There’s laundry.
And then there’s kitchen laundry.
Meaning, wet laundry.
My mother did a great job of instilling the fear of wet laundry in me.
Not that I always handle it like I should . . . but at least I’m afraid of it.
I’ve seen wonderful ideas from people who have it more together than I do. They have special drying areas, or a basket under the sink where they put the towels and dishcloths until it’s time to wash them.
But if I had a special drying rack, it would get loaded down with every towel and dishcloth we own, until it collapsed from the weight. And a basket under the counter would just be . . . . quickly forgotten.
So, I do as my mildew-phobic mother did (and as many other mildew-phobic mothers probably did before her), and I place throw the dishcloths directly in (or on) the washing machine. Even if it’s Monday night, and they won’t get washed until . . . the next Monday. Thankfully, I have a Laundry Room door that closes, and so I can hang them over the side, spread them around, whatever . . . without them being an eyesore.
And since my first load for Laundry Day (which I try to start on Sunday night) is generally towels, they just go right into that first load.
It’s much harder for my Slob Vision to render them invisible if they’re sitting right in front of me when it’s time to do laundry.
One of the main things that people seem to freak out over when they land on this post is the casual mention of a Laundry Day. If you have laundry under control by doing a load every day or as needed, then keep doing what you’re doing. If, however, the one load a day method doesn’t work for you even though it totally should work, read this post where I explain exactly how I tried every other way I possibly could before finally accepting that Laundry Day works best for my Project Brain. If you want instructions on bringing your home out of Disaster Status, check out my book: How to Manage Your Home Without Losing Your Mind. There are two chapters on laundry in that book. One chapter explains the ins and outs of how Laundry Day works, and the other answers all the objections people have about giving it a try. I know the objections because they were my objections, too.
I also have a podcast. Here’s one where I talk about Laundry Day.
*FYI, Laundry Day probably won’t work for you if you’re on a septic system, as it may overload your system. Sorry!
Laundry is my worst chore. I dread it!
http://www.rebeccabany.com
Love your blog. I do that too (throw dishtowels in the washing machine.) And bath towels also. There's nothing worse than a stinky dishtowel on the counter and I grab it to dry my hands ~ yuck. But if I put them under the sink, I would forget about them too. So into the washing machine they go.
I do pretty much the same too. I hang rags and wet dishtowels over the agitator or the sides of the washer until they are dry, then I toss them into the bottom where they sit until I do laundry. I have never had a problem with them getting smelly in the bottom of the washer if I dry them first. I don't want to leave too many of them hanging in the washer because mine is right in my kitchen and visible from my living room (small apartment).
I do the same thing! They are lying around getting dried all over the laundry room… kitchen towels and the mop heads from my Shark Pocket Steam Mop. Although those kind of wait around for 2 weeks…. oops! Love your honesty! Thanks!
I just found your blog, and though I didn't know it, it's one I've been looking for! Thank you for being so candid and such an encourager. I agonize about the state of my home and how that so conflicts with the mission I'm on to bless my family. Bless you for sharing and exhorting others here. Thank you! 🙂
I HATE laundry. Wet cloths though I just hang over the side of the hamper. Our laundry is upstairs but we have a hamper on the main level because we generate a LOT of dirty clothes everywhere we go.
I do the same thing…my towels all sit on the washer until I have enough to wash. It works for me!
This just makes so much sense. It never occured to me to just dump them in the washing machine.
Thanks for sharing this one!
Hey! I just found your blog today and just love it. I love your idea for the kitchen towels. I live in a house with my sisters, who do their laundry as-needed, and thus, this plan will not work for me. So I offer the following alternative for people like you and I (I would also forget about a basket of towels under the sink): I have this shelf over the washer and dryer. I stuck some thumbtacks into it so they stick out, and looped some binder clips over the tacks. Then, I just hang the little towels upon a binder clip when they're used up and ready for a wash. Once it is my day off, I toss them all in with my bath towels and wash it all at once. Since they are RIGHT AT THE WASHER, I can't forget them!
That’s EXACTLY what I do! I can’t stand letting wet things sit in a bin where they’ll stay wet, but I’m also not about to hang up something dirty to dry. The washer is my go to. It drives my husband crazy, but luckily he hardly gets around to doing laundry. Which is a good thing, because nothing puts me into cold-blooded killer mode like seeing dirty rags tossed onto the floor (and if he throws them onto clean clothes left on the dryer…. Oh, lets not go there!). 😛
My Mama and I do this too. Except now my washer is outside, so I hang them on the towel bar in the shower till they dry. Then in the hamper they go.
We have a large household…so we put a 5 gallon pail right by the jiffie….all wet wash rags, dishcloths go right into that. We also go thru a TON of kleenex if available…so instead…repurpose those sweat socks with holes in the toes into nice nose rags….so those get used, and thrown into the rag pail as well….it’s hard to ignore the pail sitting right where there is a lot of activity…. so it gets washed frequently….and saves us a bundle in Kleenex, and saves the gunk of wet wash/ dish cloths in the way of a very busy washer.
I keep a bucket with napisan water mixed, toss my rags and cloths in till wash day. It’s antibacterial ? I just tip the whole lot, water and all in the machine for that load.
Is it ok to wash kitchen towels and bathroom towels together? Is that sanitary?
I solved this problem by switching to scrubber sponges. They cost $1 for a pack of 6 at the dollar store. Use once or twice and throw away. Total cost for the month about $5 and no smelly mess to deal with.
I have a mesh hanging laundry bag. I drape the new, wet towl/cloth over the edge, then shove it in when I have a new wet one to drape over the edge. It’s hung in the laundry room on a command hook.