In my previous post I mentioned washing those navy tops I had worn last week. Laundry is my job around here and there is a darn good reason. My OCD kicks in big time when it’s time to do laundry. I am very particular about the way laundry gets done.
I separate everything into detailed piles. There is a pile for each: dark knits, dark cottons, light knits, light cottons. I put all the jeans/denim in a pile. Terry’s dress shirts go in another. (We don’t send them to the cleaners.) Towels are done on a separate day. Sheets on another. My underwear is done in a mini handwash load. Terry’s underwear is all cotton and goes into another load on warm wash/warm rinse. Most of the load are done with cold wash/cold rinse. I use Woolite for most clothing loads with a small amount of Downey fabric softener. Seventh Generation is the other brand of detergent that I use for towels, sheets, and jeans, and none of these products have color or scent.
As for drying, I’m just as uptight. Most loads are dried on low heat for minimum amount of time. I hang underwear to dry and most loads of clothes come out slightly damp so the items are hung to finish drying. That goes pretty quickly in our hot, dry summers, but in winter in can take overnight to get the items dry. Terry’s underwear, the sheets, and the towels all dry to completion in the dryer.
Our clothes last for decades, and I think much of the reason is due to my super diligence with laundry. Terry worked with a man who had a striped shirt just like his. Terry’s remained dark and in good condition for many years and just recently he started using it for a gardening shirt. The other man’s shirt became faded within a short time. Terry always figured it was because I washed his in cold water.
About a year ago our washer died. It was 10 years old and when Terry had the repairman out, it was determined the motor was shot and that it would cost $300 to repair. Terry said we’d buy a new washer. I started investigating washing machines and found that to replace the one we have that has all these special washes and rinses, would cost over $1000. For $600 I could get one with two speeds-gentle and regular-and three temperatures-hot, warm, cold. I called the repairman back and put in the new motor. He told me that usually they don’t recommend that on a machine as old as mine, but mine was in such good condition, otherwise, that he thought it a good idea to do so. When I explained my investigation, he agreed that washing machines with all the stuff I have would be very expensive. He said most people aren’t that particular.
