Laundry – Everyone’s Dirty Little Secret!

You spend all day/evening sorting, washing, folding and putting away and before you’ve even closed the last dresser drawer there is a new pile of clothes in the hamper! Add to that the weekly loads of towels and sheets and you will never get ahead. And if someone gets the stomach flu you’re toast! You’ll be behind for weeks!!!  So – how do we stay on top of this never ending task?  Even we have trouble with that sometimes but it certainly does help if you are organized, have a few easy systems in place and a stash of multi-tasking products on hand.  Who knows, you may even get some help tackling a couple of loads if you have a streamlined and attractive laundry room!

First of all you need to make sure that you are well stocked with all of the basics to make your weekly (or daily!) laundry job a breeze.  Here is a check list of what every laundry room must have on hand. Detergents – both a regular everyday one as well as one for delicates. You can also get one specifically for dark loads which helps to prevent fading. You will also need a whitening agent – colour safe non-chlorine bleach or enzyme treatments are best – both for the environment and your clothes. We keep bleach pens on hand for those whites that have small stains on them eliminating the need to bleach the entire item. Every household with children definitely needs a stain remover – a solvent (like Shout) is best for greasy stains and an enzyme treatment (like OxyClean) is great for protein stains. Linen spray is a nice addition – you can spritz a lovely scent as you iron or freshen up stored linens when you are expecting company. A lint roller and sweater de-piller are also essential to keep your clothes looking top notch.

You will also require a few permanent elements that will make this necessary evil a pleasant experience…sort of! A shelf hung above your washer should be reached with little effort so that everything is at your fingertips – be sure to arrange items in the order that you use them. Laundry hampers and sorters are great – three-bin sorters are ideal so that you can pre-sort by whites, darks and colours. A laundry sink or plastic tub is needed for soaking soiled items or hand washing delicates. Mesh bags are also good for washing delicates in the machine. Collapsible drying racks are key for air drying delicates as they are easy to fold up and store when you’re not using them. Another great feature is that you can bring them outside for fresh air drying. An iron and ironing board, regardless of how much disdain you hold for them, are necessary.

Painting the laundry room a bright, cheerful colour will hopefully inspire you to spend more time there. Keep other surfaces white and easy to clean. Decorate it as you would any other room in your home – you can creat “art” by framing a print out of the various laundry symbols which is both practical and provides interest. Storing detergent in glass jars and keeping rags in baskets helps to contain any clutter and looks great.

At the end of the day, who is kidding who? Laundry is a dreaded but necessary chore that we all have to tackle – at the very least try and schedule some time every week for it so you don’t end up having to do 45 loads at once because everyone in your house is complaining that they don’t have anymore clean underwear!!!!