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| THE LAUNDRY |
Most laundry rooms are quite small and very difficult to organize as there are usually few, if any cupboards or cabinets-just the built-in cupboard under the sink which of course is a very dangerous place to keep cleaning equipment, especially if you have small children.
Do you have a laundry basket? If not, get one. Meanwhile use a garbage bag for a laundry hamper. Make sure you label it "Laundry" or it could end up in the outside garbage bin. All clothes that come off after school and before bedtime, go straight into the laundry basket-not on the floor (this includes your clothes). If the children get undressed in the bathroom before their bath, have a laundry basket in there if space permits. If space does not permit, the child puts his or her dirty clothes in the basket in the laundry after the bath.
With a number of laundry baskets, it is actually easier to keep on top of things. For instance if you keep one basket in your own room, one in the bathroom and one in the laundry, when you come to do the washing, take all three into the laundry and put lights/white in one basket, darks in another and colors in the third. By the time one basket is empty, you can put the towels into that basket.
If you have a cupboard (even a narrow broom cupboard) in the Laundry, does is have shelves? If not, can shelves be fitted. You will find that shelves in this room are a real blessing. Bleaches, disinfectants, etc which are usually kept under the sink, can be put up high, beyond the reach of little people who can't wait to find out if they taste good. Laundry Powder and other cleaning supplies can be kept neatly, tidily and safely on the high shelves of this cupboard.
If you are not good with saws, hammers, screws, nails and such, ask around the neighbors to see if a helpful guy (or girl) will put in the shelves. You don't need melamine or highly polished lacquered shelves. Go to the hardware store and ask for off cuts. Paint them with High Gloss to make it easy to wipe them clean. You will be amazed at what you can get into this cupboard. A couple of screws fixed to the back of the Laundry door will enable you to hang up your mop and broom. Discount stores have reasonably priced plastic units already made to hold brooms, mops and a dustpan and broom set.
What about the Washing Machine and Dryer? Is this week's washing lying on top of the machine? Why? Put it inside and wash it. O.K., so it's not that simple I know.
If you take all the baskets to the Laundry at the same time, you can separate the blacks and darks from the coloreds, whites, towels and anything fluffy/fleecy. Do the black and dark things first, then the coloreds, then the towels, then the fleecy/fluffy and finally the whites. The reason whites are left to last is that sometimes they need to be soaked overnight, so get rid of the bulk of the washing first. Any fluffy and fleecy things can be washed together as long as darks and lights are not washed together. If this is the case, wash them in two loads making sure you set the water level to suit.
Although towels definitely come into the fleecy category, it's always best to wash them on their own as they are a different type of fleecy than clothing. This sounds like you are going to have an awful lot of washing, but it's really the same amount, only better organized.
A quick tip if you use a dryer - as soon as it stops, drop what you are doing and get the clean dry clothes out. Either hang or fold them immediately and put them away. You will save a lot of ironing time. Did you know that the iron is one of the most expensive appliances to run in your home? If you have a large family and usually do a lot or ironing, you may find that a dryer will pay for itself in the saving on your electricity bill. Modern dryers cost very little to run and if you take the clothes out as soon as the dryer stops they don't need ironing. Leave them till the dryer cools down and you might as well have just hung them on the line and let them crease.
If your Laundry leads outside, have a door mat just outside the door and tell everybody to wipe their feet before they come inside (this goes for the front door too). Anybody who drags dirt into the house, has to clean it up. If nobody owns up, nobody gets dessert or they all go to bed early (or whatever works for you). Be prepared for howls of protest at this from the innocent parties (and the guilty party).
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