Never has there been such a love-hate relationship as the one between a mother and her laundry. There's nothing like a washing line full of tiny little pink clothes that send a whaft of fresh lotus bloom as you walk by. Every Dr. Jekyl has his Mr. Hyde... how is it that, after religiously doing one wash every day with only two people in the house, washing keeps building up! One of you can't even put her own clothes on and yet it froths out over the laundry basket when you thought you tamed it.
So what can you do to save time? You could only ever wear one set of clothes, or go naturalist (stranger things have been done ^^;;;)! There's no cutting the corners- you have to do the laundry. Sorry! But here's some things that could still help.
"It's been such a good day so I've been doing washing and now I've run out of powder/conditioner, help!!"
Easy solution! Use a small amount of shampoo with conditioner (to prevent over-lathering). Shampoo in the powder drawer, conditioner in the... well, conditioner bit.
"I put in more washing than I thought. I have nowhere to hang it!!"
(How to make the most of minimal space)
- Make extra space by folding up your washing before you hang it over the radiator.
- Place; baby socks, tights, grown up socks and grown up undies on top of the radiator.
- Invest in a radiator airer or an
indoor clothes airer. (personally I use the airers the other way round than it shows in the picture).
- Don't just use the shelves in your hotpress- use the pipes too!
- For large items such as bedsheets, (double and single), be sure to fold down. They're usually thin enough to dry through.
- When you can, make the most of outside. If really stuck, hang large items over curtain poles in rooms not being used (you don't want to seem like you're blacking out your windows ^^;;;)
"Doing washes takes too long/ I don't have enough hours in the day!"
- Re-evaluate your washing/ Is it totally and utterly caked in dirt? No? Switch to a half cycle. Stick it on 30 degrees. Better still, if you have the option opt for the "freshen up" mode. It works brilliantly for light clothes that have only had one day (or less) wear.
- For those horribly mucked up clothes (babyfood, mud, poop) make sure to throw them into a sink/bath of water. Cool or hot (but pay attention to each item of clothes instructions). This will help lift the dirt so you can proceed with a normal wash. You can do this while a wash is in progress. Or do it overnight.
- If needing to do a heavy, full-time wash- put it on before you go to bed. That way you don't feel like you're wasting time waiting on it.
"You say all this, but I have no idea where to start."
All right *rolls sleeves up*, let's go through my washing routine.
- Night- Put a wash on (full or freshen) and prepare next load in a washing basket. Usually by colours. Hang out the previous load so it can dry overnight. Little one is in bed. So you have free reign, just be nice and quiet.
- Morning- Pick a time best suited to your little one; nap time or like me, play cot time. Take all washing off radiators and dump on sofa, get to folding. Little one will probably enjoy watching this. Add music and dancing to make it more fun. Any clothes that are still damp, put in airing cuboard. Put away.
You can leave hanging the next wash till later in the day. After all the goal is to do one wash in a day. The cycle of night-put on wash, fold previous and morning- put on wash, fold previous and put away. You should get the gist. This will hopefully help you establish your own routine.
Remember it's abou fitting around the little one but still keeping ontop of your house. A happy house = a happy mum. And happy mum= happy(er) baby ^~^;;;;;
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