I am sure most of you women can relate to the feeling of the never ending cycle of laundry, dishes, cooking and cleaning. I have been so overwhelmed with keeping my home clean that I end up just doing nothing (usually I end up posting a blog..instead of cleaning). Working Full Time and having a 1 1/2 year old are great excuses...but I want to be a better "house keeper". Keeping this house clean is a tough job. My last house was brand new. So it started off perfect. The house I am in now is 35 years old. Everything looks warn down and nothing ever looks clean no matter how much I scrub. Also, our home before this was 1,000 square feet larger. That means that I have 1,000 square feet of stuff that I need to find a home for. Needless to say our garage is filled to the brim. We recently had a yard sale and got rid of it..but the garage is still full of "stuff" and I look around and see so much more that I need to get rid of. I think too I am a minimalist..who has a shopping addiction. So, being in a cluttered home drives me crazy..but I can't stop buying cute little home decor items. I love home decor. The Hubs always jokes around when I say we can't afford such and such..he says well if you hadn't gone to Target twice already this week or Marshalls than we could!!! Sad... but probably true. I buy stuff also when I have no place for it. I can't imagine not getting it though...I rationalize in my brain that it is my little prize. I never get mani/pedis or buy clothes so this is my treat. I now realize with my smaller home though that I can't do this. Unless I have space for it...I must step away and run in the opposite direction(unless it is the purse section than I must keep running right past that as well).
Some how this turned into a confession of my shopping addiction. I had no intention of this being a therapy session with blogland and myself..but whew..I feel better now:). Soooo, the purpose of this post was to share some cleaning tips I have read. I realized that in order for me to function better that I need to have a clean and organized home. One that is not full of clutter and excess stuff. The first area I am trying to learn more about is laundry. Since having the little one..I can do laundry 3-4 times a week. I realized that I really have no idea how to properly wash different items...such as White, Colors, Towels, Sheets...etc. I just through everything in and then dry. I recently started using fabric softener in my loads of sheets and towels. They never seemed to smell clean. But now they are too strong smelling. I don't use dryer sheets. Never used bleach until recently. My laundry knowledge is very limited. I use liquid detergent..I know to separate whites from colors and that is it!!!!
I decided that the Internet would be the best place to start. I also have a few of those 1,001 household cleaning tips books. Wow...why have I not looked into this earlier??? Actually I know the answer. I never question what I am doing. I never think about if I am doing something the most efficient way or not. I just do. Ok that is another confession and needs to be saved for my next therapy session:). Here are a few tips I came across in case any of you out there have been doing laundry the same way since your mother taught you years ago(actually my mom uses dryer sheets and knows tricks...I just failed to listen) :
Whites- To get whites clean you can use 1/2 cup bleach and 1/2 baking soda mixed in the water before you throw in your laundry.
A full load is efficient but a load that is too full will not allow the laundry to clean properly. If you have a top loading large capacity like me 12-15# of laundry is a full load. Hold the laundry and weight yourself to find out how much 12-15# of laundry is.
Dryer Sheets- Help with static and soften clothes. Also used to clean stuff but that is a whole other post apparently.
Fabric Softener-used in place of dryer sheets in washer. Usually automatically dispersed in newer models. Reduces wrinkles. Downside- Makes towels less absorbent and flame retardant clothing less retardant:).
Black clothing-Add black Rit Dye every 8-10 loads into the water of washer.
Towels- If they are sour smelling-use bleach when possible or 1/4 cup of Febreeze or 1 cup vinegar in addition to your normal detergent.
Finally, don't forget to clean your washer and dryer. To clean your wash mix a paste of vinegar and baking soda. For your dryer, vacuum the lint catcher area to remove any excess lint left behind.
Hopefully this helps someone. I am sure most of you are pros by now. Learning from others is always a great way to know what works and what doesn't.
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