Everyone has their own way of doing laundry.  Here – I just share mine, with the hope that you may glean something that will make your home-keeping more efficient – enabling you to devote more time to school.

There are still many women in the world today, who do laundry the old-fashioned way.  I can recall my grandmother’s scrub board stowed in a corner of the cellar, but I also recall her white Kenmore washing machine.  She never told fond stories of her years with the scrub board!  As she put it – “It’s not the washing – it’s the wringing.”  But – oh – she loved that Kenmore!  The washing machine has done more to raise the standard of cleanliness than any other appliance. 

There are actually many articles and books written decrying the effect of technology on home making.  Perhaps there is some justification for some of these claims, as anyone purchasing and using appliances nowadays, is not likely to have them for very long.  The intentional deterioration of quality keep us going back for new machines.  The other charge is made against the “over-cleanliness,” resulting in over consumption of water and electricity.  But the fact is – that before the “hand-maids” came along, women were spending three entire days a week, just maintaining the family’s clothing and textiles! 

It usually went something like this:

Wash on Monday 

Iron on Tuesday 

Sewing on Wednesday 

Market on Thursday

Cleaning on Friday 

Baking on Saturday 

Church on Sunday

Each of these “days” took an entire day to accomplish! 

I use the laundry basket method of sorting.  There are six of these baskets, and every morning I sort all laundry between the baskets.

1. warm load – tumble dry low
2. warm white bleach load – tumble dry medium
3. hot bleach load – tumble dry medium
4. cold wash – line dry
5. warm dark load – tumble dry medium
6. odds and ends – like kitchen and bath rugs, blankets, and pet things

Everyone has a “magic” number of daily loads to do to keep things from piling up.  For you it may be only one – for others it may be five.  For our current number of residents – it’s four.  Years back – it was six – and that included laundry for an invalid.  We likely do more laundry than most people do, but we live in the woods, do a lot of dirty activities, (like baking and gardening) and also use only cloth napkins and handkerchiefs, and once upon a time – cloth diapers and baby wipes. 

Each day as the laundry progresses, I stack the empty basket under the full ones.  By noon – I’m done with laundry for the day.  There will be a few items in the top baskets, but not enough for a load yet.  The whole stack of baskets then gets slid under the folding counter until the next day, when the whole procedure starts over.  In keeping with my love for schedules, if for some reason there isn’t enough to do the four full loads – I will look for something to wash – like one of four,  huge, well-used afghans from the family room.  I also have been making my own laundry detergent for the past decade.  It works better and costs less. Here.

Twice yearly, the bedding gets done.  That includes mattress pads, blankets, spreads, comforters, and pillows.  Everything.  Spring and fall bed changes take more loads than my normal four. 

Speaking of bed pillows – I hope you wash yours!  If your pillow feels “heavy,” it is full of really icky stuff.  All bedding should be washed in the hottest water possible, and mattresses should be thoroughly vacuumed.  Wash two pillows at a time, with hot water and bleach if possible.  After the cycle is finished, flip the pillows over and spin again.  This gets rid of most of the moisture and dries more easily. See here about dust mites.  One older lady I know, had never washed her pillows.  They weighed six pounds each!  That is just too gross! 

I have my laundry scheduled so that it does not interfere with showers and dishwasher times.  I only run the hot load after all showers have been taken, and after the first dishwasher run at 10:00 am.  This is not hard to accomplish if you are consistent. 

If you keep after it, you will never feel overwhelmed – and your family will be clean and comfortable.

Thank You, LORD, for these helpful handmaids.  They really are a blessing, and we are even more thankful for the families you have given us to care for. 

PSALM 57:7

King James Version (KJV)

My heart is fixed, O God, my heart is fixed: I will sing and give praise.