Your (Great?) Grandmother's Laundry Secrets

Tricky Tip #1

Have you ever noticed that dusty, sad looking box on the detergent aisle that appears as if it's from a bygone era? Well that sad lonely box should be coming home with you on a regular basis. Borax is a completely natural product and kissing cousin of baking soda. I'll spare you the history (involving mules and dry lake beds) as well as the chemical analysis, and suffice it to say it's a gem of a product that changes the alkalinity of your wash water making it softer so your detergent can work better. This means you can wash at cold temperatures (good for your clothes, as well as using less energy) and still produce nice sudsy soapy water to get your clothes their cleanest! Additionally, it is also a color safe bleach alternative! Just pop half a cup in with your regular detergent. If you're using one of those whizz-bang front loading models, you can still toss in a 1/2 cup with the clothes before starting the wash - it will work just as well.

Tricky Tip #2

The snap crackle and pop coming from your laundry room is most likely NOT being caused by America's favorite breakfast cereal. In actuality, I am referring to the heartbreak of static cling. Most of us tend to use dryer sheets that smell like a summer breeze flowing through a daisy laden field of dancing unicorns that magically repel built up static. The result however is that the chemicals used can actually break down and wear out the fabric of your clothing over time (as well as potentially causing cancer or something awful like that). An alternative however is as near as your kitchen drawer. Regardless of whether you pronounce it aluminum, like an American, or aluminium, like a communist, the same product that keeps your pies from browning too quickly can also repel static cling in your dryer! Just wad up 2 balls about the size of golf balls and toss them in with your clothes. They will undoubtedly last for weeks on end, unlike those sheets I find clinging to my unmentionables. I'm not sure how or why it works, but after a month of laundry those two little balls in my dryer are still doing the trick! Now if only I could find a summer breeze to dance through with the laundry basket...