Tried and True Tuesday: Good Sense Laundry

If you read here often, you know I love www.flylady.net.  Though I don't read all of her emails, a few have made major impact on my life.  This one was from a tip from another of her followers.  Wish I could shake her hand.

If you are very particular about how your laundry's sorted, either you're gonna need a paradigm shift (which is what I had), or this might not be for you.  But it has simplified my life so much.  One of those "Why didn't I think of that?!" ideas.  Parents, give it a chance; those who don't have families, file it away for future reference.

Here it goes...  Rather than collecting all the laundry and sorting it, when one person has enough laundry for a load, you wash it.  While you're gathering those clothes, strip the sheets off that person's bed.  You've skipped sorting before washing AND after.  Another plus is that my children, who will be washing their own laundry in a few years, see me do their individual laundry--not some drawn out process of separation.  It is easy enough for them to do when they're ready.  My one exception to this habit is whites.  They still get their own load, and obviously towels are a separate load. 

Fly Lady always advocates doing a load of laundry a day.  This took me a while to get used to.  But, if you often feel chained to your washing machine on laundry day, this is the solution.  When Ivy, the fourth family member, was born, I found I needed to do two loads a day to stay on top of it.  Do what works for you.  It is such a life saver when you have an emergency and can't do laundry for a couple of days.  You were never behind.  Blessings!

Sources: photo 1,  photo 2, photo 3

Savvy Chic Laundry

If you ever get tired of waiting on your dryer to finish the load, or if you'd rather spend your money on things other than fabric softener and dryer sheets, this post is for you.  The project is worth the little effort required.  Cloth diapering mamas, you shouldn't live without these! 

A few months ago, my sweet Mom and I read an online tutorial and made wool dryer balls.  There is more than one way to skin a cat, and also to make dryer balls.  We used this site as our guide: http://ecofriendlyhomemaking.com/2011/02/tutorial-on-how-to-make-wool-dryer-balls/.  I highly recommend this tutorial and that you read it before continuing on this post. 

Mom and I found a large piece of wool at her house.  We fleeced it according to the instructions and got started.  I'm going to confess now where I went wrong.  In the beginning, I used pinking shears (scissors with the zigzag cut used to keep fabric from fraying) to cut the strips.  It was really NOT necessary, and it kills the hands.  Regular scissors came to the rescue.  Then, I rolled and stitched the fabric strips into a ball.  It was more time consuming than I anticipated.  I make no bones about the fact that I love crafts...with instant gratification.  Here is what it looked like:

Mother knows best, though.  She cleverly got the idea to just wind the strips and make two large stitches from one side to the other.  To be clearer, there were knots at north, south, east, and west...  It looked kind of like a rosette.  This was savvy genius!  She was making them so quickly.  In the laundry, they work equally well.

How well do they work?  Wool is magic.  Clothes are sooo nicely fluffed.  The best part is drying time has been shaved by at least ten minutes per load!  I don't think I'll ever go back to dryer sheets.  The question I sometimes get is, "How is the static?"  They don't eliminate all static, but it's minimal.  I might find a dryer ball or two clinging to some gym shorts (or other ultra-synthetics).  Hope that someone else gets use from these.  Blessings!

You might also like my laundry detergent mixture:  http://misssavvychic.blogspot.com/2011/11/laundry-detergent-mixture.html

Laundry Detergent Mixture

Friends are asking...so here it is!  The "recipe" and a couple of ideas.  I have been mixing my own detergent cocktail for several months now, and it works really well.  Why bother? I do LOTS of laundry, at least in my opinion.  Multiple loads a day.  This is an effective, easy way to save considerable money.  I'll warn you, this is just one gal's ratio.  If this one doesn't knock your socks off, surf the web for others.  Do what works for YOU.You can find all of these items on the laundry isle.  While they're not difficult to find, you may not see them in every store. 

Measure and pour into a container:

one part Borax
one part Arm & Hammer Washing Soda (NOT the same as baking soda)
one part of your favorite powder laundry detergent
Mix powder until thoroughly blended.

For washing, follow your laundry labels for water temp.  Start the water, pour in 2 tablespoons of the mixture, let a little more water run, throw in your washables.

Fun Variation:  You can substitute shavings of your favorite bar soap in place of powder laundry detergent.

GIFT IDEA:  If you know someone has a favorite soap, use it to customize some laundry detergent for them.  You could add a label, like "Susan's Luxe Lavender Laundry," or "Hero Wash" for the guys (being sure the scent and container have masculine appeal).  Put the mixture in an attractive container with washing instructions.  You might try placing a plastic bag inside a nice basket and fill with the detergent mixture.  Then, tie the bag with ribbon at the top, adding a little scoop to the bow.  While you're at it, put your own mixture in a cute container.  You're worth it, too!

Troubleshooting:  For added stain fighting, add some oxygen cleaning product to your mix.  If your water is too cold to dissolve powder, start the load with hot water while you pour in the detergent mixture.  Once it dissolves, switch it over to cold if that is the preferred setting.

Hope this works as well for your family as it does for mine.  Blessings!