Taming the Laundry Monster, Part I

There are several aspects to taming the laundry monster and it seems like more households do have a laundry monster than don't.  Piles, or baskets and hampers if you're lucky, sit waiting, sometimes for days, for you to get to them, while other items hang in your closet rarely touched, getting in the way.  Whether you are one person or a family of 6, laundry is probably an issue.  Most people have way more clothing than they actually need and it's typically not organized very well, especially in states that have what I call bi-polar seasons, meaning the weather can't make up its mind which season it actually is.  I have a four part solution for you.

The first part is the hardest: get rid of some of your clothes.  It's not easy.  My general rule is (with very few exceptions, pregnancy being one of them) if you haven't worn something in the past year, you don't need it.  Another good rule is, if it doesn't fit, you don't need it.  Dress the skin you're in and make it look fabulous!  It's also good to make sure you have a good basic wardrobe that you can mix and match and accessorize to make different outfits from the same pieces.  You won't need as many items crowding your drawers and closet this way.  You can update your look each season by picking up a few items, but if you have the basics you shouldn't need much.  What your basic wardrobe needs are will also vary depending on what you do for a living and for fun.  This is a good checklist for women and this is a good one for men, especially if you're in a professional job.  I'd even suggest owning a good chunk of it if you're not.  You never know when you're going to have to dress up and look professional.  You also never know who you're going to meet, so looking your best whenever you leave the house is strongly advised.  That said, if you are a homebody and you work from home, less of that is required.  I'm not saying you have to go out and buy a new wardrobe, just pare down what you have and try to keep the stuff on the list.  (However, if you do want to get some of these things, one way to save money is to find good clothes at thrift stores-just be picky about quality-and get them tailored, which you can actually afford at thrift store prices.)  So what do you do with what you're keeping?


Now that everything you own fits and is appropriate for your current lifestyle, the second part is to categorize what you have.  Separate your clothes by season, then by type (i.e. formal, casual, workout, date-wear), and finally by where they're stored when they're in season.  You will use the categories when you are putting your clothes in your drawers and closet.  It's also handy to use these categories when you're storing out of season clothes, so you can find things more easily.  There are certain ways to store clothes that will help them last longer, like sweaters do better on shelves or in drawers because hangers stretch them out.  Here's a good guide to where and how to keep your clothes.  This is another guide covering seasonal storage and other clothing care tips.  Knowing the information in these guides will help you with the next step.  You can even take the categorizing a step further and separate the lighter and heavier weight clothes for each season, to aid in the transition from one season to another.  Now, grab the clothes for the current season and we can move on to the next step.


The third part is to optimize your closet, drawer and storage space.  I know it seems obvious, but make sure you're putting the items you use the most in the easiest places to reach and the stuff you wear once or twice a season in the harder places to get.  So if you live a mostly casual lifestyle, your dress clothes should be harder to reach in the closet, while your casual clothes are right up front.  When it comes to storing out of season clothes, especially if you live in a bi-polar weather state, make sure you store the mid-weight clothes in the easiest to access locations, so when it's a little chilly or a little warm you can easily get to the appropriate clothes.  If you wanted to go really OCD with it, you could get four storage bins in dark blue, light blue, pink, and red to indicate which temperature the clothing is intended for, but it's not necessary.  I would recommend using colors to signify differences, so you know what you're looking at at first glance.  Also, when changing seasons, transition the clothes gradually.  Pull out the mid-weight items first, then swap the more extreme temperature items once the temperature has changed more drastically.  So after all your hard work things should look pretty snazzy and organized.  The struggle now is to keep it that way.


The last part takes the most work and dedication and truly requires a blog post of its own.  This is where you figure out a laundry routine that allows you to keep up with everything.  It will have to be individualized around your typical day/week and flexible enough to withstand the occasional upheaval in your life.  The good news is, in most cases, you can do laundry while you do other things.  It's all about figuring out where to fit the different steps in or what you can fit in between the different steps, depending on how you look at it.  There's more good news!  Once you complete the first three steps you'll have way less clothing to keep track of and clean.  So I'll let you handle the first three steps and we'll get to the next part later.  Good luck!

A Special Topic Request for a Freshly Re-mommied Woman: No-poo

A quick explanation: No-poo is the best alternative I’ve found to traditional shampoo and conditioner. But let me first explain how I came to discover this option.

I have LOTS of allergies and an increased risk of cancer due to my genetic background.  One of my allergies is to anything sulfur-based.  Sulfa drugs (the antibiotics) will kill me.  The sulfites in alcohol make me a really cheap drunk and do a decent number on my stomach.  The sulfates used as food preservatives also do a number on my stomach and when they’re used in soaps I get a rash from them.  So, most shampoos have sodium lauryl/laureth sulfate in them as the foaming agent.  Most shampoos also contain parabens and or benzenes, which give you cancer.  Needless to say, I don’t want any of that.  So the only alternative that I was aware of for a long time was organic shampoos, which are $8 a bottle IF you’re lucky.  A residue was starting to build up in my hair from the organic shampoo and I was tired of spending that much.  So I researched and no-poo is what I found.

So to do the no-poo method you only need baking soda, apple cider vinegar (there’s an alternative, but I’ll get to that in a minute), water, and two cups.  Just take 1 Tbsp of baking soda and mix it into a cup with about one cup of water.  Stir this until it is basically clear.  Apply this mixture to the DRY roots of your hair and make sure your whole scalp is covered.  Leave it on for a few minutes and then rub into your scalp and rinse thoroughly.  After that, mix about an ounce of apple cider vinegar with a cup of water in the second cup.  Do not apply this to your roots.  Apply it to the ends of your hair and do not rinse.  Once you’re out of the shower, you should be able to brush through your hair with ease while it’s still wet.  (I cannot begin to describe my amazement at being able to do that, especially since my hair is most of the way down my back!)

I know not everyone likes the smell of vinegar and technically it contains sulfates.  Thus, I still needed to find an alternative.  What I found was lemon juice.  (Yes, I’m on lemons again!  ;))  It’s the same instructions, just use lemon juice instead of apple cider vinegar.  It smells way better, too, in my opinion.  Speaking of alternatives, for those of you concerned about aluminum, you can always use aluminum-free baking soda instead.  Slightly more expensive, but your health is worth it, right?!

I cannot stop singing the praises of the no-poo method!  My hair has never looked better.  There’s no residue build up, so long as you make sure to really, really rinse out the baking soda.  I’ve also found that you don’t have to wash your hair as often using this method.  What’s not to love?!  You are saving your health and your money and the environment all at the same time.

Now, the only thing I can't really report on the no-poo method is how it works on ethnic hair.  I am white and none of my non-white friends has tried it and shared their results with me.  Perhaps some of you wonderful readers out there know or are willing to try it and let me know?  That would be awesome!  I'd love to be able to share more information on this topic.  Happy no-pooing!

No Need for Lemonade: Lemons Are Awesome!

If you're looking for non-toxic and inexpensive solutions, the lemon is your new best friend.  It can be used for everything from skin and hair care to cleaning!  Let's start with skin and hair...

So, let's say you have acne.  I know, not something you want to pretend if you don't or admit if you do, but just go with me on this.  The treatments you find in stores often contain highly toxic chemicals and half the time they don't even work.  Then there's the fact that a lot of them don't do anything for the scars left behind.  If you apply lemon juice to your face three times a day (yes, straight lemon juice on a cotton ball), not only will it take care of your acne, but it will also help fade the scars left behind.  An added plus for women with a fuzzy upper lip is that it will also bleach out your lip hair, but not too much like the chemical treatments do. It's also a GREAT hair conditioner.  Just mix 1 oz lemon juice with 1/4 cup water and pour it into your hair after shampooing (or no-pooing, but I'll cover that later) and leave it in.  All of this for so much less money AND you aren't paying with your health!  What's not to love?!

Cleaning with lemons is not only effective, but it's green, too!  They are antibacterial, without going overboard like most of the antibacterial products on the market.  (More and more evidence is coming out showing antibacterial products are helping to create super bugs, especially in combination with our general overuse of antibiotics.)  Lemon is good for cleaning multiple surfaces, such as: copper, counter tops, floors, laundry, drains and pretty much anything else you can think of.  So, the easiest way to clean with lemon is to cut it in half, dip one half in salt and then scrub whatever you're wanting to clean.  You can also add it to vinegar (another wonderful cleaning agent) in a spray bottle, which neutralizes the vinegar smell.  You can pour lemon juice in the wash to help remove stains from whites.  You can also put some rind down the drain or disposal to help with bad odors or you can just pour hot water and lemon juice down it.  This way of cleaning is especially good if you have small children or pets who are on the floor a lot.  No need to worry about accidental poisonings with lemons.

The great thing is this is just the beginning of the list of uses for lemons.  All it takes is a little googling and you'll love lemons as much as I do!  Peace, love and green cleaning!