Wednesday, June 25, 2014

Laundry




I'm sitting at my husband's computer, listening to my girls play the piano and looking at small girls' artwork….being so happy with hearing everyone getting along and loving playing with each other….and looking forward to the two youngest girls' nap time, when I'll take a nap too!!

Today I've also been doing laundry.

In our Large Family, we generally do at least 6 loads every single day.  Around here, not doing laundry for even one day means the Dirty Clothes Beast takes over and threatens to become deeply rooted, so I try not to skip a day. What I mean is, we try not to skip a day!

We don't usually struggle over laundry here.  Everyone in this house knows we always have a Laundry Monster.  As long as there's always a load or two of clothes going in the washer, my husband is fine.  As long as clothes are put away and not scattered about, he's okay.

I usually have one person doing everyone's laundry and folding the clothes from the dryer. I rotate the people doing laundry each week, but sometimes one person does the laundry for three weeks at a time, especially if they're not doing a great job.  I have a medium sized hamper in the hallway where everyone puts their clothes.  That hallway hamper ultimately gets sorted into three large white hampers out in the garage laundry area.  I have a large hamper for whites/light colors, dark colors, and sheets/towels/burp rags.

Now, does this laundry system that works for us ensure that our laundry is always perfectly done and that everything is always immaculately put away?

**SNORT**

You must think this is SuperMama's blog!! HA!

We get behind on the laundry almost every single week.

For two weeks now, I decided to do the laundry myself.  I needed something to do and I wanted to see if I could slay the Dirty Clothes Beast for even one day.  My definition of a good battle with dirty clothes is that all of the hampers in the garage are empty and the washer and dryer are humming along merrily.

We have a HE Top Load washer and a regular old dryer.  We had a really fancy dryer to match our really fancy washer, but after two separate visits from the maintenance guy, he advised us to just go to our local washer and dryer store and get a simple dryer.  We couldn't keep having the maintenance man out, so we took his advice, and I love our simple old dryer.  Here's a little secret for you: I almost gagged when I saw that, to match our washer, we'd maybe be spending over $800 for a dryer!!! I'm super happy with the old dryer we now have and it's not so temperamental and it's easier for the small girls to navigate!

So, let me share my favorite laundry detergent and stuff with you!!

Let's make one thing clear: I'm not one to be making my own laundry detergent.  The liquid stuff looks like snot and is slimy and gray, and the powdered stuff makes my nose sting and is messy.  I'm a bit of a Laundry Products Snob, and everyone at this house knows this and is fine with this….

The reason I'm a Laundry Snob is because I've tried almost every single product out there.  This is true.  Most of the products I've tried had dismal and disappointing results.  

I'm pretty strict with our clothes.  I have to hand them down, so I want them to be bright and look good and not dingy or pilled or feel stiff and scummy….

So I use Kirkland brand laundry detergent for HE washers.  It's basically the generic brand of Tide, which used to be my absolute favorite, and which I used for about 15 years until the company decided to mess with a good thing and secretly changed the recipe! I now use Kirkland.

This stuff is amazing and is a fraction of the cost of Tide.  I love it and I pick up a bottle every time we go to Costco so we don't run out.


The next thing I use for my laundry is OxyClean.



This white powder is really indispensable to me.  I buy a big box at Costco and it generally lasts for over two months.  I keep it on top of my dryer and use a scoop in every single load I do.  I sprinkle it on top of the clothes, after I pour in the Kirkland detergent.  I've tried on several occasions to live without this stuff, but without it, my clothes never failed to be dull and dingy and stains never left, no matter what I did.

For stains, I use OxyClean spray.



This spray is the best thing I've found for stains, no matter what they are.  Of course, I try to spray every stain right away, but let's be real here, that hardly ever happens in this house!! But I've sprayed stains on every material with OxyClean and just threw the item into the dirty clothes hamper and forgotten about it, and every stain comes out! I buy two bottles generally and they last over two months each.

We also use fabric softener sheets in the dryer, and I like Up and Up sheets in Clean Linen from Target.  Clean cotton or linen is my favorite smell, and these are very subtly fragranced and not overwhelming, and they really do the job for not very much money! As a side note, I don't use fabric softener sheets for towels, washrags or burp rags.  I've found that using fabric softener of any kind on these things makes the towel or burp rag less absorbent.

So there you have it! These are the things for laundry that I love and that work the best for me.

Do you have any favorites that you swear by? Share them in your comment!!


5 comments:

Duckygirl said...

We started adding in Downy Unstopables (http://www.soap.com/p/downy-unstopables-in-wash-scent-booster-fresh-230209?site=CA&utm_source=Google&utm_medium=cpc_S&utm_campaign=GooglePLA&utm_content=pla&ca_sku=PG-4298&ca_gpa=pla&ca_kw=&CAWELAID=1323220122) and I LOVE the way our laundry smells. We buy the big bottle at Sam's Club (since sadly, there's not a Costco here)
~Laura

Renata said...

Hi Leanne
It's so nice to catch up here & have the opportunity to comment (I find it hard to type on the ipad so rarely comment from that). It's always so interesting to hear how other Mums do laundry. I adore this type of post because I'm always trying to find ways to streamline things I do! I have tried making our own laundry detergent, but at the moment I use a detergent that is especially formulated to be able to go onto the garden. This is because we save our laundry water & then pump it onto the garden.
I hope you are going well with your precious family!
Blessings
Renata:)

Christine said...

I also like the Kirkland brand of detergent, but we have to use the free and clear kind since my family is prone to Eczema breakouts (except for me). I use free and clear All Fabric Softer and then also use bounce dryer sheets. I might try the Oxiclean in the wash. Mine is a front loader (if I had to choose again, I'd choose a top loader). For stains, I use the original Dawn dish soap. All I do is cover the stains with it and then throw item in the washing machine. Works every time. :) We just had to buy a new dryer. 15 years ago we bought matching Maytag washer and dryer. Our washer lasted only 5 years and our dryer JUST went out on us a month ago. I don't need anything fancy when it comes to a washer and dryer. I'd much rather use the money somewhere else. All I really cared about was that it had sensor drying and didn't burn my clothes. :)

Sounds like you have a system that works for you. I do the laundry myself....but we don't have nearly the amount you do. I only do 3-4 loads a week.

It's nice to see what other people do.

Thanks for sharing, Leanne.

A Bite of Country Cupcakes said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
A Bite of Country Cupcakes said...

Leanne you are doing so well with regularly posting! I am a laundry freak...I am never in a back log as I am virtually OCD about keeping on top,But like you my washer and dryer and airers in front of the fire never end!We do 2 loads a day...I cannot imagine you having to do 6!!! But seems you have a great method happening!158