Sunday, March 2, 2008

Let's Do Laundry.....






No, really. I need some laundry advice.


Somehow in my 32 years of life, I have yet to learn the basics of laundry. I'll admit that neither of my parents were great at laundry either, so I haven't had the best role models in this area. I was thinking since many of my readers are moms....you could lend me your laundry expertise. Here are my basic questions:


1. When starting a load of laundry, is it really necessary to pour the soap in first (before the clothes go in)? I NEVER do this. But the directions on the box of detergent suggest this method. Isn't it hard to get all you clothes in the washer when it's filling up with water and soap? Is there a reason why we should do it this way?


2. If I use fabric softener, do I also need to use a dryer sheet? If my fabric softener is a different scent than my dryer sheet, will the scents cancel each other out?


3. Do you always have to separate colors from whites? Even if I'm strictly washing in cold water?


As you can tell, I'm laundry illiterate. I approach laundry the easiest way possible....just throw it all in there, pour on the detergent and wash in cold water. But I'm wondering if I'm maximizing my laundry-washing experience this way.....Your advice will be greatly appreciated!




In other Beeler news, guess what my little Emerie can do? She can CHEW GUM. That's right! She calls it "buck" and can actually keep it in her mouth while she chomps away. Pretty good for an 18 month old, right? I know, I know. By the time your third child rolls around, moms tend to get excited over the smallest of things. I don't know if this necessarily counts as a "milestone" but I was pretty impressed!
Thanks for checking in with me.....I've been neglecting my blog for a few simple reasons:
1. American Idol
2. Project Runway
3. Lost
4. The book I'm reading, "Pillars of the Earth" by Ken Follet (which is, oh, about 955 pages long). It's rather time consuming....but really good.
Hang with me. I'll be posting more regularly! Promise!

5 comments:

Juli said...

LMAO! You crack me up, Ang! David does a lot of our laundry :X Lord love the man! We separate lights, darks, whites, and the girls things. I wash everything but the whites on cold. (they're on hot with a large scoop of OxyClean every time) I DO add the detergent first. I don't know why, though. And I don't use Downy. I used to, but didn't want to on the girls' clothes, so we use the Gain sheets now on everything but the girls' things. I use detergent that my friend Amanda makes. She's on www.faceofthewave.com, it's called DeoComplete. I am in love with the Rosemary Mint fragrance. I started out just using it on diapers, then it spread to the girls' clothes and out towels and sheets. David draws the line at his clothes, though, lol!

Emily said...

Love your honesty! I am right there with you. My hubby's family treat their laundry like it is made of gold and I feel so guilty for not sharing that passion. I just kind of wing it and hope for the best. I do use Downy and dryer sheets because I LOVE soft clothes. I will have to check back with your comments and see what bits of wisdom you get.

As for Resolved 2 Worship, I wish I knew her as well. I don't know why they were in the inner city, but I am sure it is an amazing story.

Rose said...

Aww, what a cute little Emerie. I can't help you much, I just use a lot of stain stick.

Anonymous said...

Babe,

Your husband checking in ( Word on the street is it's rude not to post comments on people's blogs that you lurk on).

As far as the adding the detergent/water before the clothes: it eliminates the possiblity of the detergent clumping together on your clothes during the wash and evenly distributes the soap in the water. You could have just asked me.

Love you. CB

gwsas4 said...

Hey! I'll attempt to answer some of your laundry quandries. :o)
1. Just like CB said, always add detergent first and give it a minute to dissolve in the water so that it doesn't clump on your clothes. I like using liquid detergent so ensure that doesn't happen. You can still fit lots of clothes in washer - just start filling it with clothes while it's filling with water.
2. I use fabric softner & dryer sheets because of the softness factor. I've had several compliments on my sheets & towels when we have guests & I contribute it to using both of those things. Just smell the scents together at the store to make sure they go together - I like Clean Breeze Downey & Outdoor Fresh Bounce. They seem to coordinate well.
3. I definitely separate darks from lights. Darks being blacks, browns, blues, greens - lights being tans, yellows, whites. Then, pinks & reds ALWAYS go separate from those. Even in cold water colors can bleed. I always use cold water too. Rarely do I use warm or hot because it fades clothes faster. And towels & sheets will be disinfected with the heat in the dryer.

Hope that helps!!