via Apartment Therapy
There’s nothing better than freshly washed laundry. I reach my arms into the dryer and snuggle it to my chest. It’s warm and cozy to the touch, and instinctively, I bring it to my nose and breathe in for a whiff. For that brief millisecond, I feel joy. I embrace the simple pleasure that comes from this act, but then that emotion is so fleeting because my reality sets in again. So I look around, close my eyes and envision these surroundings.
How can gazing at laundry rooms bring me to such a happy place?
Am I the only one who has an entire Pinterest page just for Laundry Rooms that bring me to my happy place?
BHG
I have a small area that is a combination of laundry room, mud room, “stuff junk in corners” room and unfortunately, somehow our main entrance, even though it’s on the side of our house, so I dream about how to maximize space in that area to reach it’s full potential.
My DIY Laundry Room room make over is about as close to perfect as I can manage for now, since I am prioritizing other projects, but I hung a thrift store chandelier in the room, and now when ever I do laundry, it makes me feel like a princess…for a second.
Because once I take that laundry out, smell it, feel how cozy it is, that load then gets set onto my bedroom couch, since I have no real spot to place it, and the joy is gone because the laundry then becomes work.
For your Type A ladies, you have now lost all respect for my reality, but for many of you who wonder how we “do it all?”
We don’t. I don’t do it all, and laundry beats me nearly every time, even though they all five children help, and my hubby most of all. I try all aspects of an organized laundry routine, but sometimes, life just gets in the way and the reality of my life right now is that this is what my sofa looks like today.
Now, don’t worry, I’m still a fine mom. Don’t report me, but sometimes this is reality, and it’s ok to admit that no one does it perfectly all the time.
Yes, true bedlam revealed. No Photoshop necessary.
Does that make you feel better about yourself?
Laundry is the bane of my existence. Well, not necessarily doing the laundry, I don’t mind that, it’s the folding and actually getting put away that gets us. The thought of fresh smelling laundry, perfectly folded in neat piles, and put away on organized shelves immediately after it’s been washed is pure joy, but I’ve come to claim this as my mantra.
Behind every successful woman is a basket of dirty laundry (or two or three or…)
So when I was asked this week, “What clothing stains drive me crazy?”
The thought of just doing all the work to keep up with laundry, and then eying stains that didn’t come out, even when I thought I caught them all, and spotted them etc. etc , that issue in and of itself drives me crazy – forget a specific stain. 😉
But, if we are getting specific, just this week, I was in a hurry to get on the road, and I tried to eat a quick salad on the fly. (FYI – salad with dressing is not something you want to eat on the run.)
A few dots of salad dressing flew on my favorite, day to day dress, and I noticed it right away. I got a quick wet cloth and wiped it away (or I thought I was wiping it away.) I hopped in the car for a three hour drive to meet my co-host for our Becoming conference for a planning session. We met with a sponsor, and as I got back to our room, I looked in the mirror for the first time. My small grease dots were HUGE, smudged circles.
“Was this like that the whole time?” I inquired.
“Yep, but most of the time we were sitting down, so it wasn’t that bad,” she responded.
“UGH!”
Even grown ups sometimes walk around looking like a kid dressed them.
So, am I the only one who has dreams of Happy Laundry Places but can’t seem to get there?
What Drives You Crazy About Laundry?
(I am really going to work on my organization this week.)
Ok! That picture of your bedroom sofa with all the laundry on it is downright depressing! If I lived closer, I would come over and help you fold it right now! I am not sure of your laundry routine, but have you thought that maybe the routine is to blame? Here is a post I wrote for tackling laundry in a different way. Maybe this a method that might help?
http://applevalleygirl.blogspot.ca/2012/02/revolutionize-your-laundry-routine.html
Have a wonderful week!
Angie
Nope, right now, the routine is not to blame, it’s ALL me. 🙂 We did six loads of laundry, and kept putting them in and in and in and then left without it getting folded. 🙂 No routine there. 😉
But I showed it for all those ladies who need the encouragement that sometimes, we just can’t do it all. 🙂
I love you for posting this. My cold harsh reality isn’t laundry, it’s the endless amount of paper! I mean seriously it breeds while I’m sleeping! I have boxes and boxes of papers that should be filed, shredded, recycled. And the kids’ artwork that comes home from school… AAARRGGGHHH!!!! my bedroom looks like a storage unit!
I can’t keep up with laundry either – and I’m glad that you were brave enough to show the reality so that we can laugh about it together!
I hate chocolate ice cream stains on white clothing – they never come out!
I should have realized that any conversation could be blog fodder… you made my day reliving that moment 🙂 Keep me posted if the stains actually come out!
Ugh, Michelle, I agree! At least with laundry you KNOW where everything goes, but with paper? There always seems to be a question of whether the keep it or toss it! Then it just gets tossed onto a DIFFERENT pile!
At least it’s a couch and not your kitchen table! LOL This Momma is guilty of picnic dinners in lieu of putting away 1,496 loads of folded laundry… Lol!
You made me feel so much better! That’s what my couch looks like. Drives my mother-in-law nuts when she comes to visit. 🙂 I don’t mind the washing and drying. I don’t even mind the folding so much. It’s the putting away that I hate. Crazy, I know, but that’s just me. I DO have a whole Pinterest board of beautiful laundry rooms. Mine is ugly, narrow, and cluttered. I dream of the day it’s painted aqua with a beautiful chandelier. Probably not going to happen, but I can dream…
I used Dawn dishwashing detergent on my grease stains (most of them salad dressing). Scrub a bit with a toothbrush and give it a squirt of OxiClean if it is looking particularly mean. Good luck 🙂
I am so glad you posted this. Laundry is a big challenge at our house too.
Well, that looks familiar. It’s comforting that I’m not the only one with such a pile. Diesel and oil with soil ground in for good measure are my challenges, usually into the front of pant legs (who needs a towel, when there’s perfectly good fabric right there?). I agree with Andrea about the dish detergent. It also works really well on the yucky hat bands on my husband’s work hats.
Dawn dish detergent is a staple in my laundry room. It will get out ANY grease spot, even if you forget the first time and dry it and have to wash it over, just squirt it on and wash it out! For me, my biggest challenge is the red clay mud my son loves to ruin his pants with! I think laundry is never ending – something that will never really be finished!
Yep I was just about to suggest DAWN. It will get those grease spots out for sure.
Love it, Jenn. Thanks for keeping it REAL! 🙂
By the way, Paul was wondering how you get out coffee stains…hehe.
Thanks for sharing!!
I don’t like that my family (all men) never finish putting it away and ….that I am not organized enough so that we have way too many clothes. I’m for sure not balancing it all well either :).
I love the pic of your clean laundry on your couch. I am impressed; at least it is all clean. 🙂 I end up with mounds of laundry that is dirty. LOL
One of the toughest stains I face is from markers: dry erase, overhead projetor pens, and art paints. Being a teaher, many of my *frugal fashions** get ruined by these. Due to allergies, I also need dye and fragrance free detergent. Some stain removers have a real potent chemical smell that I just cant tolerate.
Grass and grease stains drive me crazy! I love adding baking soda to my homemade laundry detergent because it helps with a kinds of stains. (Arm &Hammer, natch!)
@Windylou,
You can get grass stains out very easily if you will soak your item with 1-2 cups ammonia to about a gallon of water about an hour before you wash them.. then wash in hot water.
My hubby shared that one with me. His son played baseball in white pants and he was able to get them sparkling clean every time. Smart man.
Tackle grease stains with pretreating for about 30 minues with LA’s Totally Awesome General Spray Cleaner that you get at Dollar Tree or Dollar General. Works like a charm, even on old old stains.
Lestoil. I swear by it for removing grease stains. It even removes grease stains you don’t notice on your husband’s shirts until you are taking them out of the dryer to hang up! I put the fabric on the open bottle and quick turn it over and back. Let it sit overnight if it’s old. Otherwise it only needs a half hour and you can wash it.
Hope this helps!
I’m with you on the salad dressing! What I HATE is…trying to get a stain out..and having the
stain stick, spray etc. take out the color of the clothing!! I bought a cute GW tank top..like new..turquoise..and got a HUGE cooking stain/grease spot on it the first time I wore it!!
Where do they sell “Lestoil” as mentioned above?? I have a friend (do we all have one like this..love her to bits still!) who is the monther of two boys..and SHE claims…that she has never had a laundry stain that she can’t get rid of!! She (simply, ofcourse) treats it on both sides with her pre-wash, pops it into the washing machine..and just like magic..stains gone!! I DO NOT
have that kind of luck with laundry. Thanks Jen, for your honesty! Love your apron suggestion. Long live June Cleaver…
Responding to Kassandra..why have I NEVER figured out that liquid laundry detergent (poured on top of the load) has at times wrecked items??!! I keep looking at things (colored clothing) and thinking “what is that streak from?? How did that sleeve get bleach on it?? I don’t use that much bleach..” etc. etc. It never occured to me that it has been the detergent!!
I learned from my Mom (powdered detergent days) to put the soap in first, get the machine going a little bit to dissolve it…then put the clothes in..I know this is the right way to do it.
However, in a hurry even I have forgotten soap til later..added more…or not ben patient to let enough water get ON TOP of the liquid detergent before throwing laundry in. Pheewww..mystery solved. Sounds simple enough, but it never honestly occured to me.
Thank you!!!!
When my kids were little, we had this sort of issue.. but its not that much of an issue today.. as I look around the corner and see 2 1/2 laundry baskets sitting in my living room waiting to be folded & put up. Honestly though.. our basement flooded.. They had all been washed & folded and were waiting for my hubby or son to bring them upstairs… so all had to be washed again.
I try to fold & hang clothes as they come out of the drier.. They have a much better chance of not sitting around than if they are brought upstairs to the living room.
After our kids (5) got old enough they did their own laundry and they were expected to put them up immediately.. they didnt find a landing place except in their bedroom.
As to “How to” get grease, oil, spots, etc out of clothing.. The BEST thing I ever used that is also the CHEAPEST is LA’s Totally Awesome General Cleaner (clear bottle, yellow liquid) that you can get at Dollar Tree or any other Dollar Store. It costs a whole dollar for a bottle of it.. just spray it on and let it sit for about 30 minutes and then wash in the hottest water the item can take.. I wash my tee shirts in hot. It gets EVERYTHING out including oil stains from cooking or salad dressing that have been washed & dried multiple times..
I had 2 baskets of tee shirts in my basement that had been piling up waiting till I found “THE THING” that was going to work for me. All had been washed & dried multiple times because I was trying so many different products.. None worked till this. I had to re-do 4 of them.. but they came out the second time around.. The other 50 or so came out the first time around.
That Totally AWESOME is indeed AWESOME! It cleans like nobodies business! Old stained trash cans.. Stained clothes.. Grease on driveways.. Boats.. motorcycles… you name it.. it cleans it. We tend to use it full strength but you can dilute it to the directions if you want to.. but use it full strength for stains.
Oh MY! Thank you so much for sharing. I have used that as just a basic cleaner, but never tried it on other things. YAY for the Dollar Store and your great suggestions. 🙂
@Jen, You’re very welcome.. It was like a Miracle come true when I finally hit upon it and I totally believe in sharing great stuff. Its probably not “green” and while most of the time I try to be, sometimes ya just cant. 😉
I used to use Greased Lightening full strength on oil stains but when they started making it “Ready to use” strength, it doesnt work on the laundry grease stains. 🙁 Thats ok by me now.. I have Awesome & its cheaper & works better! 🙂
Have a great day Jen! 🙂
Wow 🙂 This made me feel so much better about myself. When I saw the picture of your couch on Pinterest, I just let out a breath of relief.. That is exactly what my couch looks like almost every day. I live with my husband and three kids and whether beginning, middle, or end of the day- nobody in their right mind wants to tackle that mess.. It takes an hour at the very least and I just prefer to dig through it everyday to find my clothes
We are in this together!! don’t let those pinterest perfect pictures fool you. 🙂