My simple and Effective Laundry Routine
With 6 of us, that means a lot of washing, and believe it or not, laundry is one of my favourite chores (not including ironing - I detest ironing). I find it quite theopoetic, sorting through and organizing the clothes.
The key is to do at least one wash a day otherwise, things quickly fall into chaos. Below are my tips on how I run the laundry in our home efficiently.
Do a laundry wash every day.
Taking the time to throw a load of laundry in each day saves more time in the long run. 15-20 minutes each day to wash at least one load. Once I've unloaded a completed wash, I organize it to dry, and the machine is ready for the next load.
Organize your clothing
I hate it when I chuck a wash in but miss a sock or one half of PJs! So now I always pair up the socks or PJs before chucking them into the wash. So much easier and less likely to loose socks.
Inspect the clothes before placing them in the washing machine.
With 4-kids, I see all sorts of stains on their clothes, school white shirts are the worse, and there is nothing more frustrating of emptying a load after the wash cycle, to see there are stains on some of the clothing. To then have to use a scrub it with a stainer remover stick etc. and throw it back in the wash again. So now, I check each item, and if I spot any that have a stain, I rub a bit of stainer remover before placing it in the wash.
Make sure to use a good detergent.
There is nothing worse than doing a wash and it doesn't clean well and so the whole wash needs re-washing. You need a detergent that gets the job done without a lot of hassle. I don't like pods, and much prefer liquid. I have a 9kg washing machine, and I prefer how the liquid allows me to put the right amount of detergent needed - whereas, with pods, I find one is not enough, two can be too much.
Don't overfill your washing machine
I learnt the hard way. I had a habit of stuffing my machine full packed of clothes. If you overstuff your washing machine, with little room for the clothing to move around, your clothes are not going to effectively wash. I always leave a bit of space.
Bio or Non-bio
If you have sensitive skin, as I do and my kids, then non-bio is a natural choice. It's more gentle and caring to the skin, as is Ecover. Ecover is designed to be caring and safe for sensitive skin. Ecover laundry detergents will do the job without the unnecessary chemicals.
This post is my entry for BritMums #EcoverLaundry Challenge, sponsored by ECover