My 9 Laundry Room Must Haves
Laundry is a necessary evil on this planet. With a family of five, it’s NEVER ending. Stains, dirty clothes, clean clothes, gym bags, school bags, cleaning supplies, utility items, you name it, the laundry room is a hard working room. Here a couple weapons that help me in battle.
CleverMade Collapsable Laundry Basket - I hate staring at an ugly, big plastic basket that takes up precious space. Especially for the 7 seconds when my laundry is DUN. Or when I am pretending it’s done when guests come over. This basket is not only more attractive, but MOST importantly, it collapses in a snap. Literally. And not like some other ones that “collapse”, but only after ten minutes of disassembly and three f-bombs. You literally tap the sides and it lays super flat. You can slide it between your washer and dryer, under a cabinet, or even just leave it flat on the counter. See the video below. That’s me happy dancing, over a laundry basket. Sad.
Budieggs Wool Dryer Balls- These are 100% natural fabric softeners. I have never been a dryer sheet gal. Mostly, out of laziness. That’s next level lazy, I know. So, I did not think I was gonna be a match for these when a friend recommended them. Here is what got me: You can add essential oils to them. Soft, sweet smelling laundry that comes from natural sources? That’s a boho-domestic win if I’ve ever heard one. The label says they shorten dryer time. You’d have to get your clothes out of the dryer in less than 2.5 days to know if that’s true. So I couldn’t tell ya. It does eliminate dryer sheets which are no bueno for the environment. LOVE.
I just leave my “BALLS” in the dryer and leave my lavender oil right there. Laziness in tact. Phew. I bought this Lavender Essential Oil- It’s 100% therapeutic grade lavender oil. I use some fancier oils for our bodies and in our diffuser, but this one is a really good value for mass amounts of laundry. I put three drops on each ball. The entire laundry room smells so good. Oh yeah, the clothes do to. And soft. Side note: the vent of our dryer opens to the outside of our house close to our trash cans. Double win- now our trash smells good. Those are some powerful balls :)
We also store our essential oils in a drawer in our laundry room. Just in case that’s where you keep yours, I love these wooden display cases. Keeps them in place and on display.
SoilLove Stain Remover - This stuff is magic. When introduced to it, I was told a lot of baseball mamas use it. I won’t bore you with the gruesome details of all the bodily fluids that come along with three kids ranging from 2 to 8, but this one hasn’t met its match yet. Warning: This is a stain sledgehammer. And what I mean, is, you can literally smell the chemicals when you open the bottle. So do I use it on my baby’s blankets and bedding? No way. But I am using it for blueberry smoothie bombs, spaghetti mishaps, blood, grass stains, etc. It’s my big gun. Cover the stain and put it right in with your other laundry. It’s CRAZY how well it works! . Here is the kicker, I found this at the 99 cent store which is now where I buy it in bulk. But the link here is for amazon in case you don’t have one near by. Amazeballs.
Zero Odor- This is a new find for me and I will be buying a bigger bottle next time. Boys smell. It’s true. Adult ones and child ones alike. I’ve been shooting this stuff in the laundry pull out, my son’s baseball gear, kid’s backpacks and husband’s gym bag. Odor MASKING sprays completely creep me out. I think bouquet-smelling-funk is worse than straight-up funk. Zero Odor kills odor because it actually eliminates the cause of it. Oh my GAWD, that’s so satisfying. BYE felicia.
Dreft Stain Remover- this is spot treatment that I’d use on just about anything, but especially things I’d like to keep the strong chemicals away from, like my toddlers blankets/sheets. It has all plant-based ingredients, no dyes, but somehow works like the strong stuff. You spray stain and let it sit a couple minutes.
We are camping this weekend and I’ve already carved out my Sunday for the laundry BOMB that will be occurring. In the past I’ve been too scared to do anything but spot clean our down jackets. Maybe that’s a California handicap? My kids and husband do A LOT of camping through our local Adventure Guides/Princess programs. What I learned: campfire STANK is no joke. My hubs found a down wash kit from Grangers that we are loving. Stick those down jackets right in the machine. Dry on low heat for an hour with their dryer balls. So puffy and so clean!! Just like new. Works on down sleeping bags too.
Spinning Storage Containers. We use these clear storage turntables in all of our upper cabinets for just about anything. In the laundry room, we use it for sunscreen, batteries and cleaning supplies. You can see all your stuff with the spin of a finger. These are the definition of multi-functional. Warning, you will continue to find uses for these throughout the house. Buy a couple and save yourself the effort.
I hope that I have tricked you into thinking I am a domestic goddess. I am not. It’s more about laziness and products that make my life easier. In this room, these are my current favs. I hope that some of them do the trick for you too. Happy laundering.