clothing outside is a combination of being "at one" with nature, and being super thrifty. I love that.

I live in New England. I don't line dry in the winter. That restriction really bugged me. I like the convenience of the dryer, but I hated the energy (read "money") usage. Well, a few months ago we ran out of propane (I have a propane clothes dryer). What to do?

I asked my husband to rig something up in the basement. What he did was awesome and I will get pictures and share what that is soon. But for now, here's what I discovered:

Line drying inside is almost as moving as drying outside.

Here's why: It slows you down as you carefully hang each piece of laundry. It's a bit of exercise as you bend and stretch. The money savings are certainly there. It works for me.

Then, I discovered something that I've not read any where else. It's life-changing information I'm about to share. Are you ready?

You can un-stiffen the clothes by putting them in your dryer for 10 minutes--WITHOUT the heat. Yes, indeedy!

I've read places that talk about using the heat to soften things up, but I found out that it's the tumbling action that does the trick. Since we had no fuel going to the dryer, it would turn but would not heat up, so I just tossed in the clothes and stumbled upon a great tip.

I'm very pleased with myself.

I'd pat myself on the back but the clothespins in my hand would poke me.