Washing
Laundry is not my favorite chore, but at our house there always seems
to be plenty to be washed! Recently, I decided to enlist the help of
my children. Every day, each child has to bring all of their laundry
to the laundry room where it is sorted. I created a laundry
wash chart which lists each type of load we do and what cycle to
use on the washer and dryer.
Each child then has the option of doing a load of laundry as one of
their weekly chores. They actually LIKE doing
the laundry. They are disappointed if there is not enough laundry for
everyone to get a turn. Even my 6 year old gets in on the action.
I have also started using homemade laundry soap. It is a bunch cheaper,
and I can't tell any difference. My dear husband often comes home from
work with oil on his clothes and this gets them looking and smelling
great! Here's my recipe:
Powdered Laundry Soap
1 bar Fels
Naptha Soap -grated finely (I use a cheese grater, then put it through
the food processor)
1 cup Arm
& Hammer Washing Soda
1 cup Borax
Mix well and store in an airtight plastic container.
Use 1 tablespoon per full load. (You can use 2 tablespoons for really
soiled laundry)
Washing Soda is a laundry booster. You can find all of these ingredients
in the laundry section of most grocery stores.
I do use this in my high efficiency machine. It is a low sudsing soap.
If you are concerned, you should check the user's manual for your machine
before using it.
Happy washing!
Drying
Air Drying: Hanging out your laundry is the cheapest method
of drying. We try to do this as much as possible. But, not everyone
can do this. If you can't, here are some other ideas we have successfully
tried.
Basement Drying: We recently put up a retractable
clothes line in the basement. The clothes take overnight to dry,
but they do dry this way - even jeans.
Aluminum Foil Balls: To avoid static cling, you can roll aluminum
foil into balls and add them to the dryer with your clothes. Make them
about baseball size because they will shrink. Add 2 or 3 balls to dryer
with every load.
Sponge Dryer Sheets: Dilute fabric softener with an equal part
water. I use Mrs.
Meyer's Clean Day Fabric Softener. I put this inside an old baby
wipes container. Add sponges. Squeeze out a sponge and add to each dryer
load.
Dryer Sheets: If you use traditional dryer sheets, try cutting
them into fourths.
Happy drying!
Disclaimer: All links are for informational purposes only
- a link to a web site does not imply agreement with or endorsement of
that site. Because of the changing nature of the internet, always preview
a site before viewing it with your children.
