HOUSE TOUR: LAUNDRY AREA

I've always enjoyed doing laundry. Bubbles, clean scents, warm clothes, and in the warm months, hanging things out on the line in the fresh air and sunshine. Ahh. The putting away of said laundry...now that's another story.

In our last house, the washer and dryer were located in the coldest, darkest part of the basement. Had we stayed for another year or more, we had big plans to move them over to the lighter side. But we moved, and in this house, the laundry area is tucked inside the breezeway/informal entry, right beside the kitchen. I'm so in love. It's just a large closet more than an actual room, but after having trudged down two flights of stairs to the dungeon for three years, this just makes my heart go pitter patter.

We still have a few boxes left to be unpacked, but for the most part, I know what I wanted on the shelves above the washer and dryer. And I didn't want everything to be totally utilitarian, either. Practical? Yes. But pleasing to the eyes as well. Oh! And I didn't want to purchase anything new (although we will need a hook-rack-thing for the things with handles).

My one rule for this tidying up project: no more than two items must be moved in order to get to something else. I tend to over-pack the shelves and it gets so annoying having to move thirty other things out of the way in order to get to the flashlight in the back.

Not sure why this looks so dark, but it makes for a much more dramatic BEFORE picture  =)

Using up baskets and boxes I already had...and adding some touches of whimsy as well. My homemade laundry detergent is in the ceramic jar in the basket, and I cut dryer sheets in half and store them in the smaller jar on the left.

I never would've thought of storing scissors and pens, etc on the laundry shelves, but it just works. And it frees up counter space, too! Sometimes you just gotta think outside the box I guess.

These two prints were wedding gifts that hung in our old kitchen, but they didn't quite fit in with this new kitchen. I LOVE my kitchen....can't wait to share pics! I adore them on the wall here. They make me smile every single time I see them.

Here is an older post I wrote with some of my best Laundry Tips if you'd like to read it.

I just realized...it's FRIDAY! Have a great weekend!

Homemaking: Five Simple Laundry Tips

Good Monday morning! Last week I got to thinking about how being a newlywed in today's world is so much different than when I tied the knot back in 1997 (gasp). Between blogs and Pinterest alone, I think I'd have had my entire wedding, honeymoon, first apartment decor, maternity inspiration board, and future baby names (plus homecoming outfits) mapped out all within the first day or two of my engagement.

Sadly, it was not so. And we survived, imagine that.  =)

Anyhoo. I hadn't done much laundry on my own and felt a little overwhelmed when I started washing for two, then three, four...of us. Since lots of my friends ask me about how I stay on top of the laundry (and I don't always) with our large brood, I thought I'd share some tips I've learned along the way. Nothing earth-shattering here, mind you, but I know I always welcome new ideas if they help me run a smoother household.

Laundry Tip #1

Toss your delicates in with the sheets

From silky pajamas to undergarments and pantyhose, they wash well together without fear of catching or snagging on clothing with zippers and buttons, etc.; even the sturdier fabrics can wear and tear those delicate items. Sometimes I do have enough in the laundry basket to warrant a delicate wash, but mostly, I simply toss in a few things here and there when I wash our 5 sets of sheets weekly.

Laundry Tip #2

Save money and cut the dryer sheets in half

Or don't even use one every time

Half the sheet works fine, and it makes that package of dryer sheets last much longer

Laundry Tip #3

Save the hot water washes for dirty socks and germs

Yes, if someone has been sick, their stuff gets washed in hot water. The same goes for muddy socks (speaking from many years' experience here...); normal loads wash well in warm or cold, and many machines now have eco-warm as an option. I do rely on warm washes throughout the winter because the water is simply too cold to be as effective.

Laundry Tip #4

Use a towel or cloth to wipe down the washing machine after each use (or series of uses)

This is especially important with front loaders, as they tend to accumulate gunk and debris in that rubber "lip" in the front. When we had a top-loader, I wiped down the edges and under the rim, just to keep things from building up.

Laundry Tip #5

Establish a routine

I'm not as rigid with my routines as I used to be, but I find that having a set time or day for certain items is key to staying on top of those never-ending laundry piles. Otherwise, there would always be another pile to sort, to wash, dry, fold, to put away...without any end in sight, which nags at me. Having a routine alleviates those frenzied moments of needing something ready that isn't ready, and once things are put away the job feels done, which affects my mood tremendously.

On Mondays, it's clothes, separated into lights and darks; Tuesdays, sheets & towels; and often times I'll need to toss in another load or two of clothes on Thursday.  

I know this would not work for lots of people, which is fine. Maybe Saturday morning or afternoon is the best time, or even one full week day devoted to laundry tasks. 

I like to hang my clothes out on the line as often as I can. The snow has finally melted near my line so I'll be able to do that, weather permitting, this week. Happy happy! 

There are hundreds of recipes for laundry detergent out there. You can read about my homemade powdered laundry detergent HERE. Happy laundering!

Easy Peasy Homemade Laundry Detergent...and it works!!!

 

Last month I rolled up the ol' sleeves and set out to make a batch of my very own laundry soap. Boys get dirty, especially sliding-into-first kinds of boys. Girls get dirty, too. And dogs are gross. I mean, messy. Plus, I've been on a personal mission to simplify, be more self-sufficient, and be more aware and vigilant about the things that we put on our skin and in our bodies.

There are so many great resources online, and I pulled my ideas from lots of terrific blogs and other sites. The only real criterion I had was this: it had to be simple. As in, I wanted to dump the ingredients in and voila!, there would be the finished product. No cooking, boiling, finding pH balances, or any other overly laborious task.

{I figured I should include a picture of the ingredients, but obviously not until after I'd started in on that Fels-Naptha bar...oops!}

Almost every recipe I found called for 1 cup each of BORAX and WASHING SODA. Next, you choose the cleansing agent, or soap. With boys and a dirt-hungry gal, I knew I needed something with a little kick to actually clean our clothes, and since I had just swiped borrowed my Mom's Fels-Naptha bar, I decided to try that.

I had read about the challenges associated with grating Ivory soap by hand, so I had Big Bertha on hand just in case. 

 Big Bertha, say hello to everyone. Everyone, Big Bertha.

As it turned out, I didn't need her. Sorry, Bertha. The Fels-Naptha bar grated so smooth and powder-fine on the smallest grater "holes," it was perfect for use just as it was. I stopped at about 1/3 of the bar since it's a big one, figuring I'd used enough (translated, my arm was tired) and mixed everything together with a big spoon. I really liked the scent, but then got to thinking, and decided to add a dash of Ivory soap for good measure. 

And, well, yup...that didn't grate so smoothly.

 No big deal. It probably only totaled a tablespoon or two, but it did add such a nice fresh scent, so it was a win-win. (By the way, our clothes smell like heaven after they've hung out on the line all afternoon. Who doesn't want heaven-y smelling clothes?)

I didn't have a covered container to spare, but I think this looks even nicer, especially since it sits on the windowsill near my laundry closet. I was a bit worried that the powder might clump in the open air, but it has been over a month now, and it's still perfect. I use a heaping spoonful with this old camping spoon for each regular load, a tad extra for baseball uniforms and such.  =)

                      Here's another helpful hint for front loading machines: when using powder of any kind, start the wash with the warm or hot water setting and on the longest or heaviest load setting, so it begins to spin immediately. I find this helps to dissolve the powder better so, in turn, it works better to clean your clothes. If I'm doing a regular load, I adjust the settings back to cold water and regular wash after about 15-20 seconds. I almost always wash and rinse in cold water, and starting off each load this way really helps boost the powder's efficiency.

I have noticed two things about this homemade detergent. First, at times traces of deodorant smell linger, like it doesn't completely dissolve the scent. It gets our work-out clothes smelling good, so it does remove body odors well. Second, if the socks are really really soiled, this doesn't get them whiter-than-white by any stretch of the imagination. I think I may beef up the Fels-Naptha for the next batch, or experiment with Oxy-Clean, or even add more Borax to that specific load. If those are my only complaints, I'm still happy.

 While I didn't set out to make my own detergent primarily to save money, I think it really does save in the long run. What matters most to me is knowing exactly what is in the detergent, and ultimately what's spending hours and hours against my family's skin. Plus, it seems to be better for our environment too, and that makes me feel like a good steward of our earth.

To recap, here is the recipe I made:

• 1 cup Borax
• 1 cup Washing Soda
• 1/4 - 1/3 Fels-Naptha bar, finely grated
• 1 - 2 tablespoons Ivory soap, finely grated

Happy laundering!