You should have seen how devastated my mother-in-law looked recently when she spent all day getting through our mountain of laundry, only to have me throw a freshly-messed kid shirt into the empty basket she was triumphantly replacing in the bathroom.
It doesn’t end. It’s never going to end.
I moved out of home very young, and by 20 I’d been doing my own laundry singlehandedly for more than four years. I remember looking into the washing machine once that year, thinking nobody is ever going to do my washing for me ever again. This is it, for life. Just me and the suds, til death do us part.
I’m not great at remembering to hang the washing out before it gets festy, despite my ample experience. This morning I was ferreting around everywhere trying to cobble together a warm outfit for each of the girls, given that I’d ignored the washing over the weekend. You don’t do laundry on Mother’s Day, do you? It’s a deliciously sunny day and while I normally do minimal housework on Mondays (the only day my kids are at day care and I have the whole day to cram a week’s worth of computer work in), today I’m staring down the barrel of several baskets needing my attention.
If I’m bad at hanging the washing out on time, I am worse at folding it and putting it away. What a horrendous task! I’ll do just about anything else ever needed in life rather than do that. I can’t quite explain why I loathe it so much. It’s only really now that I can get through it without toddler overlords getting involved. They couldn’t hang with me while I did it, because they would just pull all the neatly-folded stuff off the bed and fling it on the floor, and they couldn’t play unsupervised while I kept it from their grotty hands, because they were too little. Someone (I’m looking at you, Pepper) would take the opportunity to draw on the walls/eat cat food/find a knife from SOMEWHERE/put all my shoes in the bin, etc etc. So it would pile up (hell, it still does), and I’d tackle it when their dad got home. I shut the door, watch some Blackadder on iView, and wonder how many pairs of leggings are too many.
When I was growing up, I considered people rich who used Cold Power or some other name brand that made your clothes smell nice. When I was earning a decent wage, I bought that shit and revelled in my fancy pants washing. Now I just use either home-made stuff or whatever eco-friendly product happens to be on special that week. I’ve also used soap nuts too, and they seem pretty legit. I also Napisan like it’s my best friend. The spray, the powder in with the whites and lights – I heart it much. (Grey whites were another thing you have to deal with when you’re poor and you buy cheap clothes/wash with cheap washing powder. When I could afford it, I was never going to have grey whites, goddammit!)
Now, though, I’ve realised getting stuff dry during a Melbourne winter will be a new challenge for me. AND I have to go outside to get to the laundry. The horror!
So I’d like to nose around your laundry habits.
- What laundry powder/liquid do you use?
- Do you wash in hot or cold water? (I’ve only ever used cold because A. I was always poor and it was a cheaper option, and B. I heard it was better for the environment? Who knows. Hot water washers, get at me. It sounds good to kill germs in your bedding, for example).
- How do you get your stuff dry in a cold, wet winter? Do you have an indoor rack? What sort do you recommend?
- Do you hate laundry too?
- Are you fanatical about how you hang stuff? I’ve heard of people only using matching-coloured pegs on an item. Is that you? YOU FREAK!
(This was a fun read recently – a must for anyone who wants to know the most efficient way of getting your stuff dry!)
What laundry powder/liquid do you use?
Fab Spice Allure. I want to move to a more environmentally friendly one but this one smells so good. I also am a bit of a rebel and have been known to use top loader powder in my front loader machine.
Do you wash in hot or cold water?
Cold for the same reasons as you. My boyfriend is a long, hot washer and I will acknowledge it does seem to make a difference for his dirty work clothes & the dog’s bed – though it seems to take about 45hrs to complete a wash so if he’s not around I usually just sneak them through on the regular “Quick Wash 30” with cold water.
How do you get your stuff dry in a cold, wet winter? Do you have an indoor rack? What sort do you recommend?
I will be following this. I use my dryer, which is how in a tiny liveable shed in the country with no fans, air conditioning or anything really other than power points and lights I managed to rack up an electricity bill that was $200 more than my Mum’s with her pool, aircon, 3 fridges etc!
Do you hate laundry too?
YES
Are you fanatical about how you hang stuff? I’ve heard of people only using matching-coloured pegs on an item. Is that you? YOU FREAK!
Omg one of my housemates was that person. Each section of the hills hoist had it’s own colour and you know, if you were one peg short you couldn’t just grab one of the other colours. They had to stay in their designated compartment.
Fab! Wow, I haven’t thought about Fab since I was a kid. Is it weird that a kid thought about washing powder? How expensive are dryers! I’ve heard they are, but I’ve rarely used them because I’ve never had them. Your housemate sounds like she’s got a LOT of time on her hands… 😉
I use eco whatever too…usually Eco Store but sometimes Earth Choice.
And I only have cold water in my laundry so cold water it is!
Back when I lived in a cold climate we had our clothes rack inside. Not the prettiest living room feature, but we always had dry clothes! And draping things over radiators was always a good way to get things dry quickly.
Folding and putting aways is the worst! It always makes me a bit bitter because it seems like none of the clothes I am washing, drying, and folding are actually mine!
I’ve never had a washing machine hooked up to the hot tap, so I’ve never even been able to even if I wanted, like you! I have got to get a huge clothes rack, I think a trip to Bunnings is in order. God I love Bunnings. And at least 95% of the loads I do around here don’t contain one iota of my clothing!
We use the Earth’s Choice for front loaders (at $4 on special – it lasts forever, but are devastated they’ve changed it recently, does not smell as good and gone up in $$$). Only ever use cold water and hang in Sunshine (Sunny QLD) and it is supposed to kill any germs. The other best purchase I made, which my husband laughed at was a Mrs Pegg’s clothesline – you can fit sheets and towels or just use it for small items, leave it under pergola or inside in wet weather or move out into the sun. So it’s that and our hills hoist.
We have no dryer – yep, shock horror, but we rarely need one.
With tradie hubby and two young kids I wash every second to third day. And on at least one day / week I do all the towels and sheets, so about three loads in a row.
I’ve never really minded laundry (freak!!) it’s ironing that I now hate – stopped when had first child and really only ever used it for wedding / fancy event (which are far and few in between) and ironing on labels for kindy/school items since. But then I’ve also been known to quickly shove clean items away on occasion too
Haha the shove! It happens to the best of us. Isn’t it funny that I don’t mind putting laundry on, not psyched on hanging it out, hate putting it away, but LOVE ironing?! I rarely do it though 😉
I’m paying for having the weekend off washing too. Much as I love the smell of washing fresh off the line, most of our stuff goes on the inside airer in the sunny back room because the whole process takes too long when I have to deal with the mess of two dogs before the kids can be free to roam the backyard.
I feel stupidly smug when we get the Cold Power or Dynamo even if it’s only when it’s on special. It just smells fancy!
I always struggle with putting the clothes away, they seem to sit neatly folded in the basket for a week before we run out of clothes and I have to sift back through it.
Colour coordinated pegs? Ain’t nobody got time for that!
It does smell fancy, doesn’t it! It smells like rich people! And such a lovely shade of blue!
Sorry. I think you inherited this aversion to washing, hanging out, folding and putting away from me. My clean washing lives on a lounge chair, occasional folded and put on the piano where it lives till I tell at everyone to find their pile and put it away. It rarely makes it to a drawer. Aunty Mim x
I’m getting a piano just for this purpose.
Ignore the typing mistakes. Ricky is driving on a bumpy road and I am hitting the wrong keys !!!!!
I buy eucawash in bulk and also use soapnuts when i run out. One day I will make my own. We live in the snowy mountains and I find it hard to dry the mountain of washing that never seems to decrease. I hang on the hills hoist daily but it is still damp when it comes in and I have to use the dryer. It costs a fortune. I have a big drying rack next to the fireplace with the children’s clothing everyday through winter. Haha I remember using cheap fragrant crap when I was young too.
I think it was like, a tropical scent or something? Worst ever! So is hanging out your washing all day and it not drying. I get the feeling that’s in my future… and so is touching the washing but not being able to figure out if it’s still wet, or just cold!
We are a family of 7 and as our family slowly expanded I came to terms with the fact that the laundry will never ever be done. I put the washing off cos it’s not a task I enjoy and then it piles up and I feel guilty for not being on top of it. Quite frequently in our house you hear the reply ‘Look in the basket’ when one of my kids are trying to find their uniforms for school! I’m with you I feel your laundry pain 🙂
haha at least it’s clean! it’s not in anybody’s drawers, but it’s clean. Close enough 😉
Well if I lived in Melbourne I would invest in a dryer. I don’t have one here in sunny Brisbane but I’m thinking I may need to invest in one when all my babes are in school for last minutes washes of uniforms. Usually I buy my Biozet from Big W in a bulk pack and it lasts me for maybe six months. The other thing I have is a 9kg top loader so I can do bigger loads but it can be a pain in the butt to hang it all once it’s done. I’m going to check out your home made stuff now. I’m scared how much my washing is going to increase with another bub on the way.
We inherited a dryer two years ago, and I have rarely used it. I think I will be down here! I often think of the last-minute uniform business too 🙂
I use whatever laundry liquid (has to be liquid, the powder does not work for us here) is on sale and I buy the largest container they have.
The only time I wash in hot water is for cloth diapers, but we’re giving them a break this winter so it’s all cold for us unless it’s something super dirty that will not shrink (sheets, towels, etc.).
We also broke down and bought a dryer since we are potty training and sometimes one accident means an entire load of bedding. But I only dry towels, bedding, socks, or very old shirts because dryers cut back on clothes’ resiliency. Otherwise inside you can use the drying racks in front of a fan, in front of the heater when it’s on, and on the radiator.
I’ve found that one load a day, folded and put away is not nearly so daunting as doing an entire house full of laundry and then never putting them away! Having said that, I have two laundry baskets of clothes in my room waiting to be put away that have been there for 5 days… so….
I read that one load a day business you wrote about and I was all “Oh I can do that!”. And I never have since then.
I use Dynamo cos I like the name & want to rebel against my mum who says Cold Power is the best! I am also toooooo lazy to make my own liquid even though I bought everything ready to do this…it’s just that I can’t get to the corner of the laundry to make it as the floor is pile high with dirty laundry! I use cold water cos um, hot water is expensive… isn’t it? …unless of course I am washing cloth nappies then the hotter the water the better… that is if I was actually using cloth nappies for baby number two.. I used them for baby number one……. And I don’t own a dryer, never have. I hang my clothes on an airer in front of the heater – it has those big arm thingies that you can swing up or swing out … I swing them up cos I figure hot air rises….. And… as for folding, does folding them as you take them off the airer and dumping them on the back couch count as putting the laundry away????????
YES. It also counts if you dump them in a corner of your bedroom…
I use what ever laundry powder is the cheapest and until recently always used cold water to save money on the power bill, recently we have got a front loader which heats its own water so have started using warm water for bedding just because it has a specific bedding setting.
I don’t mind laundry so much in the summer months when you can wash hang dry fold and put away but in winter it takes an age for anything to do and my living room looks like a washer women’s house as stuff lurks around waiting for its turn on the rack in front of the fire……..
As far as hanging stuffs if its on the line I’m happy no peg matching here, however my husband has an annoying habit of ensuring everything of his that is washed is inside out (I know this is best washing practice but c’mon who can really be bothered turning it all in the right way when it comes to folding the stuff)
hahah I definitely cannot be bothered turning everything inside out and then back the other way! I think a front-loader is a gentler wash anyway, so I’m never going to do it 😉
Oh laundry… Yah, we’ve done the diy and soap nuts (with varied successes), but mostly whatever eco choice is best value. I don’t know the name of the one we are using atm (one from our local eco store, a massive tub) as it’s down in the laundry. Where I don’t want to go. Hubby is a tradie and our three boys are the mud and dirt type, so it’s hot washes for us. We’ve also just caved and bought a dryer, although we line dry when it’s warm enough and always seem to have a clothes horse or two near the fire. Are you bored yet? I am just thinking about it, even though is part of our daily gospel. Could you please do a post on how to enjoy the never ending rhythm? Thanking you in advance. X
haha I’m not bored, I’m pretty interested actually! I like to see how normal I am 😉
Why don’t you whistle while your work, Miss Poppins? yeah that doesn’t work for me either… back on that hamster wheel. GROUNDHOG DAY!
God this post could not have come at a more appropriate time for me – I am bemoaning the over flowing baskets of clothes that are currently dotted around my house waiting to be folded and put away… I resent doing it so much and yet I do feel a sense of accomplishment and pride when it is done – only to start all over again the very next day… Surely in this age of gadgets and techno amazement we could have discovered some robot that will do this job for us!!! I’m reading these comments with interest as I have always used cold water for washing (economic and environmental reasons) but am thinking a hot wash may be the way to go…
I know! Even I’m feeling swayed.
There really is something defeating about the never-ending cycle of it. I know it’s our job, and I know it’s a fact of life, but man… it’s hard to get excited about! Maybe if we hang on a bit we can all have a Rosie Robot like the Jetsons? (Or wait til our kids are older and pay them to do it!)
A lovely repair guy told me to use Omo powder but only a teaspoon for a full wash. I go coldwash as much as I can but with bed linen and a house of pets/kids nits, I need a hot wash occasionally. Three clothes horses over heating vents, plus a washing line as I live in Melbourne. My sister has the best clothes airer,Lliebherr brand, looks attractive and can put heaps on it.
I wash every day, no kidding, I have delay cycles and pre wash cycles that I use, I read the manual, which is a miracle but I value clean clothes.
The ironing is another matter
I’m googling that clothes horse as we speak! I’ve tried the delay cycle, but botched it so I think it’s time to go back to the manual for me…
I am probably the laziest washer out there, I just hang clothes up as simply has possible, share pegs, and when it rains I sometimes use racks, if the hubby is home and our power bill is $1000 like it was last quarter – GASP! But otherwise I chuck in dryer. We use translucent liquid as we were told our top loader HE needed this! Washing sucks
Washing does suck. And when you hang out your clothes you’re like “really? this is all I have to wear?” I’m terrified of huge power bills, but hot damn do I love a dryer-dried towel…
I was in cold and I make my own washing powder, here’s the recipe http://consumingcate.blogspot.com.au/2014/05/make-your-own-washing-powder.html
Oh I make the liquid version of that, but I’d never thought about only dissolving it as needed! Genius!
I fucking hate laundry!!! I can put it in the machine no worries but everything else….forget about it!!!
Now to answer your questions.
I use EarthsChoice washing liquid but love me some napisan.
I always wash in cold water but lately have been washing all linen in hot water- I just feel like they are cleaner when washed in hot water.
In winter I use an airer, a big arse one from Bunnings but also drape clothes over all my chairs too & when things get drastic ( or I’m being a lazy mole) I use the dryer.
I do not match pegs but I do hang out clothes the way my nan taught me- underwear on the inside lines & then all shirts together, pants together ect. She would come & re-hang my mums washing so I have always done it her way.
I feel as though they’d be cleaner and healthier in hot water too! Maybe I should try it. I think it’s cute your nan would re-hang. I think I might do that when I’m older. Gosh I hope I’m an eccentric old bird.
Who you compaining to sista???!!!! 🙂 I used to think I had a lot of washing. You know, back in the days of 2 kids living in Queensland – right. Where they don’t wear any clothes! Now? Well 4 kids and we live in Tasmania! Ha! And to top things off I married the tall dark and handsome type. The type with broad shoulders whose clothes are REALLY big. 2 days of winter outfits for him and thats a whole laod!
Here are my washing tips for large families:
– don’t have a large family. Stop at 2.
– live in a tropical paradise. Fewer clothes that dry faster. 2 birds, one stone.
– marry the weedy types. Their clothes take up much less room!
Haha totally, even buying the clothes originally is expensive and never-ending! No longer can they wear singlets and shorts and one pair of thongs all season. Sheesh. Meanwhile, my thoughts are with you this coming winter. Do you think you’ll ever get to leave the laundry at all?!
Nope. Never. This is the life of a washer woman…
Oh my god. We managed to go through a load of washing before we left the house today. You wouldn’t read about it! Or you could (but not on your iPad!!) http://thatbettiething.blogspot.com.au/2014/05/on-climbing-mt-everest.html
Welcome to Melbourne, where Mums spend the winter with a Chinese Laundry theme decorating the lounge room. I got a new washer today and the washing man said that warm water is best to dissolve the detergent and keep the inners of your machine running better – as for the cleaner clothes, he didn’t think it made any difference, until your machine had a dirty inner and then it wouldn’t be much good.
Oooh I’d not thought of that. I guess it makes sense, lots of things dissolve better (and therefore get rinsed off the machine) better in warmer water. And he’s the expert!
I actually managed to flood the laundry because of this vi had been using a home made detergent and cold water and the whole machine was clogged with the residue of soap flakes. I had to ladle hot water and hot vinegar into the machine for hours to fix it!! Now I make sure I use a hot wash occasionally and very occasionally I rinse vinegar through it. 🙂
I have to confess…. but please don’t judge…. I have not washed an item of clothing in 3 years. I have the good fortune to have a live-in nanny/maid who is obsessed with laundry. I take it off the hanger, wear it and it magically appears back in my wardrobe clean and ironed. It is my most favourite things about having a maid, and clean sheet days that are a total surprise when you go to bed because you didn’t have to change the sheets yourself 🙂
I’m moving in with you! 😉
What third world economy are you taking advantage of? Lucky nïgger slave you must have there I’m sure she loves cleaning your shît smears from your panties and I’m sure your husband is getting his côck wet with that slût when you are showering
Do you live in heaven? I WANT ONE!
We are in the Middle East… so I balance the bad with the good to make the most out of living here for now 🙂
Oh yes, I think I would do the same. I expect it would be quite the culture shock.
If you want to get clothes dry quickly…
Place your clothes rack over a heating duct or in front of a wall heater. Then wrap a sheet over and around the rack to trap the heat.
Keep an eye on it to make sure it’s not too hot (possible fire risk), and don’t put in clothes that shrink easily. My brother and I have done it for 20 years plus without a problem.
I love the smell of washing drying indoors over ducted heating. Will keep this tip in my mind when we return to Australia and winters!
When you say ‘done it’ do you mean sèx?
This is genius! Thank you!
I’m glad my daughter died if this is the future I have to look forward to, get a life you fûcking dogs
I use Biozet- awesome for toilet training, really gets any hint of wee smell out. I also use ecostore’s version of napisan, it’s okay but not as good as napisan. I do a warm wash, it’s the default setting on my washing machine so who am I to argue?! I’m going to have to buy an indoor rack for our first Melbourne winter. Stuff takes aaaages to dry here. I like hanging out washing, I hate folding it though and I never iron. I am a neat freak as far as hanging out washing, I’ve perfected it and I hate it when someone else hangs out my washing (incorrectly)!
Hah I used to be worried about that, and then I realised I was lazy and who cares how its hung as long as I don’t have to do it?!! I’m interested to see how we fare with this Melbourne winter business. Have you found a good rack yet? I hear Bunnings has them.
I apologise for the eye-roll-worthy crackhead who has nothing better to do than take time out from provoking fights on gay forums to comment on posts about laundry!
I use liquid washing detergent not fussy on the brand ,nappisan when needed and a prewash soaker spray when needed I wash daily usually 4 adults here and I do have a dryer but I prefer washing dried on the line,but hate getting it in and folding it up!!!
hah It seems that hate is pretty universal!
I am an Omo girl and can’t change. It’s what my mum used and so it’s what I use. I sometimes Napisan when items need it. I’m a constant cold washer and don’t get my mother inlaw who has to wash everything on HOT! In Canberra, it’s hard to get washing dry when you’re hanging it outside and it’s 2 degrees… So I am a big fan of my indoor clothes dryer ( http://www.bunnings.com.au/hills-2-tier-finesse-duo-s2-clothes-airer_p4510389 ) you can get a whole load of washing on it and if we have the heating on it will dry throughout the day. Or I’ll pop it in the sunshine (inside) if the heating isn’t on… I was a matching peg person prior to children – oh what a waste of time now!
Does stuff shrink when she does that? I’ve never known anyone to wash entirely in hot! We bought a clothes airer, but it’s ugly. It appears to get the job done though! (How funny about your matching pegs!)
Yes – I lived with her for a while and she shrunk quiet a few of my clothes…maybe it was a ploy to get me to take over the washing?
Oooh a conspiracy!
We use homemade detergent, cold water (cost and enviro), we just bought a dryer when I found out that I was pregnant, we’ve used it a couple of times so far. I have come to love laundry, the reverse of what you’d expect. But it’s the folding and putting away that gets me.
Yeah I’m pretty good with everything bar taking it out of the machine and everything that comes after that 🙂
Homemade washing powder here – along with napisan too!! Argh! I love it too much to give it up completely but have severely cut down……… I usually wash in cold but when I’ve got the can’t be bothereds (to change the washing machine settings) I go with warm which is just the default on my thingy… I dunno about the differences and whether it has any effect on the $ or the environment… will have to scroll down through these comments to find out! Melbourne drying = two small clothes racks inside that get dragged out onto the deck as fast as possible at any glimmer of sunshine, and then run back in as fast as possible at any glimmer of rain 😉 (read – in and out a number of times daily) good luck!
Every Thursday (our clothes washing day) I seriously contemplate our family becoming nudists. Would make it so much easier….