Wash Day Confessions
When you were a child, did your mom have “wash day”? Does anyone have “wash day” anymore, or am I the only one who is a slave to laundry? For me, laundry has always been a vicious cycle, no matter how I strive for excellence in areas of organization and execution.
My mom loves to iron. You may find this hard to believe, especially when you learn that she has done more than her share of ironing, raising six well-turned out children in the days before polyester. But she truly loves to iron! To this day, when we visit each other, she will snatch clothes from me if I am headed towards an ironing board. And she is good at it! Each shirt, each skirt, each pair of shorts is beautifully pressed and hung or folded. She is an Ironing Artiste. Thinking about her high ironing standards inspired me this week to take my laundry duties to a new level. No more will I leave stacks of folded clothes moldering out of drawers! No more will I step over torn dryer sheets peering dustily at me from the floor beneath the dryer. I am reforming!
I know what is expected of me. I am a Christian homemaker, and every act of service in my home is to be an act of worship. Yet with laundry, I was an Isrealite, a first class grumbler. This week I took the time to really think about the joy of washing the clothes of my family. Do you remember that old television commercial, “no more ring around the collar! You’ve tried scrubbing them out…” remember? When I am “shouting out” AB’s collar stains from his airline uniform, it the BEST time to thank the Lord that I am no longer washing his Army uniform (or worse yet, not washing his clothes at all because he is deployed). When I scrub out the grass and dirt and worse stains on Farm Boy’s britches, I can choose to wallow in the delight of being the mom of a boy who is free to climb and dig and wallow on our land.
Do you hang out your clothes to dry? I used to see it as a time bandit, but it is not! It is a gift. It is an invitation to step outdoors from the inside demands, to enjoy the fresh air, the sky, and the horses. It is a chance for me to climb up on the playset and visit a moment with my son, or read a chapter aloud to the children on the porch.
What gift to be home to do this! My grumbling days (at least in the laundry room) are over!
**Lately, I’ve read about the nasty stuff that is in most laundry detergents and because I can’t afford the $12.00 a (miniscule) bottle of “healthy” stuff, I found a recipe for homemade laundry soap. It is very easy, and economical. You may have to search at one or two stores, but you can find these ingredients where you live if I can! Here is the recipe:
Good for You Laundry Soap
1 Cup Grated Soap Bars (Fels Naptha or Ivory)
½ Cup Washing Soda
½ Cup Borax
Mix all together, store covered. Use 2 T. per load
I usually triple or quadruple this recipe. I like Fels Naptha soap, and have found it here at Kroger. Kroger also has Arm & Hammer Washing Soda. This is not to be confused with Arm & Hammer Baking Soda, although I am not sure why the two are not interchangeable. Borax seems to be everywhere including Walmart. Always grate the soap fine, and always add the soap in first, then let the washer fill, then add clothing. I have one complaint, and that is that sometimes the soap does not dissolve completely and leaves a small oily mark on the clothes. I have never noticed this on anything except solid, colored tee-shirts. A fool-proof way to avoid the spots, takes planning, but works. The night before you plan to wash delicate solid colored clothing, place soap in washer, set the load size to extra small, and the water temp to warm/cold. Let the washer fill, agitate a moment, and then turn it off. Go to bed. In the morning, the water will have cooled, and the soap is dissolved. Turn the water temp to cold/cold, adjust load size to large. Add clothes, and voila, no spots! Your clothes will look and smell clean, with no heavy perfume odor.
Have a blessed week at the washing machine. I’ll be hanging out clothes if you come by!
When you were a child, did your mom have “wash day”? Does anyone have “wash day” anymore, or am I the only one who is a slave to laundry? For me, laundry has always been a vicious cycle, no matter how I strive for excellence in areas of organization and execution.
My mom loves to iron. You may find this hard to believe, especially when you learn that she has done more than her share of ironing, raising six well-turned out children in the days before polyester. But she truly loves to iron! To this day, when we visit each other, she will snatch clothes from me if I am headed towards an ironing board. And she is good at it! Each shirt, each skirt, each pair of shorts is beautifully pressed and hung or folded. She is an Ironing Artiste. Thinking about her high ironing standards inspired me this week to take my laundry duties to a new level. No more will I leave stacks of folded clothes moldering out of drawers! No more will I step over torn dryer sheets peering dustily at me from the floor beneath the dryer. I am reforming!
I know what is expected of me. I am a Christian homemaker, and every act of service in my home is to be an act of worship. Yet with laundry, I was an Isrealite, a first class grumbler. This week I took the time to really think about the joy of washing the clothes of my family. Do you remember that old television commercial, “no more ring around the collar! You’ve tried scrubbing them out…” remember? When I am “shouting out” AB’s collar stains from his airline uniform, it the BEST time to thank the Lord that I am no longer washing his Army uniform (or worse yet, not washing his clothes at all because he is deployed). When I scrub out the grass and dirt and worse stains on Farm Boy’s britches, I can choose to wallow in the delight of being the mom of a boy who is free to climb and dig and wallow on our land.
Do you hang out your clothes to dry? I used to see it as a time bandit, but it is not! It is a gift. It is an invitation to step outdoors from the inside demands, to enjoy the fresh air, the sky, and the horses. It is a chance for me to climb up on the playset and visit a moment with my son, or read a chapter aloud to the children on the porch.
What gift to be home to do this! My grumbling days (at least in the laundry room) are over!
**Lately, I’ve read about the nasty stuff that is in most laundry detergents and because I can’t afford the $12.00 a (miniscule) bottle of “healthy” stuff, I found a recipe for homemade laundry soap. It is very easy, and economical. You may have to search at one or two stores, but you can find these ingredients where you live if I can! Here is the recipe:
Good for You Laundry Soap
1 Cup Grated Soap Bars (Fels Naptha or Ivory)
½ Cup Washing Soda
½ Cup Borax
Mix all together, store covered. Use 2 T. per load
I usually triple or quadruple this recipe. I like Fels Naptha soap, and have found it here at Kroger. Kroger also has Arm & Hammer Washing Soda. This is not to be confused with Arm & Hammer Baking Soda, although I am not sure why the two are not interchangeable. Borax seems to be everywhere including Walmart. Always grate the soap fine, and always add the soap in first, then let the washer fill, then add clothing. I have one complaint, and that is that sometimes the soap does not dissolve completely and leaves a small oily mark on the clothes. I have never noticed this on anything except solid, colored tee-shirts. A fool-proof way to avoid the spots, takes planning, but works. The night before you plan to wash delicate solid colored clothing, place soap in washer, set the load size to extra small, and the water temp to warm/cold. Let the washer fill, agitate a moment, and then turn it off. Go to bed. In the morning, the water will have cooled, and the soap is dissolved. Turn the water temp to cold/cold, adjust load size to large. Add clothes, and voila, no spots! Your clothes will look and smell clean, with no heavy perfume odor.
Have a blessed week at the washing machine. I’ll be hanging out clothes if you come by!
