Doing the Laundry- A Primer

Note to Moms: I have made this thorough enough to cover every aspect of doing the laundry.

You will most likely want to assign more than one child to this job. For example:

·        one child can gather up all the dirty laundry every day

·        a different child runs the machines

·        a third child folds the towels and sheets.

You may want to reserve sorting dirties, running bleach loads, mending and ironing for yourself, at least until your children are older. Some of these chores may not apply to your household (For example, I don’t buy clothes that need ironing, so we don’t actually have that chore in our house.)

I find it helps for each child to have their own basket for their own clean clothes to put up and for each child over four to be responsible for their own things.

1)   Gather all the dirty clothes from every room.

2)   Sort them into four stacks:

a)   whites,

b)   darks,

c)   prints,

d)   special.

You may also have a diaper pail with cloth diapers in it.

“Whites” are things that can bleach like towels, rags, and white socks. These things are made out of cotton. 

“Darks” are things that are very dirty or will fade some color besides red. This includes Jeans; black, dark blue, dark green sweats or t-shirts, and dark socks. Red sweats or t-shirts can go in this load after they have been washed at least ten times.

“Specials” are things that need to be washed separately. This includes anything red that hasn’t been washed many times. Red things should be washed together and totally alone. Also, things made of wool, silk, or that are very lacy should be washed separately and carefully. Read the label if you are unsure if a thing is “special.” It will say “Wash separately” or “Hand Wash Only.”

“Prints” are pretty much everything else. They will generally be made of cotton or polyester or a blend of the two and be of a medium or light color. At first, read all the labels until you get the hang of telling “Specials” from normal clothes.

3)   Check all clothes for stains and pockets for anything. Spray stains with a stain remover. (A little dissolved laundry soap or all-purpose cleaner will do just fine.) If you are washing diapers, pour the contents of the pail into the washer and set the control to its shortest wash (this would work much better with a top loading machine!). This will rinse and spin the bad water out. Then proceed as if they were “whites.”

4)   If your washer is a top loader, put one measure of soap into the tub. If it is a front loader, put one measure in the proper holder. If your machine has a place to put it, add one measure of fabric softener (some people use a special ball instead of a built in dispenser).

Do not add fabric softener to “whites” or diapers. Fabric softener coats the threads with wax and makes them water-proof. Not a good thing for these items. Use a cup of white vinegar instead to neutralize all the soap and allow it to rinse out (Since my husband is allergic to fabric softener, I use vinegar for all my laundry).

Be sure not to put the vinegar and bleach in the same container. This creates a poisonous gas.

5)   If you are washing “whites” or diapers add one measure of bleach.

BE CAREFUL!

Bleach will burn your skin and eyes if it lands on you and will take all the color out of your clothes if you splash it on them, possibly eating holes all the way through. Pour very slowly. If you do get bleach on you, rinse it off IMMEDIATELY in cold water and call for an adult,

(Note to Moms: Do not let a child under twelve use bleach. Supervise their use of it until you are confident they can do it safely.)

The advantages of using bleach are not only whiter clothes, but bleach is one of the best sanitizers around.

6)   Put one basket of clothes into the washer,

(Note to Moms: Buy laundry baskets that hold one load’s worth of clothes. For most large machines this is the second largest basket available.)

DO NOT pack the clothes in tightly. They must be loose to come clean.

7)   Set the water temperature to hot for “whites” and diapers, warm for “prints,” and cold for “reds,” and other special things.

8)   For diapers, go back and run the rinse cycle again after everything is done. This makes sure that all the soap and bleach rinses out so baby’s bottom won’t get sore. It doesn’t hurt to do this for other clothes, but it’s not as necessary.

9)   Take everything out of the washer and put it in the dryer. If your family uses dryer sheets instead of liquid fabric softener, add one now. Close the door firmly, but DON’T slam it (also never hang on it or, if it lays down to open, set anything on it).

10)       Set the air temperature to its highest setting for “whites” “diapers” “darks” and “reds.” Set it to “Permanent Press” or medium for Prints. Set it to low or cool air for none red “specials.”

(Some specials should never be put in the dryer. They should be hung over a bar or laid flat to dry)

11)       Set the timer according to directions. Turn it on.

(Note to Moms: If you put a small dot of paint by the settings you want your child to use it makes it easier for them. This will lower the age that a child can do this chore.)

12)       Take everything out of the dryer. Check each item for missing buttons or tears. If they need mending, put them in the household’s mending stack.

13)       If the load has church clothes, they should be hung up immediately after the load finishes drying. Put the neck around the hook and fasten. Put an arm neatly over each corner of the hanger. If it is an item that doesn’t stay on very well, use a clothespin. Church pants and skirts should be hung on hangers with clamps or clips; pants from the bottom of the leg and skirts form the waste.

14)       If anything is wrinkled, put it in the ironing stack. (If it is Permanent Press Put it back in the dryer for five minutes.)

15)       Sort each item into the proper owner’s basket. Any item that is not marked for ownership, find the owner and mark the item appropriately.

(Note to mom’s: The more consistently clothes are marked, the younger the child who can do the laundry. Use Xs for girls, Os for boys, one for the oldest, two for the second, etc.)

16)       Unless they have been assigned to someone else, fold all bath towels in half three times alternating directions; pillow slips, hand towels and wash cloths in half twice; and sheets and table cloths until they fit on the shelf.  Pre-folded diapers should be folded in half. Flat folded diapers should be folded to fit the diaper cover you use.

17)       Fold all your clothes. Undies should be held at the top and folded in thirds, than in half the other direction. Bras should be folded in half and the straps tucked into the cup. Shirts should be folded in half so one sleeve lays on the other, long sleeves folded over onto the body, and the whole thing folded in half downwards. Pants and shorts should be folded in half so one leg lays on the other, then folded in half the other way (twice for pants).

18)       Mend anything that has minor problems. Buttons, for example should take only five minutes to sew back on and a child of five or six can be taught how to do it if someone else threads the needle and ties the knots (and you ignore a slightly imperfect job). Bigger tears can be fixed later. This is a good thing to do while watching TV.

19)       Anything that is wrinkled needs ironing.

a)   Set up the ironing board in a low-traffic area.

b)   Plug in the iron, turn it on and set it somewhere it won’t get bumped or where small children or animals will pull on the cord.

c)   When the iron is hot, take each item and pull it over the small end of the board (or lay it flat if it is too small to fit over the end).

d)   Run the iron over the garment at a medium speed. You can sprinkle a little water or use the stem button on the iron to help smooth the wrinkles.

e)   Set the iron down and rotate the garment to a new place. Continue until the entire garment is wrinkle free.

f)    To put creases into the front of pant legs or anywhere else you want them, fold the garment at the crease place, sprinkle it with water or press the steam button, run the iron over the garment slowly and repeatedly until the desired crispness is achieved. Dress pants will be shiny if ironed directly, so put a well rung out dish cloth or diaper between the pants and iron.

20)       Put everything away neatly in its proper place. Don’t stuff them or force them in. This wrinkles them.

(Note to Moms: If your drawers, cupboards, and closets are too crowded to do this easily, you have too many clothes and need to get rid of some. If laundry is done everyday you need no more than eight of each item (to allow for the launderer to be sick). Anything else is excess and interfering with the smooth function of your household. Clothes that are between children or off-season should be packed in boxes, labeled, and put in storage until needed.)

21)       To hand wash;

a)   Use the appropriate soap

b)   Dissolve it in a full sink or pan of water

c)   Put the garment in and let it sit for five minutes.

d)   Gently rub any stains on the garment itself.

e)   Squeeze the soapy water through until the garment feels clean.

f)    Dump the soapy water and refill your container with clean water.

g)   Gently squeeze the garment through the water until the water runs clean (you may have to repeat this through several rinses to get all the soap out.)

h)   Delicate clothes generally need to be dried lying flat on a bath towel.