how do you do your laundry??

[ABall]

ok, if you saw my huge pile of laundry at the end of the hall you would think I didn't know how, but yes I do know how the washing machine and dryer works LOL...(all my kids are supposed to put their dirty laundry in the one basket because when I put a basket in each of the rooms, they end up with toys or being turned upside down for a step stool... ugh!) but my son is so bad at that task because he shoves lots of clothes in the closet or under his bed

but my question really is: how does every one else wash clothes, I use tide or era for detergent, i like to use oxy clean powder for stain fighters. I use downy in the ball for the good smell. Then I use bounce in the dryer for static control and extra softness. I used to add bleach to every load, but with oxy you don't have to worry about fading. I have the hardest time with my dryer and it takes about 80 minutes to get things dried! with 6 peoople in the house we have lots of laundry! I get behind when I don't do 2 loads a day, which I often don't do and it piles up, I hate folding clothes. Do you guys put away your kids clothes or are they expected to put them away by them self? I try to let my kids be responsible for their own clothes but it seams like they get lazy and just drop the clean folded clothes where ever they want, we go round and round about where clean and dirty clothes go, I think it would save the hastle if I just did everything my self, but they need to learn some time!! I just cant wait until they are old enough to deligate more chores to, like washing their own clothes or washing dishes.

[Brenda]

I used to be a favorite mom - I would pick up the dirty laundry, bring them to the washer, wash them, dry them, fold them, put them away... and then I had my fill of it...

Now, if they want clean clothes they have to bring them to the laundry room. If they don't and their favorite pair of pants isn't clean to wear - Oh Darn! I guess you didn't put them in the wash - sorry about your luck!

This really hit home with Andrew one day last week - we had a morning battle over clothes and how I'm such a rotten mother because he didn't "have any clean clothes" (he did but not his favorite ones). That battle lasted all of a couple minutes (when I decided to mimic him and do a song and dance around the kitchen all while I continued with housework - "I'm such a rotten mother, when Andrew gets in trouble at school who's there to bail him out - you've got it the rotten mother", "when Andrew gets in trouble at home, who comes to his side to defend him but the rotten mother he has").

I wasn't in the best frame of mind at the time, but he got the message and do you know what - he brings his clothes downstairs faithfully everyday now (or he puts them in a dirty laundry basket in the bathroom - smart kid).

Noah on the other hand needs a similar wake up call and sooner than later - his room looks like a cyclone hit it - and I'm fighting the temptation to clean it myself as opposed to fighting it with him - but that's what he wants - someone else to clean his mess. He does put away his clean clothes BUT we're fighting to get him to pick up his dirty clothes...

Amy, offer them tokens - that seems to work here...

[CrystalB9]

Ok ladies I will make you all feel better! The next time you think of all your laundry think of me!! AHHHH, my laundry room is overflowing on a daily basis with a family of ten!! LOL

[Mom2ampm]

I was almost every single day or else it starts backing up. My kids are expected to put their dirty clothes in the laundry room's appropriate baskets to be washed. DD and I both wash clothes. We put in laundry det. and a Downy ball most times. Once the clothes are dried I usually fold them and have everyone take their clothes to their rooms. Sometimes the kids manage to get them in their drawers or hung but I usually do it. I am pretty funny about how things are folded and put away. DH is a total slob and doesn't even pick up his dirty clothes and put them in the laundry room. UGH! He is also the worst about dirtying clothes...changes sometimes several times a day.

I try to put on a load in the morning before school work, but I often do a load at night and then in the a.m. throw it in the dryer. If I am in there I will remember to put on another load that next morning.

[Jackie]

Laundry is the one area where I can pat myself of the back!!!

Monday is Laundry Day at my house. The kids bring it down after they get ready for bed on Sunday nights. I sort it while watching "Mystery" on PBS. It's the only TV program Carl and I watch with any regularity. I will put the whites in to soak in bleach. Then when ready for bed, I put the whites on to wash. This gives me a head start for Monday.

I then do wash all Monday morning. The clean clothes are dumped in a pile in the living room. At 1:00 my kids go upstairs for Silent Reading; at 1:30, I read aloud to them. While I read, THEY fold clothes! It might take more than one chapter, or sometimes if there's a lot, I might turn on "Adventures in Odyssey". The kids are expected to put away their clothes when they are done.

It doesn't always work out perfect... sometimes they're not all done by the time I'm ready to read, so I still have other clothes that need folded later. Today, Mom had a test at the hospital that I went to, so nothing got done. The kids are bringing them down now. And the kids need to remember to bring their pajamas down in the morning after they get dressed and put them in the right pile. Oh, Carl also reads to the kids in the evenings. Sometimes they help me sort on Sunday nights while he reads.

Anyway, that's what works best for me!

[becky]

Aball, you don't know about my miserable Whirlpool Duet washer and dryer.

We bought these 2 years ago now, when our other machine went up and head of the house wouldn't fix it.
These are those machines that use 2 gallons of water per load, and the dryer senses when the clothes are dry, shutting off sooner if needed.

Well, at first it ruined over 300.00 worth of my and Jeannie's clothes. I had just bought her a bunch of stuff at the end of the season, to put back for next year.
I washed them to be able to try the new machine out. No one at Lowe's told us you can't use Downy in these washers. It's also not in the user guide. You also shouldn't use regular detergent.

I used the level mark in the fabric softener compartment and detergent department.
When the laundry was done it came out with black spots. Rewashing didn't clear them up. Neither did spot treatments.
I called Whirlpool and after a boatload of crap, I got told you can't use Downy because it's too thick and regular detergent is too soapy.
When I said I was calling the BBB, they said go ahead. So, even though I didn't know I was using incompatible fabric softener, I was out 300.00.

Now I use Cheer he ( high efficiency) and Downy Honeysuckle and Magnolia. BUT- I pour the bottle of Downy into a clean milk jug and add water to fill it, then I use a milk jug capful per load. Everything is fine now. That bottle of Downy was bought way back in spring.
My water bill dropped 50.00 in like 6 months and laundry goes faster because the wash and dry cycles are nearly identical. You can make bigger loads, too.

[Brooke]

I hate laundry for a multitude of reasons. The first being dd and I are severely sensitive to chemicals . We use Tide Free. No softner or dryer sheets. I use Melaleuca/EcoSense products to clean the house and do the dishes but I'm afraid to try the laundry detergent since it took a lot of rashes to find that Tide Free works for us.

That being said, dh is usually the one who actually loads the washer...and dryer....and folds it up--no, you can't have him!...he's mine!!! :-P We bought little mini-baskets for the kids' rooms for them to toss their dirty laundry in. When it is time to do the laundry we will have the kids bring down their baskets, or we'll have one go from room to room collecting the laundry to bring downstairs to the laundry room. Those little baskets saved our sanity!!! No more "but the basket is too big!!!" or "but all the clothes are falling out of my arms!!!" They are perfect for kids to handle and it makes it easier to do regular sized loads every couple days than to have it all pile up once a week. After dh or I fold it up (sometimes with the kids' help) everyone puts away their own clothes. Makes for a pretty stress free process.

OH!!! I was just talking to my cousin today and she said her dermatologist said to only use 1/3 the amount of detergent. Your clothes will still be clean but they won't be as stiff without the extra residue from the detergent. He also said vinegar (white) is a natural softener and you can add it at any time during the cycle...doubt if I try the vinegar though.

[becky]

My mom once said peroxide is supposed to brighten your clothes better than bleach.

[Syele]

oh Gosh Laundry IS NOT my strong point. If you ever feel bad about your launry consider me and know someone is worse at laundry than you are!

1. I wait till we are running out of clean clothes.
2. We have very few things that are white in our house (it's dosn't go with my coloring and Sami is a kid so she has bright colors or pink. So I take out anything new enough to fade(almost nothing) and stick the rest in there. My ex roomie always cringed when I did that.
3. I only use a third of the liquid detergent/ you use less and it gets rinsed out better. I never use powder detergent because if you mess up and overload the washer it dosn't disolve and leaves white stuff all over everything and it ttake four washed to get it all off.
4. It's sami's job to go put all the clean stuff from the dryer onto my bed
5. I have to put it away or I can't go to bed this way.

I don't use dryer sheets, I'll use spray n wash for stains.. or I give them to my mom if they are really bad and she does something to get them out that is a total mystery to me. All I know is it works when the spray n wash fails.

I use peroxide on the rare occasion I need to get blood stains out but never tried it for whitening.

I don't even own an iron.

[Jackie]

Syele, I use the "mom approach", too!!! LOL! It's 99% effective at this house, LOL!