Quick Tips from Real Life Experience: Laundry Style

When we first moved to this house we did not have a washer and dryer and I was nine months pregnant. I did not get a washer and dryer till baby was 3 months old. Once or twice a week I will haul all my laundry and three kids to the laundromat. My dryer went out about two months ago and I was fine for awhile hanging clothes outside... then rainy season started. For a month we would take weekly trips to the laundromat to dry our clothes... with four kids this time. Fun Times:)

Be sure to have a spare washer and dryer on hand when you a bring a new baby home. Just in case the dryer breaks on day two and then the washer on day four. At least then, the husband is scared to argue when you hormones are raging and your are crying hysterically that there is no possible way that you can take care of a four year old and a new born that spits up every time she eats without a washer and dryer. And, if you have to wash one more pair of underwear out in the sink, you are going to go into a deep postpartum depression that will make him wish he had never figured out how you make a baby... Not that I have ever been there or anything...

Its also good to know what items will hand wash easily. In my experience underwear is the first thing to disappear when you lack laundry facilities. We have a small drying rack that makes it easy to have clean underwear on hand, even if you skip doing laundry until every other item of clothing has been worn twice. Oh, and I have found that hand washing bras makes them last lots longer, though I admit most of the time i just throw them in the wash.

4. Keep all receipts for things that have warranties. File them by date if you can manage, but at least put them in one file. You probably won't be able to return it, unless it became an obviou lemon rather quickly, but the receipt will help prove whether the warranty is still in effect.

5. Take a permanent marker and write on the backside of the appliance the date you bought it. If you've filed receipts by date, this also makes it easier to lay your hands on it. Also, you can tell just how long that appliance lasted before needing repairs (or giving up the ghost!), which can be helpful in deciding what manufacturers to go with for future purchases.

Sorry about your laundry woes. I feel your pain.