Cost of laundry and dry-cleaning

I do the laundry to save our clothes!!!  Rich is horrible at it, but he does the ironing, he loves it!

My dad always did the laundry at my parents house, he still does.

If you have a good drying rack, you won't have stuff hanging off the heaters and such. My drying rack can handle a king-sized duvet (although the washing machine is too small for such an item so I have to take it to a laundrette).   As it is, we have electric storage heaters (horrid, but this is a rental flat), so can't hang items to dry off them. 

You can also put drying racks about your windows in your home.  We have one that goes across our bedroom window.  We hang tops off it on hangers to dry in the breeze. 

This will make me totally crazy.  I love my bed linens to dry outside, but not my clothes.  They get too hard and scratchy. 
~Liza

You learn to use LOTS of fabric softener and to iron your jeans.  Honestly, I rarely have scratchy things cause the detergent and softener do work well...and anything that feels at all scratchy gets ironed.  While it's a pain to have stuff all over, you get used to it (or find somewhere to put it which won't drive you mad).

I do have a really wonderful rack I bought from an Amish company in Ohio.  If you are looking for REALLY good racks, these are the best.  I don't know if they ship overseas, so you may have to have a family member ship it to you, but they are the best made I've found.

http://www.lehmans.com/index.jsp

They cater to the Amish who don't use appliances as Americans do so they have tons of stuff for doing laundry and just living in general, the "old fashioned" way.  

~Liza

Here's mine:

http://www.lakelandlimited.com/is-bin/INTERSHOP.enfinity/eCS/Store/en/-/GBP/DisplayProductInformation-Start;sid=88KRxEBFX-A9lQLtrSWawuiFOM4cGKfppfw=?ProductID=AjHAqAYUkq4AAAEBN7%2earYqa

Here's mine:

http://www.lakelandlimited.com/is-bin/INTERSHOP.enfinity/eCS/Store/en/-/GBP/DisplayProductInformation-Start;sid=88KRxEBFX-A9lQLtrSWawuiFOM4cGKfppfw=?ProductID=AjHAqAYUkq4AAAEBN7%2earYqa

Wow, that is major!!!   

It does the job, Stacey!  It's worth every penny.  Got it as an Xmas pressie.  Lurves it!

It does the job, Stacey!  It's worth every penny.  Got it as an Xmas pressie.  Lurves it!

Yeah, sent it to Rich, we just got our washer fixed today though, so might have to wait a bit.  I love it though!!!!

You can wheel it outside as well, or in front of the heater in wind or rain.  It's nice and sturdy. 

You can wheel it outside as well, or in front of the heater in wind or rain.  It's nice and sturdy. 

Now you are just teasing me!!!!

It holds not one but TWO loads from our washer, Stacey, so you don't get that annoying backlog that results when the first load is occupying space on the rack or line.  Instead, you can actually be caught up w/the washing on a permanent basis, all dried at once. 

And you can spread all the clothes out, so they don't get so wrinkly.  I mist them lightly with lavender water for the extra fresh scent as well  .

Just a quick press with the steam iron and they're ready to go . . .

It holds not one but TWO loads from our washer, Stacey, so you don't get that annoying backlog that results when the first load is occupying space on the rack or line.  Instead, you can actually be caught up w/the washing on a permanent basis, all dried at once. 

And you can spread all the clothes out, so they don't get so wrinkly.  I mist them lightly with lavender water for the extra fresh scent as well  .

Just a quick press with the steam iron and they're ready to go . . .

OK, maybe I should just go get it then!!!!

  My question is, how in the world do you do laundry in your KITCHEN?  Where do you iron?  Where do you fold stuff, or put your cleaning supplies?  I iron every day and have my board set up in my sewing room.  I think the laundry arrangements in England will be one of my largest adjustments.

~Liza

My washing machine is a washer/dryer.  You will hear people say that these are complete crap, but all i can tell you is that i have one, I use it, and i almost NEVER have to iron anything!      I honestly dont understand why expats hate them so much (i've never heard anyone except expats complain about them)... i 'couldnt live' without mine! (slight exaggeration, but you know what im saying!)

My washer dryer is plumbed in next to my kitchen sink.
I keep my washing powder (Bold Lavender & Camomile, with built-in fabric softener) in the cupboard under the sink, where i keep all my other cleaning supplies.
I wash the clothes, and then i take half the wet clothes out... put half in the laundry basket, which is sat on the floor in front of the machine, and leave the other half in, then switch on the dryer (the washer and dryer are built in to the same unit).   
When the first lot is dry, i take it out, fold the stuff that needs folded (while sitting or kneeling on the kitchen floor).   The stuff that cant be folded and needs to be hung up while still warm, i run up the stair really quick and hang them in the (built-in) wardrobes (they *DO* exist!!).   
Then I  put the 2nd half of the clothes in to be dried.   When both lots are dry, i take them up the stair and put everything away.

Well - it sounds like it's all possible with a bit of organization and planning.  I'm sure I will crab about it for awhile until I'm used to it though.   

~Liza

   
When the first lot is dry, i take it out, fold the stuff that needs folded (while sitting or kneeling on the kitchen floor).   

Sitting on the kitchen floor also provides an opportunity to check out any low-level cleaning that needs to be done! 
Works for me!