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Post by illuminatedmayhem on Jul 29, 2015 20:22:18 GMT -5
We have a whole room full of dirty laundry. Grim and I are wearing dirty clothes, the kids are usually naked or in underwear or diaper (thank goodness it's summer) and the baby is down to a couple of onsies.
We do not have a washer and dryer. I am not taking 3 kids to the laundromat. Grim never gets around to going to said laundromat. And we're a bit tight on money.
So we have to hand wash. We have a large double sided sink in the basement that we could probably use if it's clean enough. And we could probably string a clothesline down there with a fan. We need to see if clotheslines are allowed in our neighborhood.
Any advice or tips? At this moment, the laundry is by far our most out of hand thing. I want clean clothes again. And I want to be able to snap pictures of my girls. Please help.
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Post by wynken on Jul 29, 2015 22:19:53 GMT -5
chose a selection/ set or 2 of clothing for each person and hand wash those. You can wash in a couple of buckets (one for rinsing) if the tubs are too gross. I hope you are able to sting up a clothes line outside, if the weather is fine there. I hope you have some cord for a line.
Do you know how to hand wash clothing? Over time I've often had to do it.
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Post by angela on Jul 29, 2015 23:35:10 GMT -5
I've done a lot of hand-washing in my time illuminatedmayhem so it can be done. The double sink would be perfect for the task if as you say it's clean enough. If it isn't, do you have a bathtub? I have used mine regularly. The key to clean is agitation and heat. If you can afford it, get yourself a very plain toilet plunger. Not the kind with a smaller hole in the bottom of the bell, but one that is just a wide bell shape. Use this to agitate the clothes and push the water through them. When hand-washing, use very little detergent. Only enough to make the water slippery feeling. For underwear, if you have a microwave, you can put them in wet for a few seconds to sanitize. Wait to take them out till they cool, so you don't burn yourself. Jeans can be hosed off on a tarp and stomped on with a little bit of soap. I'm assuming you have a tarp and a hose. Apologies if you don't. If you have a salad spinner, you can put the children's clothes in it and spin out excess water. It will help things dry more quickly and save wear and tear on them from wringing them out. Hope this helps. |
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Post by mynicehome on Jul 30, 2015 0:33:50 GMT -5
illuminatedmayhem, here's a tip I heard from some road-trippers. To wash their clothes while on the road, they used a large plastic bucket with lid (a tote would work also, I think). They put what clothes would fit comfortably in the bucket with water and detergent and drove. The drive itself agitated the clothes. Next stop was for rinse water. Hung out to dry, I believe, when they stopped for the night.
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Post by turkeyhill on Jul 30, 2015 0:49:24 GMT -5
Not the advice you asked for but can you take just two loads to the laundromat while Grim is home? You can get a lot of whites like socks and underwear in one load. Bring them home wet and hang them up at home if you don't have the cash to dry them.
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Post by Arid on Jul 30, 2015 1:52:38 GMT -5
Be careful if you hang clothing outside in the summertime, though. I faded a favorite, new outfit when I hung it out to dry on a clothesline in Florida while on vacation one summer!! (It didn't fade evenly--which made the situation even worse!)
Arid
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Post by lesaulerouge on Jul 30, 2015 3:55:53 GMT -5
I wash, dry and iron everything inside out. I line dry for as much of the year as I can. It's so much better for everything than tumbling, and smells so lovely as well. And if it's hot enough to fade, well, it'll fade less inside out, and it's hot enough to dry several loads a day!
I would take one load plus 3 kids to the launderette, pick the load that will get the maximum amount done in one go. Pack some games, small toys, colouring stuff, snacks whatever it takes, and make a fun playtime outing of it. If wash plus dry time is too much for them, just wash and dry when you get home, it still gets a lot done at once - you can get a lot of small children's clothes, or a whole heap of socks and underwear, in one launderette washing machine.
Alternatively, take a load or two, plus a child or two and get Grim to be with the other child or two. It might seem a daunting prospect but it will get the most amount done in the shortest amount of time. And once you get an advance on the backlog it will all look and feel an awful lot better, and then moving forward will be much easier.
As for washing by hand. Get the kids involved. Do you have a baby bath? And a waterproof table cloth / sheet? Get them washing stuff in the bath which you've put on the sheet. If you have a garden you can do it outside. We used to do this with dolly clothes, but works just as well for their own clothes. Bubbles plus water always equals fun time!
No baby bath? Fill the bathtub, put in detergent and clothes and get the kids to walk around in it like they're crushing grapes to make wine!
Xxx
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Post by immaculata on Jul 30, 2015 4:41:06 GMT -5
Might I suggest that when going through the clothes to pick them up and wash them, seize the opportunity to dispose of any that are ripped, stained, outgrown by your kids, or otherwise unwearable, if you haven't already. I know everyone needs a minimum number of changes of clothes available, but over and above that, the less you have, the less you have to wash and the less you have to organise and store.
Good luck.
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Post by lesaulerouge on Jul 30, 2015 4:42:20 GMT -5
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Post by wynken on Jul 30, 2015 7:22:41 GMT -5
In really hot weather we never wrung anything out, just hung it dripping on the outdoor line, while getting ourselves as wet as possible in the process. Great for cooling down.
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Post by wit on Jul 30, 2015 7:23:03 GMT -5
You're getting a lot of good suggestions. How often do you picture yourself doing laundry in the future? It is a lot easier to do it often. And then you only need as many clothes as there are days in a laundry cycle, times however many outfits a day (kids!). So, for instance, if you went to the laundromat once a week, I would keep 8 sets of clothes per person (16 for the baby if she needs changing in the middle of the day, etc). Maybe add one fancy outfit per season. And then guard your laundry time fiercely - make a specific appointment with yourself, take a book and a coffee and make it your special alone time, while Grim watches the kids, for instance. Then you'll be less tempted to avoid it. Do you have appropriate storage for the amount of clothes you're choosing to keep? When the dresser drawer isn't stuffed it's easier to put away and then it stays clean. And if possible get and use laundry baskets or other dirty laundry container - for me, at least, it's demoralizing to keep even dirty clothes on the floor, and to have to pick them up before you can get started.
You can do this! Good luck!
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Post by magda on Jul 30, 2015 7:33:35 GMT -5
Hi. I would vote for the laundromat if you can afford it. It is possible to take kids there and get a lot done in a way quicker amount of time than hand washing. I would say gather al your dirty laundry. Get some garbage bags. Divide the loads into bags at home to shorten time at laundromat. It is a good idea to toss clothes that are too small or too worn but if this step seems too onerous I would suggest you just wash it all at this point as the immediate goal is clean clothes. Then if no other solution ie grim taking clothes or kids -gather kids and bags and go to laundromat. I am assuming you have a car if not this would be hard w public transport. At laundromat you can load all washers and do multiple loads at once. You can leave too while wash is going. You can head back and dry all at once. Then you can leave while clothes are drying. Then return and you can use those nice flat tables there to fold all clothes. I had to use laundromat w little one when our washer broke and it was doable. For washing we went and got ice cream. For drying we went home and came back It was nearby to house do that helped. I think hand washing for five would be so hard and time consuming and harder than making the trek to laundromat IMO. FYI be careful about microwaving dry any clothes w synthetic fibers. They'll melt if too hot. If u do hand wash I would start w easy light weight stuff. Good luck
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Post by dayeanu on Jul 30, 2015 7:57:57 GMT -5
Could Grim watch the kids whIle you go to the laundry?
Do you have a friend with a washer who would let you bring a load or two over?
I have hand washed in a bucket or plastic tote, one or two items at a time.
And I have piled a bunch in a tub and used a clean toilet plunger for the agitator.
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Post by Jannie on Jul 30, 2015 8:13:42 GMT -5
You can buy a small portable clothes washer for around $300.(I don't have a link show you one for sale) . I used a portable electric washer for years when it was just me and DH in a tiny apartment. It was small, hooked up by hoses to the kitchen sink.I think the load size was something like 3 cubic feet. It did very small loads- like one set of sheets, or 6 to 8 towels, maybe a half dozen shirts or a bunch of underwear). I remember during that time I wore good clothing to work that needed to be dry-cleaned. So my around the house jeans and T shirts got done in the washer. Might be worth investigating. I know you said money is tight. But maybe you could ask for it for a family Christmas gift.
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Post by lesaulerouge on Jul 30, 2015 8:31:33 GMT -5
Am confused Jannie, my newest washing machine is the biggest we've ever had, and I think I'd still be pushing things to get 6-8 towels in it. It will wash a full set of bedding, for a single bed, but not for our king sized bed (US queen sized I think, not sure). Are US machines normally enormous?!! |
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