Entries Tagged as 'laundry'

Getting Started: Beating The Laundry Monster

June 16th, 2009 18 Comments

retrochick.JPGIvy says:

For many, keeping up with laundry is their Achilles’ heel when it comes to housekeeping. I know that it sure is mine. It seems that whenever I manage to get caught up, there’s a new giant pile lurking somewhere 5 seconds afterwards. So I share with you some of the strategies I’ve picked up over the years to keep the laundry monster at bay. And I know some of our lovely home eccers who don’t have trouble with the laundry will jump in with their own helpful hints.

Make it easy on yourself- limit the amount of clothes you have. This is a hint Heather’s shared with me at least 40 million times. “But I’m a clothes horse,” I tell her. “I can’t help it!” She tells me I’ll always have trouble with the laundry, then. I can dig that. Now, I do take that somewhat to heart- all the ill-fitting, permanently stained, ugly clothing is removed as soon as possible. It’s especially important to deal with kid clothes, since they grow out of things so quickly. If you’re saving clothes for another kid, box them up and put them away somewhere.

Put off season clothes away. Speaking of boxing things up and putting them away, it’s summer. Put your winter clothes away. In the winter, do the opposite. This might not be necessary if you’re living in a house with only adults, but I can tell you, if you have kids, this saves piles of time. It’s June 16th and I live in Tennessee. I just washed a pair of winter gloves. Why? They didn’t get put away and I’m sure one of my kids was playing with them and tossed them in the laundry pile. Arrrgh.

Get a system going for your laundry. Some people like to wash once a week. Some people like to wash every day. Decide what sort of person you are, and stick to the schedule. Right now, I’m a fan of washing once a week. Monday is my laundry day, and that’s what I do all day on Mondays. Come heck or high water. If you’re an every day sort of launderer, then make sure you do at least one load every single day. (More or less, depending on how much laundry you need to do.)

Fold and put away immediately when the dryer buzzer goes off. Don’t mess around. Not only will you end up with wrinkly clothes, but also clothes are more likely to sit in your washer if you have a load behind it. Ewww. Smelly clothes. It wastes time and water and energy and, and, and. Just suck it up and deal with the dryer right away.

Go ahead and spend a little more for a laundry detergent scent you love. Of course, if someone in your house is allergic, forget that idea. But if you can, get a scent that you find absolutely wonderful. It makes laundry just that much better to do. Plus, your clothes will smell fabulous. Bonus!

If you’re behind, make laundry your priority. Whenever I get behind on my laundry, I just plow in and do laundry until it’s all finished. Sure, that new pile will spring up in no time, but being caught up feels soooo good. And by “plow in and do it til it’s all finished,” I mean DAY AND NIGHT. This is a little harder in the summer when it’s miserably hot, but you let it get behind, pay the price, ha!

Sorting got you down? Shout Color Catcher to the rescue! Man, I hate sorting laundry, so I really just don’t anymore. Instead, I put clothes in (excepting towels, which have to be washed seperately due to fabric softener issues and delicates, for obvious reasons) until the washer’s full enough and then toss in a Shout Color Catcher. I’ve not had a single pink sock since starting to use these. I think that’s totally worth the extra cost.

Keep your laundry area clean. Nothing makes you want to do laundry less than a dirty laundry room. My laundry room also happens to be the best place for cat boxes. So before I go in to do laundry, I clean the area well. I keep a push broom in the laundry room to push stray cat litter out of the way throughout laundry day.

OK, now it’s your turn: Tell me, Home Eccers, what are your laundry strategies?

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Retro Saturday: Hiding the evidence- getting blood stains out of fabric

January 24th, 2009 7 Comments

On Saturdays, we like to take the day off and spend it with our families. Sometimes. When they’re behaving. Here’s a blast from the past:

Dear Home-Ec 101,

How do I remove blood stains from fabric?

Signed,

Lizzie B.

stripey-shirt.JPGIvy says:

Turn yourself in, Dr. Michael Baden’s on the case now, I hear. I’ll answer the question anyway, though; I hear we have quite the following in prisons all across the nation.

Most everyone knows the old peroxide trick to get rid of blood stains. But some people don’t happen to have it on hand, and some fabrics might be ruined by it. My mother always swore by using contact solution (saline) on a blood stain, if you can catch it right away.

I also heard that soaking the fabric in milk overnight will do away with the stain quite well. If you have a set-in stain, try rubbing salt on it and scrubbing with water, then laundering as usual.

Good luck on that whole “avoiding jail” thing!

UPDATE: A commenter, Stacie told us about Folex. She says she has used it on all sorts to stains and fabrics, including vintage fabrics with no damage. She told me you can find it with the carpet cleaners at Home Depot and with regular cleaners at the grocery store. With such glowing reviews, I’d say it’s worth a shot!

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Grease on Khakis

January 13th, 2009 10 Comments

Dear Home Ec 101,

Help oh great home ec goddesses! I was making breakfast for the kids, and didn’t have my tried and true apron on. As I am sure you guessed, I got grease on my favorite go to khakis. HELP!!!!!!! I need guidance! Thanks for all of your great tips.

Signed,

Greasy in Gallatin

retrochick.JPGIvy says:

When I worked at the auto repair shop, I was introduced to the miracle that is Simple Green. Not only is it one of the best degreasers I have ever used, but it’s nontoxic, biodegradable, and not stinky. I used it to clean the grease off my shoes and clothes that always gets on ya when you work around cars.

Later, I married a restaurant manager who brought home the grease all over his clothing, and Simple Green worked wonders again. My darling restaurant manager doesn’t bring home so much grease anymore, but since I’m a messy cook, Simple Green is still my best pal.

For your khakis, just spray Simple Green directly onto the stain and wash as usual. Make sure the grease stains are gone before you put it in the dryer, but chances are good that they’ll be fabulous once again. Thanks for the great question!

Got a household dilemma that needs solving? Email us at helpme@home-ec101.com

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Cold Comfort

October 22nd, 2008 9 Comments

Dear Home Ec 101,

I received a duck down comforter as a gift last Christmas. The tag says to have it taken to the dry cleaners, but not only would it be a pain, it wouldn’t be easy on the wallet. Now, I love my comforter. But I’m so terrified to wash it on my own that it hasn’t been washed in a year and a half. I know. I am ashamed. And I need help. On top of that, the feathers continually pop out, so I’m afraid if I wash it, instead of returning to its fluffy state, it will flatten like a pancake. Is there any hope for my comforter and me?
Comfortless in California

Heather says:
You could wash your down comforter on the gentle cycle with an extra rinse and then pop it into the dryer with a couple of clean tennis balls on low. However, there is a trade-off, the lifespan of your comforter may be significantly reduced. As the cost of dry cleaning can vary by region (and local competition) the home care option may or may not be more cost effective.
A high quality, dry cleaned comforter can be expected to last five to ten years. Quite the spread, eh? Har, har. There are home dry cleaning kits, but they are best for spot and odor management and probably won’t get a heavy article like a down comforter as clean as you would like. If you choose to wash your comforter, carefully inspect it for any small tears before putting it into the washer. A clogged drain line is not the frugal option if you end up having to call a repairman.
My personal experience? I have had a cheap comforter for five years, but it is well past its prime. It creates lovely fuzzy dusty bits that I must enjoy vacuuming or I would have gotten around to replacing it by now.

Finally, a good quality duvet cover will help keep your comforter from needing frequent cleaning.

Good luck!

Submit your domestic questions to helpme@home-ec101.com.

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Not-so-retro Saturday: What can be used more than once

May 24th, 2008 11 Comments

Ivy says:

The problem with writing for many, many other blogs is that eventally, you won’t be able to find a post you have written that you want to share with people. More than a year ago, I wrote a cute post about how often you should wash various clothing and household items. I could have sworn I had written it for this site, but I just spent an hour searching and it’s not on this site.

The good thing about being a writer is, you can always write it again, so that’s what I’ll do. The comments from the SSA post and the linen closet post are what reminded me of this post. By the way, now is a good time for me to thank you guys for all your comment love. I once said, every comment I get is like handing me a five dollar bill. I said this back in the day when I was first blogging, and it still holds true to this day. Except for the spam comments and the occasionally really ugly comments, I get super happy with each comment. Thank you, thank you, thank you.

Now, let’s talk about how often I wash things. Shirts, underwear and socks are always washed after one wearing. Underwear and socks for obvious reasons, shirts because a. I sweat and b. I have a tendency to spill things. I’d wash my bras as often, but I don’t have a whole lot of them and when I buy a bra, I buy expensive. So I usually rinse the one I’m wearing that day out and hang it to dry. I let them do the rinse thing about 3 times before I toss them into the Pile Of The Great Unwashed, also known as my laundry pile.

Now, pants and especially jeans I wash after about 2 days of wearing. When I was really, really poor and didn’t have a washing machine in my apartment, that stretched to about 3 days of wearing- I’d hang the jeans up to let them air out a bit, it seemed to help. As far as dresses/skirts, since I started going to a church that’s all about the casual, so I wear skirts and dresses so rarely that I automatically just toss them in the laundry. When I went to Our Lady Of The Cadillac, I’d hang the dresses up to be worn another time, sometimes.

Now, for kid clothes. My oldest son is kind of snotty* and won’t wear anything that’s not spotlessly clean, so he does some of his own laundry. My younger kids are instructed to put shirts in the laundry after wearing and jeans/pants/shorts/skirts are to be laid over the chair in their room for weekend and/or outside play.

Bath towels are to be used about 3ish days. We hang them up on towel racks after use so they don’t get mildewy. (Thanks to the commenters for reminding me of this, so I could point this out to my husband! I won the linen closet argument handily!) Hand towels hang on the hand towel rings until my kids steal them to clean something up or I clean the bathroom.

Bed sheets I wash about every 2 weeks. Blankets and comforters are washed at the end of the season, with the exception of the blanket throws that are in my living room, which get washed weekly since they get tossed on the floor and are the relaxing place of choice for my kitties.

Being able to keep down the amount of times things are worn is key to being able to keep the laundry pile under control. It’s also the more eco-friendly way to do things. Have a happy Saturday, Home Eccers!

*This is the second time I’ve said my oldest son is snotty. I don’t want you guys to think he’s actually a snotty person, because he’s not. He is a very, very good kid and very responsible. He’s just funny about clothing for the reasons I explained in the comments about the SSA post. He’s also 14 years old, which is a snotty age.

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