laundry time, babes
Hello, lovelies,
We have been talking about that season – cleaning time! I love hearing how other people manage their cleaning schedules and am always interested in new time-saving wisdom and tricks for making cleaning easier! I have a few ideas to share here, so let’s jump right in! Alright, there are six people living in our house. It seems like each week I can only cook OR accomplish completed loads of laundry. By complete, I mean washed, dried, folded, and put away. Completed laundry has become a loose term in this house, at least until the little girls are able to do more themselves. Sometimes we are pulling clean clothes out of the laundry basket. Anybody? I will say, they are able to haul their laundry baskets to the laundry room, especially since the laundry room is upstairs right beside their bedrooms. They can help me put the clothes in the washer or dryer too. They help me fold a little too, but the attention span is still quite short! They can help me put it away too, but it will be nice when they can take on their loads all by themselves!
As far as laundry goes right now, I attempt one load a day. Back in the day, when it was just Brett and me, I did all our laundry on Saturdays and the thought of doing a load everyday sounded horrendous. I have changed my mind and admit that it’s not too bad and it’s the only way to keep it going these days. To save time, I have turquoise bins on a set of shelves in the laundry room. They are labeled bleach, vinegar, detergent, OxiClean, etc. Grab and go, people! I don’t have time to search for stuff and I cannot reach supplies that are kept above the washer and dryer! What works for us is baskets on the shelves in the laundry room labeled with the loads I do, such as lights, whites, darks, undies, and handwash. After showers, the dirty clothes are tossed into the appropriate baskets so they are already pre-sorted! Laundry day is easy! No more huge piles of sorting before laundering! Like I said, if there is less to dread, the more likely I am to do it and not procrastinate! It is much more motivating to throw a load in and get started when it is all ready to go by having it pre-sorted! Just grab and toss the basket in!
As a side note, I love to use a bit of OxiClean in each load. In my experience the last couple of years, it really has kept the whites white and preserved the childrens’ clothes that HAVE to last four times!
I also have discovered the softeners for smell control help with soiled (you know what I mean), smelly clothing. Fresh is best I say. Ain’t nobody wants to be smelling that little remnant of poop smell. Gross.
I use all white towels for all of us for several reasons. One is that white always looks nice and fresh and goes with whatever décor is going on in the house, even if it changes based on style or seasons. Whites are also easy to clean! Throw the white towels in the washer with baking soda and vinegar and BAM, mildew smell is gone, they are soft, and whiter again! Bleach is also nice to use occasionally.
For the girls to keep their towels straight, because we all know a fight can break out over the littlest thing, my mom monograms each white towel. It is still easy to clean and I will also know who the culprit is that left her towel on the floor!
I also keep a bucket (or buckets) of clothing that needs stain removal help. My buckets are overflowing currently with items I need to work on, but at least they are there, ready to go when I get the chance. I often soak them in OxiClean in the bucket, but some stains do not always come clean completely. I keep baking soda, dish soap, and peroxide in a bin together for stain removal, along with a toothbrush. There again, it’s all together, so no gathering supplies and it’s easy to grab and start! For stains, mixing up a paste of two parts peroxide, one part dish soap, and one part baking soda and spreading it with a toothbrush works wonders. Leave that on for about an hour or so, and the results are amazing. Cheap for those college students and young professionals out there, too! I have also tried spreading dish soap on stains and setting it in sunshine to dry and the sunshine actually did take stains out too – even out of white baby clothes! I love easy and I love inexpensive!
Do you have any tricks or habits that make it easy for you? I would love to hear! Collecting wisdom from others is fantastic! I love organization and feeling productive. God’s character is peaceful as well, as shown here in the following verse:
For God is not a God of disorder but of peace… 1 Corinthians 14:33
I hope no matter how old you are, you can benefit from a few of these practical ideas, but most of all, gain a little peace in your life. God bless you! Talk with you soon, friends!
Love, Charis
