For those of you without a tumble drier...

I have a related question: does no one actually wash their duvets?  We have severe dust mite allergies [we aren't moving over for two more years], and have synthetic down duvets that we wash EVERY WEEK [two weeks if we're feeling lazy, but that usually ends up badly] or we can't breathe.  Has anyone had issues with washing these? How long will they take to dry?  We use a line, but we live in the deep south and the heat dries everything super fast.
Thanks

Certainly not every week, but I do get ours washed a couple of times a year. It's a king-size duvet, however, that doesn't fit in our machine so I have to take it somewhere to be laundered and then just pick it up. You might try that if you're having trouble drying them in time.

I have a related question: does no one actually wash their duvets?  We have severe dust mite allergies [we aren't moving over for two more years], and have synthetic down duvets that we wash EVERY WEEK [two weeks if we're feeling lazy, but that usually ends up badly] or we can't breathe.  Has anyone had issues with washing these? How long will they take to dry?  We use a line, but we live in the deep south and the heat dries everything super fast.
Thanks

Of course we wash the duvet.  Mine is done on an as needed basis.  Mine are down so they are hard to stuff into the machine but shrink down small when wet so wash well at home.  I have two (one on the guest bed) so it's okay if not dry the same day.

Thanks for the advice everyone. I found this item on Amazon.co.uk, and am thinking about buying it. Despite the very high price, it might be worth it to take the headache out of the laundry chore.



We have a wool duvet/comforter that we will be bringing with us, and it cannot be washed as the wool would get ruined. We also have dust mite allergies, and from what research I've done, wool helps reduce dust mites. We just need to air it out every so often and that's it.

We have a wool duvet/comforter that we will be bringing with us, and it cannot be washed as the wool would get ruined. We also have dust mite allergies, and from what research I've done, wool helps reduce dust mites. We just need to air it out every so often and that's it.

Ours is just plain down, but even so I do like to air it out as well. It was out on the line all day today - I firmly believe in a good airing! 

Ours is just plain down, but even so I do like to air it out as well. It was out on the line all day today - I firmly believe in a good airing! 

Grr. Everybody but me is allergic to feathers as well, so down is out.  I love our duvets, and we have two for each bed because we have to change them so often, but still: I don't fancy having sheets hanging up all over our house every day.  This is going to be a difficult adjustment for me

Grr. Everybody but me is allergic to feathers as well, so down is out.  I love our duvets, and we have two for each bed because we have to change them so often, but still: I don't fancy having sheets hanging up all over our house every day.  This is going to be a difficult adjustment for me

I understand the feeling. Its these seemingly small domestic chores that I worry will give me the hardest time adjusting to. We tried living in Scotland back in 2011, for a short period of time, and it was the domestic chores I had the most complaints about.  We don't have the money to buy a home (and won't have that money for many years), so will need to make do with what we can find in rentals.

Storage is my next little 'stressor.' The 2bd flat my OH has found doesn't seem to have much of it, so I'm wondering where we store the towels, the extra sheets & blankets, our suitcases, etc..I've already pared down our household goods to less than 60 cubic ft (not including packing material), and I don't think I can go less than that, without giving away collectible/knick-knack/sentimental items (that we've purchased over 9yrs of marriage) we'd really like to keep.

Wish this moving thing was sooo much easier!

I understand the feeling. Its these seemingly small domestic chores that I worry will give me the hardest time adjusting to. We tried living in Scotland back in 2011, for a short period of time, and it was the domestic chores I had the most complaints about.  We don't have the money to buy a home (and won't have that money for many years), so will need to make do with what we can find in rentals.

Storage is my next little 'stressor.' The 2bd flat my OH has found doesn't seem to have much of it, so I'm wondering where we store the towels, the extra sheets & blankets, our suitcases, etc..I've already pared down our household goods to less than 60 cubic ft (not including packing material), and I don't think I can go less than that, without giving away collectible/knick-knack/sentimental items (that we've purchased over 9yrs of marriage) we'd really like to keep.

Wish this moving thing was sooo much easier!

Oh lordy.  I'm not leaving my furniture or anything, but we should be able to afford a three bedroom house in most areas.  And we wouldn't live in London unless the pay was too good to refuse--in which case I'd just store some of our larger items [granted, we don't have many] for the duration. And I'd pay for laundry service, lol. I just keep telling myself: I live in a 1400 sq ft house, but each room is 'too big' for the belongings we have [I've already pared down, we have loads of floor space, and we aren't keeping any of our crappy, bulky but not tall enough book cases].  I'm going to go nuts with storage, though. I NEED my christmas decorations. Hubs says most houses will have a loft. Here's hoping

Oh and a tip from a friend who used to live in London who I know here: Fold Fold Fold clothing, so you don't have to waste hanging space, and HANG spare sheets and duvet covers Good luck!

Storage is my next little 'stressor.' The 2bd flat my OH has found doesn't seem to have much of it, so I'm wondering where we store the towels, the extra sheets & blankets, our suitcases, etc..

For the last couple of years, I lived in a tiny 2-bed end of terrace house, with basically no storage space at all.

My towels, sheets, blankets and other bedding were stored in the boiler cupboard and my suitcases were stored under my bed.

I also had a small understairs cupboard, which housed my bicycle, a chest freezer and various cardboard boxes and DIY odds and ends (paint, garden tools, hammer/screwdrivers etc.).

We live in a (too) big Victorian terrace so you'd think there would be loads of storage.  But none of it it particularly useful.  Previous owners put built-in wardrobes in two of the bedrooms but they are not big enough and one is not deep enough to accommodate a normal coat hanger!  We had a back hall cupboard that was useful for coats, boots, etc. but it had to be gutted (asbestos!) and now DH wants to put a (teeny) loo in there!  So the back hall is festooned with all his jackets.  Same deal with the useful airing cupboard where we kept linens -- ripped apart by plumbers and then asbestos removal.  We have a finished attic room but it's been wrecked by countless roof leaks.  Basement full of junk that should have been tossed eons ago.  Garage full of boxes and bags waiting to go to Oxfam.  I try to throw something out every day 

 

Storage is my next little 'stressor.' The 2bd flat my OH has found doesn't seem to have much of it, so I'm wondering where we store the towels, the extra sheets & blankets, our suitcases, etc..

Well as ksand24 says, suitcases under the bed -  (hopefully you have a bed that will fit suitcases under them) - and suitcasees - they're a great place to store all those extra towels, sheets, blankets, etc.

You have to get much more creative with storage and it can be done. And it's kind of fun to think about how you can live smaller!  I'm living in a small double bedroom only, pared down from a 2 bedroom flat, and it's actually amazing how much you can fit into a small space.  (though to be fair, a lot of my huge stuff like furniture, books ,records, kitchenware- are in a storage locker at the moment)

Check out for some more ideas:
http://www.ikea.com/ms/en_US/rooms_ideas/small_spaces/
http://tlc.howstuffworks.com/home/10-small-space-storage-solutions.htm
http://www.bhg.com/decorating/small-spaces/strategies/
    

Thanks for the advice everyone. I found this item on Amazon.co.uk, and am thinking about buying it. Despite the very high price, it might be worth it to take the headache out of the laundry chore.

That's the airer we have - though I think we paid £80 from Lakeland rather than going through Amazon.

Luckily, I do have a drier..but, I prefer to air dry when possible.  However, I want that stuff to dry asap.  I put the clothes on a std drying rack in a closed bedroom with a dehumidifier.  The clothes are dry in a few hours.  This machine is a god send..esp in the damp winter months.   http://www.ebacdirect.com/product.php?productid=27

Oh lordy.  I'm not leaving my furniture or anything, but we should be able to afford a three bedroom house in most areas.  And we wouldn't live in London unless the pay was too good to refuse--in which case I'd just store some of our larger items [granted, we don't have many] for the duration. And I'd pay for laundry service, lol. I just keep telling myself: I live in a 1400 sq ft house, but each room is 'too big' for the belongings we have [I've already pared down, we have loads of floor space, and we aren't keeping any of our crappy, bulky but not tall enough book cases].  I'm going to go nuts with storage, though. I NEED my christmas decorations. Hubs says most houses will have a loft. Here's hoping

Not all furniture will fit in a UK house.  Most second or third bedrooms here are "box" rooms, so 6'' something by 6''.  And I don't even think a US sofa would fit through my front door.

Not all furniture will fit in a UK house.  Most second or third bedrooms here are "box" rooms, so 6'' something by 6''.  And I don't even think a US sofa would fit through my front door.

Yeah - for the last 2 years, my wardrobe was in my living room because we could not get it up the stairs . We just about managed to get a single bed frame up the stairs (slatted base with legs taken off), but there was not enough room for my 4-foot bed to go up (it wasn't even a double-sized bed) - we had to take it all apart, unscrew every slat, and carry them up all individually, before putting the bed back together again in the bedroom.

I had two bedrooms in the house, but the second room was so small that there was only just enough room for a single bed, but no other furniture - there was about a foot of space between the bed and the opposite wall, so no room for a bedside table, and only about 1.5 feet of space at the end of the bed, so no room for a wardrobe or anything else.

Not all furniture will fit in a UK house.  Most second or third bedrooms here are "box" rooms, so 6'' something by 6''.  And I don't even think a US sofa would fit through my front door.

Don't say never! I brought two US sofas, a US queen-size bed, a double and a single - and everything fit in my three-bed cottage.