Search Results for: blog taming the laundry monster

Teaching Children to Do Own Laundry

Once my children turn 13 years old, they become responsible for their own laundry. I had been a little more generous with my youngest son (you know how that can be…the whole “it’s my baby” thing). But the past couple of weeks, I have finally been strong enough to let him deal with the repercussions of letting dirty clothes pile up on the floor. Not wanting to wear dirty clothes for school today, he threw in a load of wash last night. Thankfully I decided to watch how he was doing it. I had taught him how to use the … Continue reading →

Laundry Tips for Saving Money

Most of us are trying to save money any way we can. One area that you may not have considered when it comes to this is your laundry. So here are some tips that may help save you some cash. It could also make the task of laundry more manageable. The first tip is to wash less. The average top-loading washing machine uses about 40 gallons of water. Even though front-loading machines use less (between 10 and 24 gallons), it is still a waste of money to put in smaller loads. You can save not only the use of your … Continue reading →

Laundry Tips

You know how they say that the dryer eats socks? I really believe this is true. How else do you explain your son putting his track clothes into the washer, you transferring them to the dryer and then the next morning when pulling them out, finding that one sock is missing? This wasn’t a big load and it didn’t fall next to the washer or dryer. So it is a mystery that will probably never be solved. I remember this being a much bigger issue when my three children were small. Trying to find socks that match and stayed with … Continue reading →

Diaper in the Laundry

I have two very messy children. I should probably do laundry every day, but I can’t get my lazy self excited about doing it that frequently. I’m even worse about putting clothes away, so doing laundry more frequently won’t work. The other night the girls didn’t have any of their favorite pajamas to wear. I had to tackle laundry. I sorted the laundry and put the light load in first. I don’t always sort the laundry, but it worked out better for this particular wash. I went to take the lights out of the dryer and put the darks in … Continue reading →

Taming the Laundry Monster

Fellow blogger Carol Paxman inspired me with her recent blog, “Taming the Clutter Monster.” I couldn’t help but think of my least favorite chore, what I consider to be a monster…the laundry. Although it has gotten better since I have learned to delegate, it still sometimes feels like it’s all I ever do. I remember a few years ago a friend of mine who lives a couple of hours away was feeling burdened by her housework. She has five children and they were younger at the time. I offered to drive that couple of hours to come help. I couldn’t … Continue reading →

Homemade Cleaning Recipes: Wipes

Make your own laundry detergent; prepare some homemade cleaners; make your own baking mixes.  Whatever it is that you currently buy at the store to keep your home running, from baby wipes to toilet cleaner, chances are that there is a homemade version that will save your money, be gentle on your cleaning surfaces and your family. Non-toxic cleaners are healthier and easily made. Plus, who doesn’t like saving money in the household budget? I’ve gather some of the best and complete homemade cleaning recipes and make your own blog posts on Families.com. Bookmark these posts, so you can come … Continue reading →

Care of Your Washing Machine

You never realize how much you appreciate an appliance in your home until it breaks down. At the same time, you don’t realize how much you appreciate Mr. Handyman until he figures out how to fix it. A couple of weeks ago, it appeared that my washing machine was done. It was making a loud clunking sound and when it was finished with the final cycle, the clothes were sopping wet. It was bad timing (isn’t it always?) with a trip we have coming up. Buying a new washing machine was not in our budget. Thankfully my husband was able … Continue reading →

Many Uses of a Dryer Sheet

When it comes to cleaning and taking care of a home, a wide variety of tools can be helpful. But some of those household tools can be expensive, especially if they need constant replacing. I love when a household item can be used for more than one purpose. It stretches your pocketbook and may even improve cleaning. Take for instance a fabric softener sheet (aka dryer sheet). There are so many ways you can use these. For instance you can dust with one. Now I am a big fan of those microfiber cloths because they are washable and can trap … Continue reading →

Organize Your Clothes Each Season

Closets are a common area to get cluttered, especially when we store things in it that don’t really belong. And clothes can be a real source of your problem. If you live in a state like mine, Wisconsin, you get to experience all kinds of weather. For the most part you can count on needing sweaters or light jackets during the fall and spring months, heavier jackets and long-sleeved shirts in the winter, along with tank tops and shorts in the summer. So when you live in a state that provides different opportunities in dress, you might find your closet … Continue reading →

Maintaining Control of School Papers

In my last housekeeping blog I wrote about keeping order of school supplies in your home. Now is also a good time to start thinking about how you are going to keep order of the papers that will be coming home throughout the school year. Let’s first establish one thing…you cannot possibly keep every single piece of paper that your child brings home. If you do, you will find paper piles cluttering your house. So if you can learn to let go of some things, it will help. When my children were younger I basically had three options of what … Continue reading →