Laundry

It occurred to me this morning that BIG FAMILY Laundry is different than "regular people's" laundry.

Here are some facts about our laundry.

1) There is a LOT. 
I had piles of laundry when I only had two children - I remember climbing on it and being thankful that there was a door to hide it.  But there were piles then because I could get away with not doing it for days and days - what a blessing to have that many clothes!
Now, I get up in the morning, make coffee, take medicine, and start laundry - restart the dryer &/or start a new load. 
Currently, because I can't use the clothes line because I don't like cold and there's little sun and I don't like cold, I have piles in laundry phases. 
Phase 1)Dirty. Big hampers and piles of dirty laundry in most rooms of the house.
Phase 2) Just came out of the washer. There are two full baskets sitting on top of the dryer. These clothes have been washed and are waiting their turn to get dry. The basket to the left was the first to come out of the washer and the next to go into the dryer. When left basket gets empty, right basket

gets pushed over and becomes the new left basket (then I can get to the lint trap and push the on button). The empty basket becomes the new right basket and is refilled with whatever is in the washer.
(If you've made it through the method behind my madness, congratulations! You are either seeking answers to your own laundry nightmare & are now qualified to join my madness and do my laundry. Thank you!) (there are no picture of my piles)

If we became nudist I'm certain there would still be laundry. 
There is MUCH laundry. I am thankful for these fancy electric machines and that I don't have to do laundry for ten on a rock down by the river. 


2) All colors are colors and are washed together.
My own mother is learning to accept this as fact. I learned this in collage when I actually did my own laundry (a rarity) instead of bringing it home with me. It takes a lot of quarters to do laundry and I'd rather have eaten. I also learned that you can wear items multiple times before classifying it as dirty. My children have not been to college yet and have not learned this truth despite my constant urging. They often think that if it is not in a drawer it is dirty even if it is folded. (see #3)

A Path = Happiness

I do sometime attempt to  separate colors - mostly with parental clothing - and Gene's work clothes get their own load (with some jeans and towels thrown in to make a full load) - but if/when I do separate colors walking through the mudroom and laundry room is a half day hike up and down Mount Killathelaundress. 

3) Boys' laundry produces treasure and consternation in equal measure; and both treasure and consternation in more abundance and girls' laundry.
For instance this morning there were folded shirts (consternation! - but relief that there weren't as many folded items as normal; but more consternation that they complain they don't have any clean shirts - unless they look on the floor or in the hamper! CONSTERNATION!) 
There were also two small legos, one random nut (uncracked), a small piece of white paper, one folded blue sticker, a police badge, and a pencil. Treasures! (which went into the "lint bag" (aka "trash").

4) ALL money found belongs to Mama! One exception: you are doing your own laundry and find your own money. In cases of this exception, keep your trap shut! Penelty for not keeping your trap shut: all money found belongs to Mama! No exceptions.

5) We should have 2 or more dryers. 

Dryers take a long time. I can do two loads in the washer in the time it takes the dryer to do one. Except our dryer has to be turned on two or more times to dry a load, regardless of size. I stop washing when I'm three loads ahead (in pretty weather I stop when the clothesline is past full [stuff is hanging on the clothesline poles AND the trampoline] AND there are "not to be hung out" stuff waiting to go in the dryer).
I complain suggest often that two dryers would be ideal and remodeling the laundry room to accommodate a second dryer would be a welcome project.

6) If we were to "accommodate" a second dryer my laundry room may be temporarily out of order. In that case we could take the laundry to the laundry mat. If we perused use of the laundry mat (as has been done in times past to save the sanity of the laundress and general cleanliness of the domicile) one trip would cost a fortune (has it has in times past). In a weeks time we could us every washer and dryer in the laundry mat, and some twice.
7) We have a rotation. 
Keeping to the rotation takes much "OnTopOfItNess" on the part of the laundress (also known as nagging). 
We are normally a two days to a week off rotation.
In using this rotation it is required that those clothes wearers HELP complete the task of doing the laundry on their secified day(s).

8) The chief laundress quit does NOT fold everyone's laundry. (I sometimes fold my own, more often I re-fold my own. )
This has taken a HUGE burden off the laundress to delegate this task to the underling clothes wearers.
Even the smallest clothes wearers can fold washcloths and towels, and on to pants, then shirts and eventually, dare we say it, fitted sheets!

9) We use "homemade" laundry detergent and fabric softeners. (I put homemade in quotes because I don't actually boil lye or fat or anything that involved, I just put store bought ingredients together. At home). It works well, even on Gene's work clothes (counter-acts the battery acid on his shirts). It is gentle on skin. It cost less and goes further. 

So here's the scoop:

Dry Laundry Detergent

Ingredients:

One box Arm & Hammer Washing Soda (not baking soda)

One box Borax

Two bars Fels Naptha 

(all can be found on the laundry aisle of Walmart)

Directions: 

Grate Fels Naptha in a LARGE bowl. 

Pour Washing Soda and Borax into bowl with grated Fels Naptha.

(Do NOT breath deeply - you'll be smelling this stuff all day)

Mix well with hands. 

Pour carefully into a large container.

To Use: 
TWO Tablespoons per load (a tad more for greasy stuff).
I put the detergent in first then turn on the water and let it run 
while I gather an armload of laundry and add that.
Gene turns on the water, adds clothes then puts in the detergent. 
We both think the other is somewhat backwards in this regard.

(I still pre-treat with Shout as needed. A bar of Fels Naptha can also be rubbed into dampened stains.)

Our Fabric Softener sitting atop the dryer

Fabric Softener

Ingredients: 
Liquid Fabric Softener 
(I like Lavender Gain)
Water 
(right out of the tap)
Sponges 
(the cheap ones are fine)
A seal-able container 
(mine's a clean Folgers Coffee container "Reduce, Reuse, Recycle")

Directions: 
Cut the sponges in half. Set aside.
Pour 3 capfuls of Fabric Softener into container.
Pour 3 capfuls of Water into container.
Throw in sponges.
Seal container and swirl it around a little. 

To use:
Open container. 
Grab a sponge and squeeze it out.
Throw it in the dryer with wet clothes.
When dryer is done used sponge should be replaced in container for future use.
As container is emptied of liquid - make more!

The light MUST be turned off for this
curtain to work (I THINK)

10) Our laundry room is at the back door. This is THE door everyone uses. (The front door is NEVER used - the large foyer is the junk room storage room library/winter playhouse. The Double doors in the schoolroom are currently covered in lovely plastic with black, gorilla tape trim to hold in heat and repel drafts. The GIANT sliding doors in the living room are covered with matching plastic year round and covered in sea green drapes from Freds. There was another door in the living room but that has been replaced by a wall of plywood, painted to match the other walls and a window air conditioner. - Huit Couture Decor is not the strong suit here).

I hung a curtain in the laundry room door way to hide the piles (this is really a practice in self-psychology - I THINK it hides the piles).  

And that's what happens when I start thinking while doing laundry and we've already decided NOT to do school today because we haven't really gotten much of that done this week anyway and I'm avoiding getting dressed AND cleaning my bathroom AND making the children "help" with all the cleaning stuff I'm avoiding.
AND I've got to go take stuff out of the dryer (unless I need to turn it on again).
Getting up now.