Back to the Basics – Laundry

Laundry.  The job that’s never really complete.  Even if there’s nothing in the hamper….

just wait, because as soon as nighttime falls and everyone gets changed into pjs, the pile starts again.

Like all the other household things we’ve talked about in Back to the Basics, doing laundry is easiest when we manage to stay on top of it….

A great tool in my laundry room is this laundry sorter.  As the hamper gets full, I can haul it to the laundry room and get clothes sorted without having them spread all over the floor.  It’s also handy because my kiddos have a place to sort their own dirty clothes.  It’s got four sections: lights, darks, towels, and dryclean/delicates.

Laundry is a household chore that I like to start, but don’t love to finish.  I love to get things picked up by sorting the laundry and getting it out of the way.  I love starting a load of laundry into the washer.  And even moving it to the dryer.  But that’s where the fun stops.  I do not enjoy folding, hanging and putting away.  Good thing for me that I have little helpers for that.

Here’s my favorite way to get my clothes smelling and looking fresh:

Step One:  Fight the Stains

I use a scoop of Oxi~Clean in every load of wash except towels.  I started doing this a couple of years ago as my kids were getting older and stains were getting worse.  I don’t usually take time to hunt for stains and pretreat.  So using this ensures I get to them without much effort.  I buy Oxi~Clean at Costco {and usually stock up when the $4 coupon runs}.

I have an HE washer ~ and I pour the Oxi~Clean on top of the clothes in the washer {I do not pour it into the detergent drawer}.

Step Two:  Detergent

My family has been loyal Tide users for~evah.  I remember my Grandma Nini and my Grammie both using it, my Mom’s always used it…  and yes I adopted it too.  When Tim and I were first married, I tried using cheaper brands, but the results were bad enough I switched right back.  I buy Tide in bulk at Costco usually {watch for coupons} and sometimes will use a coupon at the grocery.

Step Three:  Soften the Fabric

Five or six years ago I read a blog post from a woman passionate about the smell of Gain Fabric Softener.  She was believable enough that it made me give it a try and I haven’t switched.  I too am now an addict of the smell!

Step Three:  Bleach

There is nothing worse than mildew smelling towels.  Most of us at one time or another have forgotten the towels in the washer and tried desperately to re~wash to get the odor out.  To combat the yucky towel smell, I always use 1/3 cup of bleach with the towels.  Most towels are color resistant and can handle being bleached.  I have never had a problem washing white and colored towels with bleach.  But, of course be sure to read the labels and be careful.

Step Three:  More Softening

I’m all about the smell when it comes to laundry.  So every load that goes into the dryer gets hit with a dryer sheet.  Gain and Bounce are my faves!

Step Four:  I don’t iron.

My kids have seen my iron and ironing board only a handful of times in their lives.  I do my best to avoid ironing at all costs.  If time was plenty, then I wouldn’t mind it at all.  But with the fast pace and busyness of life, it ain’t happening at my house.  A product that I literally depend on is Downy Wrinkle Releaser.  I’m always terrified they are going to stop producing it because it doesn’t seem to have a big presence on the market.

Step Five:  Love your Laundry Room.

I’m in the process of making my laundry room a place that’s “me” and a place I’ll enjoy being.  If we’ve gotta spend all this time in there, we might as well make it a good looking place to be.  When it’s complete I’ll post pics.  For now here’s what I’m working on…

The walls are going to be “Pea Soup” from Porter.

{Click on photo for source}

I am looking for a lamp to add to the corner of my counter and have my eye out for something like this… but will wait for it to go on sale or will find something similar since the price tag is a bit steep.

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One of my favorite {practical} additions was using this container from Crate and Barrel to store my Oxi~Clean.  It’s functional and looks great.  Love it!

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On the shopping list is a great rug and some sort of window treatment.  And I’m thinking of adding these next to the wall art {see top of post}…

{Click on photo for link to source}

What’s YOUR favorite things to make the job of managing laundry more enjoyable?