More Laundry Tips

This is the last blog on laundry, so it will be a tad longer, and may repeat some of the previous tips.

Hang Drying Inside: A big help to the environment, and your wallet!
If you want to hang dry clothes, here are some places you can do it. Sturdy curtain rods, buy a rack to go above your washer, and hang off of it, find a garment rack, use your closet if it is big and open, sturdy shower rods, find a place to hang a line in your house, etc. I recommend investing in plastic hangers! I was lucky and found tons for free!

Now some odd and ends:

Adding Washing soda to laundry helps remove stains! I bought some Tide Stain release, and wish I would have researched! Washing Soda is different from Baking Soda!

Baking Soda: the sky is the limits! I found a good website on uses of baking soda! It helps with stains in many ways, can remove gum from washer, etc. Just use the link below!
http://housekeeping.about.com/od/laundry/qt/bksd_washmachin.htm

Shampoo also, the sky is the limit! It helps with yellow spots, blood spots, grease stains, etc!

Stain remover: Pre-treat with dish soap, My mom swears Palmolive is the best, but I am a Ajax person, and it works just as good.

If one does not prefer bleach, peroxide works as well. I personally do not use bleach at all, because I buy tide with bleach (now when I make my own, I probably will have to start).

To treat a stain on a white shirt, use lemon juice and put in the sun.

Wash with cold water. It saves on the water heater, and your energy bill! If your detergent is a good brand, it will still clean the clothes!

Do not under or over load your washer, it helps with washing, and energy. Over the years I have learned the perfect size load. Just load to middle level. My washer does not have a load size option due to the energy efficient mod on it!

Wash during the non-peak hours. I do laundry when my dachshund Leo wakes up at 1-5 in the morning! I used to dread getting up, but now I know if I get up I can start laundry, and save! But if one is not up at these hours, try doing a load before bed (most loads do not get musty or mildew over night, just do not forget about it in the morning), or doing a load early morning when you wake up!

Re-use dryer sheet till they have no smell!

Have children play outside in clothes that are from the day before (as long as they are not dirty from this purpose, or are nice clothes). I personally have clothes for Madalynn just for playing (outfits she has ruined), and she knows she has to switch outfits, but it saves on the good clothes, and she plays outside most of the time!

Clean your dryer lint trap out after every use, and check your vent frequently! Cleaning these two, helps with air flow, performance, and longevity of the dryer!


What to do with clothing that get's stains, and you just cannot remove them!

Another way to save on children's clothes, is PJ's. My daughter has never really been able to wear PJ sets due to her tall skinny structure! So what I do with clothes she gets too stained up (and she is very good at this...paint, marker, etc), I turn them into PJ's...no one really sees these clothes! Also when knit/cotton lounge pants get too short, they go to the PJ drawer. I seriously get another 1-3 years wear out of these pants! It helps having a skinny child though! I also use my stained clothes for PJ's!

If you plan on re-selling baby/children's clothes, never dry them in the dryer! It helps them stay nicer, and prevents stains from being permanently set!

If you have feather down coats/ comforters...and dry in the dryer...use a tennis ball.

Finally always have a system for laundry, break the process up, and keep up on it!

These are many of my tips that I can remember, some have become subconscious!