Laundry Day Blues Banished

Monday Laundry, Tuesday Ironing.... Those little words defined the day to day life of our mothers and our mother's mothers. People were judged by their laundry. How early it was hung on the line and what was hung. Advertisements touted different kinds of detergents because they could get your "whites really white." Nothing was worse than dingy, off white laundry. If your whites weren't clean, your other clothes probably weren't either. People knew what was happening in a family by what was hung on the line. Diapers meant that the baby had arrived, and so on. Underwear was always hung in the center so no one would see it. There were so many rules.

I have lots of experience with laundry. As a young girl I sorted laundry in the basement under my mother's supervision. Whites, colors, darks, work clothes, delicates. We reused the soapy water from the lightly soiled clothing on the heavily soiled clothes. I hung clothes out on the line and laid the hankies on the grass to dry. When my son was young and our washer broke, I even got to use the dreaded ringer washer, until we could afford to buy an automatic. Even if you have to tote clothes to the Laundromat, it is lots easier now.

I hate to work harder than I have to, so I have found ways to do many of the things I learned about laundry, that are quicker and easier than they were when I was young.
I still sort laundry, but instead of putting it in piles on a single day, we have laundry bags that hang on the back of our bedroom door for whites and darks. Everything else goes into the laundry basket. If something is delicate or made from wool I follow the easily remembered rule of treating it the same as I would a baby. - warm water, mild soap, support it and lay it flat to dry. I wash it as soon as I take it off, then it doesn't sit around with dirt trying to eat holes into the delicate threads.

There are many things that should be taken care of before your clothes go into the washer. Check for mending. Are there loose buttons, or holes that need to be sewn up, The agitation of the washer could make the situation worse. Stains are a major issue and are best taken care of before the item goes into the washer. I personally use "Shout" on most stains. I have been known to get up from the table when we have spaghetti and spray my shirt right away, before it goes into the laundry basket. Rust is trickier. Put lemon juice, and table salt on anything white, and then lay it in the sunshine. It works great. Laying things on the grass, means that it will absorb the chlorophyll from the grass and be whiter. Our mothers weren't so dumb. Peroxide or salt and cold water will remove blood stains. Hot water will set them. Club soda works on wine and coffee , but it is best if you do it right away. Ink can be removed with hair spray. Shampoo will work on lots of stains, but the spray bottle of "Shout" is what I use. Check to be sure the stain is gone before the item goes into the dryer, since the heat could set it for all time.

To keep them bright, colors are washed in cold water. Be careful with a brand new item, since it may bleed onto your other clothes. For the first washing, put it in with things that are the same color or darker. This is definitely a case where an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. If something bleeds color onto the other items in the washer, DO NOT put them into the dryer, without attempting to restore them to their original color. Also watch that item the next time it is in the laundry as it may be prone to bleeding. If so put some table salt into the water the next time you wash it, and it should sort itself out.

Water temperature can be an issue. Check the label of clothing before washing it. Some will say what temperature to use and some will say to dry clean only. I learned about this at an early age when a beautiful wool sweater, came out of the laundry ready to fit a doll instead of me. Bedding should be washed in water that is about 140 degrees to kill dust mites and remove allergens. Whites should also be washed in hot water with bleach to get them really clean. Sometimes there are instructions on the machine as well as in the book which came with the machine. There are also instructions on the box of detergent.

Detergent is a matter of personal choice. If your washer requires a specific type of detergent, be sure to use it. If you want to wash only with cold water, be sure that your detergent is formulated to work in cold water. If you have allergies try to avoid scents, or whatever you are allergic to. I knew a lady who said that she made her own laundry detergent, because her son was allergic. Except that she didn't have the ingredients so she allowed the laundry to pile up until it was unbelievable. It sort of defeated the purpose. She might have been able to just double rinse the clothes, or add some vinegar to the rinse water. In case you are interested -to make detergent combine equal parts of grated "Fels Naptha," Borax and Washing Soda, which is not the same as Baking Soda. All three should be in the laundry area of your grocery. Use 1 Tablespoon for lightly soiled clothing and 2 Tablespoons for heavily soiled clothing. If you want to add some scent to the mixture, you may. This is a money saver, but also a time consumer. I have found that no matter what detergent I use it is best to let it dissolve in the water before I add clothing. If you want to use a liquid laundry soap, you can pour part of the measured amount directly onto heavily soiled areas or stains.

Fabric softener is a whole different matter of personal choice. If you use fabric softener, be aware that it can diminish the drying capacity of towels. They do decrease the amount of static in your clothing. I use dryer sheets, cut in half. Sometimes I use them for two loads. I can also use them to calm my hair in the winter when there is too much static. I also occasionally put white vinegar into the fabric softener dispenser in my washer so that my clothes are cleaner and softer, because the soap residue is removed.

I make an effort to hang up and fold clothing as soon as it is dry. In fact I try to remove cloth napkins and lighter weight clothing as soon as it is almost dry, so that wrinkles do not become set. If there is something that has to be ironed, I try to get it out of the dryer while it is still slightly damp and iron it right away. Otherwise I have to spray it lightly with water and roll it up on itself to let the moisture spread throughout the cloth before I iron it. I hang clothes on hangers of different colors for my husband, myself and my son. That way it is easy to put things in the correct closet quickly. If I find something needs to be mended, I put it in my sewing room, and there it molders far longer than it should. I never said that I was perfect. These methods work for me, because they make everything as easy as possible and because they have become habit. Some of them might work for you.