When I am busy, which is most of the time, I find it is the smaller things that can really get to me. One of them is that I like my house to be reasonably tidy. I would not say we are perfect by any means but there is a certain level of clutter that causes distress. I can’t tell you what that is exactly but suddenly alarm bells go off in my head and I need to get clearing. And if our house is in a state then I cannot concentrate properly on work.
One of the things that I find can quickly get out of control is the washing. So these are my tips for keeping that particular house-keeping bugbear in it’s place:
Do one wash a day
I know people may do many more and if you have small children in the house then you probably feel you hardly ever switch the machine off! But I try to get at least one wash load in a day and – and this is the key – see that load right through to the end of the cycle. So, washed, dried and in my case into the airing cupboard. Ironing I will do once or twice a week.
Have a basket for each member of the family
This simple idea has been a revolution for me. When I bring the clothes in from drying they are divided out into baskets for each member of the family. Then when it comes to airing the clothes they go in the airing cupboard in their basket and I take one basket out at a time for ironing. Although I am still ironing the same amount of clothes for some reason doing them a basket at a time is so much easier. And you are only going backwards and forwards to one room or wardrobe at a time.
Keep bed sets together
Again such a simple idea but saves so much time. Keep each set of bedsheets together tucked into one of the pillowcases. Then you can stack them up in your cupboard or on shelves and when you come to change the sheets just pull out one of the parcels of sheets and there is everything ready. I used to try to keep sheets in one pile, pillowcases in another. It never worked as they always collapsed into one another and I spent ages trying to find quilt covers that went with pillowcases etc. This simple idea saves me so much time and hassle.
So there we are – three quick ways to improve the washing cycle in your house. If you have any more tips do let me know in the comments below.
If you like housekeeping tips do take a look at the blogs Down to Earth or Brocante Home.
