Comments on: I’m Doing Laundry!

By: Maggie

Maggie — Sun, 17 Feb 2008 20:48:50 +0000

Jenn, I feel your pain. You could try calling Paypal and disputing the payment. I tried but got put on hold for a long time and was pretty late in calling so I didn’t see it through. Or you could just wait it out. I believe she’s not trying to screw anyone over but she just has terrible business skills. It’s frustrating. Good luck.

By: Jenn

Jenn — Sun, 17 Feb 2008 06:46:31 +0000

I am currently experiencing a problem with Mugwort Maggie’s myself. I placed an order on January 14th after receiving a product sample in sample box. A month later I haven’t received my product, and I can not get a response to any of my emails.

By: Maggie

Maggie — Sat, 16 Feb 2008 02:52:39 +0000

Thank you Alder & Dana for your drying tips!
We’ll probably put a drying rack on our wedding registry (the nice ones seem rather pricey) and I’m definitely going to look into some retractable clotheslines. I am guessing it will have to be put in a wall stud so it doesn’t rip out the drywall since wet clothes tend to be heavy…. I’ll keep you posted.

By: Dana

Dana — Fri, 15 Feb 2008 18:45:19 +0000

When I lived in Japan, I used the cold-water-wash, hang-dry system, because dryers are really, really rare there, unless you go to a professional laundromat. To dry my clothes, I got a collapsible indoor drying rack, (kind of like this one,) and I had this little hanging square with a bunch of clothespins attached to it that I used for socks. This worked well in Japan, but in part I think that had to do with how small the washer was. For American washers, you could end up with too many clothes to fit on the rack. As Alder said, the final spin cycle of the washer usually takes care of most excess water, so I never had any dripping. Things might have dried a little faster if I’d been able to put them outside, but I didn’t have a balcony or yard. One problem a friend noted was that some things, like sweaters, lost their shape after a while and needed to be run through the dryer to regain shape. Another friend said she didn’t think the cold water got her stuff as clean, so she’d add a kettle’s worth of hot water from the stove.

By: Alder

Alder — Thu, 14 Feb 2008 05:37:29 +0000

I find that the spin cycle of the washing machine gets enough water out that the clothes don’t drip– I only notice dripping if I wash something by hand.

By: Will

Will — Thu, 14 Feb 2008 03:49:25 +0000

Do you have to worry about your clothes dripping on things? We’d have a lot more options if we could dry clothes over carpet.

By: Alder

Alder — Wed, 13 Feb 2008 06:56:51 +0000

Luckily, this apartment building has a long clothesline in the basement, so that is where I hang my clothes. However, in past buildings I have had to improvise! If you use clothes-hangers, you have more options of where to hang your clothes– the shower rod works, as do doorknobs, curtain rods, and the tops of doors (this only works if you don’t mind having your clothes festooned around the house for a day).

I like to use thicker, plastic hangers (I know– plastic is so bad! But I already have the hangers– I might as well use them. . . :)) because sometimes the thin wire ones make the shoulders of knit shirts warp a little bit. You could also try using clothespins to attach the clothes to the hangers (this is also useful for skirts and pants).

Also, the hangers take up less space along a clothesline, so you could fit more items on a shorter line than if you were using clothespins. You might consider a retractable clothesline– a friend of mine has set one up in her bedroom. She pulls it out when she does laundry and reels it back up when she is done, so it doesn’t really intrude on her space too often.

By: Maggie

Maggie — Wed, 13 Feb 2008 00:24:36 +0000

Alder - will you tell me more about your clothesline/hanger system? I really do want to air dry more of my clothes but so far it has been too much of a hassle to bother with. We have a very nice closet for our washer/dryer but there’s really not room to hang up a clothesline and the only other promising space is in the bathroom, which is pretty tiny. Come April, I might put a line up outdoors but I’d love to have an indoor option.

I have only shrunk two things in my life and they were both tote bags. I also don’t sort my colors when I wash; I think my clothes are mostly old enough by the time I get them that I don’t have to worry much about shrinkage or color changes…

By: Alder

Alder — Tue, 12 Feb 2008 18:33:23 +0000

Thanks for the links to environmentally sound detergents! I also wash in cold water and wear pants and jackets multiple times (although, my sorting system mostly consists of piles on the floor). I also dry about half of my laundry on clotheshangers on a clothesline (I machine-dry socks, underwear, towels, sheets, etc). It takes a while to hang everything up, but I think it makes the clothes last longer and you never have to worry about shrinking anything

By: Liz

Liz — Sat, 09 Feb 2008 13:28:35 +0000

I have the exact same policy regarding clothes, and I also have pegs in my bedroom for the “slightly dirty” stage.

I’m enjoying your blog, keep it up!