A Week of Clothes

Ever since we got our new machines I've been washing clothes like a mad woman. We've had dirty clothes knee-deep in our hallway for many more months than I'd like to admit. But we've finally got it all done! The next logical step for me was to go through every article of the kids' clothing, sort out the winter stuff, and give away as much as possible. I try to do this every spring and fall, but I didn't do a very good job last time and it got outrageously out of hand fast.

Well, you see that pic above? (My 9 year old Abi is there to give perspective.) In case you can't tell from the pic that's about 5 cubic square feet of clothes. And that's JUST winter stuff! I had already sorted out the summer items into 5 separate bins, one for each girl. And that pic was taken after I had sorted out 8 garbage bags full to give to the thrift store and 4 bags to give away to friends. I'm exhausted to say the least but so happy to have it done.

Before you think I spend a fortune on clothes let me direct you here where I wrote about how I keep our clothing cost to a minimum. I decided early on that I don't want my girls to get used to over-priced mall shopping or think that they are somehow entitled to have the trendiest outfits. There's no way we could ever afford that! I do have a couple bins of clothes that need to be mended or altered, (mostly small repairs like missing buttons or pin holes), and I have a few ideas on things I can do to "cute" them up a bit as well. Like strategically placed cloth flowers over ketchup stains! I'll post about it when and if I actually get around to doing it. But for now, I'm going to beg Patrick for a back rub!

Laundry Room Renovation, pt. 2

They're here! I'm so stinking excited! My new washer and dryer are WONDERFUL! Our old dryer died months ago, of course during the rainiest season of the year. I had to wash 8-10 loads each week (minimum!), bag them up, then take them down to the laundromat to dry them. At $1-$1.25 per load I was spending at least $10 a week, which frankly I can't afford. And then my washer started making funny noises, like I was washing a load of rocks or something. Both the washer and dryer had been repaired several times in the last couple of years, and since we were hoarding our tax return for some other vague purpose, I decided to bite the bullet and purchase new machines. I'm so happy I did! I'm coming to realize that our old washer sucked at getting the clothes clean. I didn't know what clean clothes were till I used my front-loader for the first time! And it uses less detergent than before.

Moving on... here's the before pic of one side of the old laundry room. Gross! I had no shelves so everything collected on the floor long enough to mildew so that I had to throw it away. (There's one way to get rid of laundry! ;) I didn't take a pic of the other side of the room, because frankly, I'm too embarrassed at the nastiness of it. Try not to use your imagination.

And here are the painted, shelved, new machine after pics! TA-DA!

Laundry Room Renovation, pt. 1

Here are 8 things I've learned during the past couple of days as I've been renovating my laundry room:

1. Old duct tape on a scary looking outlet is there for a reason. Leave well enough alone or you will be shocked. Really.

2. Rats can chew through thick stucco. Apparently they love to line their holes with old dishcloths as well, (mystery solved.)

3. Sometimes it's better to leave rotting drywall alone as well. Otherwise you will keep making the hole bigger in an attempt to patch it.

4. Spackle covers a multitude of sins. It's pretty much my best friend.

5. Measure 2-3 times, cut 5-6 times. (See #4)

6. New paint makes a HUGE difference.

7. Unattended orphans gravitate towards water, especially the muddy kind underneath the trampoline.

8. I didn't need that pig off of Freecycle after all.

Economical Wash?

You probably can't read the sign under the laundromat's name, but it's about 6 minutes of drying for a quarter. Just about long enough for the machine to get warmed up, and if you're not quick with the quarters, to cool off also. But alas, I had no choice. My dryer broke and the laundry was piling up. So I bit the bullet, called my sister for a ride (since my car had decided to die at the same time as the dryer), washed 5 loads of laundry at home (which didn't even make a dent in Mt. Washmore), then hauled it off to the laundromat to dry. Before leaving I gave the girls strict instructions to have the dishes done by time I got home, which, of course they had to do by hand since our dishwasher gave up the ghost, from which there is no coming back.
A couple days later the dryer repairman came, $180 to make our dryer functional. I tried to do the mental gymnastics to figure out how many loads I'd have to take to the Econo-Wash in order to equal the price to repair the dryer, but I hate math and I'm too lazy to waste brain power on the problem. I just figured that with 5 kids, and having to do 3 loads a day to keep up, I'd rather stay home to do laundry. Which was a good decision in the long run. It's now a couple weeks later and my car is still incapacitated, my sister just had her baby, and I'm stuck in my recliner with a back injury!
The cool thing is- I'm really not complaining! I don't mind all this at all. I could do without the pain, but I was able to see my niece (before I got hurt), I have daughters who are able to help do the housework and cook, and I have no choice but to sit still and catch up on schoolwork with the kids. So really, there's not much to gripe about. Even before I hurt my back I didn't really miss my car since I try to avoid going anywhere anyway. I think the older I get, the more I want to just stay home.

Laundry Detergent

I thought I'd post this too since it saves us a TON of money. About a year ago I searched online for a good homemade laundry detergent recipe. I can't remember exactly where I found this (or else I'd give them credit for it), but it works great!

1/3 bar Fels Naptha or other type of laundry bar soap (I use Lirio.)
1/2 cup washing soda (Not baking. It is a big yellow box, Arm & Hammer brand.)
1/2 cup borax powder (20 Mule Team is what I use, I don't know of any other brand.)

A 2 gal. container to store the mixture in. I had a 2 ga. Coleman ice chest with a lid and handle in my storage shed that wasn't in use which works great.

Directions:
1. Grate up the bar soap and add to 6 cups water in a sauce pan. Heat and stir till the soap melts. 2. Add washing soda and borax and stir till dissolved, remove from heat.
3. Pour 4 cups hot water into your 2 gal. container, add soap mixture, stir.
4. Add 1 gal. + 6 cups water, stir.

It's as easy as that! Takes about 15 minutes, and is worth the effort. If you let the soap sit for 24 hours it will gel, but you can use it right away too if you're in a pinch, like I usually am!
I use about 1/2 to 1 cup a load depending on the dirtiness of the clothes.

For fabric softener I simply use white vinegar. I always miss the rinse cycle, so I use a Downey Ball. Just fill the ball with vinegar to the line, close it up, and toss it into the washer when you start the load. The clothes don't smell like vinegar when they come out, but they don't have that artificial perfumey-fresh smell either. They're simply clean. It cuts down the static too.

The added benefit of making your own detergent and softener is that it has no dyes or perfumes to irritate sensitive skin. I used to have to buy the expensive detergents because my husband and kids have exzema and broke out in rashes when I used regular detergents. That was expensive! I don't think I'll ever go back to store-bought detergents again.

Now if only I could get my 5 daughters to quit changing their clothes every 1/2 hour, then I wouldn't have so much laundry to do!