Tag Archives: laundry

Alternatives to Hanging Laundry Outside

Hanging laundry outside is not only good for your budget, but it is also good for the environment. Sometimes, however, hanging laundry outside just isn’t practical or even possible. Maybe you live in an apartment or house without a backyard for a clothesline. Maybe hanging laundry is simply not allowed in your area. or maybe you just don’t want to hang your laundry outside for all of your neighbors to see. I remember being a teen in New York City and being mortified when my mother hung the underwear out on the clothesline that ran from our kitchen window and … Continue reading →

Luxury Laundry: Built-in Washer and Dryer

(Photo from askousa.com) Forget built-in refrigerators that hide behind kitchen cabinet doors and seamlessly blend in to the room. We have all seen them. For something truly innovative, why not install built in laundry facilities, namely an integrated washer and a dryer? You can have your laundry in the kitchen, the bathroom, the family room, the walk-in closet (or anywhere) for convenience without compromising space or style. The integrated washer and dryer are available from ASKO (http://askousa.com), known for their dishwashers, as well as “laundry care services.” The washer and or dryer can be fitted with a customer-supplied wood panel, … Continue reading →

Preventing Colors from Bleeding

Recently, I was astonished to hear my friend’s simply laundry technique. She throws everything in her washing machine at once, regardless of color, and does it all together. I admit that this technique is tempting, since you can just do laundry as soon as needed and not have a pile up. The washer can be filled to the brim, no matter if you only have a handful of whites, so you probably save money, too. With more frequent laundry sessions, you can reduce your wardrobe as well. I admit that I am not quite as brave as my friend. While … Continue reading →

Large Family Laundry Solutions (2)

We have been talking about solutions to help deal with the large amount of laundry that large families generate. I already shared some ideas for making sorting laundry easier, especially when it comes to matching socks, and some ideas for establishing a routine. Now, we have some more ideas to keep that laundry flowing with less actual work Divide and conquer Calculate how many loads of laundry you do in a week and divide that number by the number of days you have available for laundry (5, 6 or 7). For example, if you find yourself doing 20 loads a … Continue reading →

Large Family Laundry Solutions (1)

If you have a large family (generally defined as at least six or seven members of the family living together), you know how chaotic and busy the laundry room can be. Washing and drying clothes for a lot of people can keep you busy, especially if you have young children who seem to need several changes of clothing a day. Here are some tips to make your laundry a little less hard to handle. And those of use with smaller families (we are a family of five) can also use these tips. Easy sorting One of the toughest things about … Continue reading →

More Cheap Laundry Tricks

Want to make your clothes last longer or have stubborn stains come out even if you are away from home at the time? Try these cheap laundry tricks that are sure to make you save some money. And if you missed the first blog about Cheap Laundry Tricks, just click here. To save wear and tear on your clothing, wash and dry it inside out. This way the inside of the garments get the stress from the agitation and the right sides of the garments are protected, The clothes will still get absolutely clean by this method. If you have … Continue reading →

How to Hand Wash Clothing

Wondering what is the best method to hand wash items? Are there times when you should dry clean them instead? Here is a quick guide on how to hand wash clothing. Check your clothing labels. Have you been machine washing items that really should be hand washed? Do you avoid buying anything that needs to be hand washed because you don’t want to go through the trouble or you aren’t sure how to do it? I used to dread items that have hand washing instructions, but now I have the method pretty much down pat. This is good, since my … Continue reading →

Cheap Laundry Tricks

There is no need to rely on expensive top-of-the-line washing machines and detergents to get your clothes clean. Not when you have some frugal tricks up your sleeve, um, I mean in your laundry basket. If you watch the television commercials, they seem to imply that you’ll never get your clothes really clean unless your washing machine has enough dials, buttons and levers to launch the space shuttle. the same is true for those “super” detergents that are full of the latest chemicals. One thing they all have in common is that they are expensive. If you don’t want to … Continue reading →

Frugal Week in Review: January 21st Through January 27th

With talk of a recession, many more people are examining the frugal lifestyle. It just makes sense. For those of us to whom living frugally is just part of our lives, batting down the hatches and finding ways to save even more is a good thing. This past week, we have had some interesting articles, such as ones examining wringer washers and crockpots. Don’t miss them! January 21st Habitat for Humanity HomeStore If you are looking for a frugal and feel-good way to update, renovate or redesign your home, check out this great resource! Frugal Living Week in Review: January … Continue reading →

A Family of Twenty

Every so often you read a story about extremely large families, who by birth or adoption have more than a dozen children. I myself remember reading The Family Nobody Wanted when I was in second grade. I think I was moving toward adoption even then. The Seattle Times recently published a long article by a reporter from the Tri-City Herald about a family in Richland, Washington who has adopted fourteen children. They also have six biological children, one of whom still lives at home. That makes for a household of seventeen people. Mike and Julee Feder say that originally they … Continue reading →