So, instead of calling it “housekeeping geekery”, I figured I’d call it a simple pleasure. 😉 But it’s true. I LOVE the laundry. I used to hate it, mostly because the perfumes in the detergent made my nose hurt, but since I started making my own, that problem is virtually gone. And since it’s warmed up a bit here (only a bit, but it’s coming, I’m ever hopeful!) I’ve been hanging the laundry out on the line- I LOVE the smell of line dried sheets! And diapers! *sigh* Since I’ve been able to completely “eco-fy” my laundry routine, I thought I’d share it.
I make my own detergent from washing soda, borax, baking soda, and grated castile soap. I use Dr Bronners Lavender soap, and it smells great- the smell doesn’t really linger past the rinse cycle, which is good, it tells me all the soap is leaving the clothes, but I do like the lavender scent- I’ll have to figure out how to make it linger without using a dryer- If I had a dryer, I’d just toss a lavender sachet in, but I don’t, so I need to figure something else out. Anyway, I put in a small amount of the soap, maybe a quarter of a cup, and add the clothes- I put vinegar in the fabric softener spot, and it works really well with the diapers, but I haven’t noticed any difference with our regular clothes. I turn on the water- I use cold water for everything but diapers and kitchen linens, which I wash on hot. I believe that hot water DOES kill germs, though I”ve heard it said in some “green” circles that it makes no difference- for my regular clothes I don’t mind, but the diapers and the kitchen linens (which include my cloth “paper” towels) can get REALLY gross, so I figure they need all the help they can get. When they’re done, I either hang them on drying racks or on hangers in the shower (we live in a small apt, so space is at a premium)- and lately, I’ve been able to hang them out on the line too, which means instead of one load a day, I can do 2-3 loads a day, and have a couple days off! Yay! Right now, they’re still taking all day to dry, but once it warms up a bit more, and we get sunshine all day, they’ll be dry before the day is through (the stuff that dries inside takes overnight to dry- it’s not as horrific as it sounds), which means less time looking at laundry hanging up too!
Then I sort it into piles of which ones belong to whom, and I fold them and put them away- I really hate to look at piles of laundry, clean or dirty, so I try to do that before we have to go to bed that night- again, there is NO SPACE to have piles of laundry about, without having to see it, and that would make me very depressed (like, clinically, not just sad), so I like to keep it out of sight and in the drawers where it belongs.
I really thought I had more to say on laundry, because I just love it so much, but it’s pretty simple and straightforward. I’ve noticed that about myself lately- I’d like to write about how I discovered my “crunchy” ways, and what made me decide to do various things, but the answer to most of them is very simple, I just think it’s better that way- usually it involves either saving money, being healthier, or being better for the environment, and most often is all three. I don’t have a lot of complicated reasons for doing things how I do them.
From Robin's Roost 