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Classy Southern Texan

       

     

 
 
Welcome to this week's edition of Laundry Talk Tuesday. Today, I am sharing some tips on how to sort your laundry. I am sharing some great laundry hamper for sorting also and just how to prevent your clothes from bleeding/dying and just how much sorting you should do.


At my house, all of our laundry goes into two hampers that I bought from Target years ago. They are wicker and I think we have had them close to 7-8 years. They have held up, they are wicker on the outside and then have a fabric liner in the inside (yes you should wash this occasionally.)
People ask me all the time how they should sort their laundry. How much is too much and why can't I just throw it all together in one load? I know many people who do their laundry daily and mix together darks, lights, towels, etc. I DO NOT recommend this for many reasons.
1) your once white clothes may turn red, pink or even blue
2) your white will appear dingy or dirty
3) your clothes make shrink
ALWAYS, ALWAYS, ALWAYS read your labels. This is one of the easiest ways to sort your laundry. Some labels say hand wash, some say cold with like colors and some mention laying flat to dry.

Another quick way to sort clothes is by color, fabrics and weight (towels, sweaters, etc.)

Before you start washing your clothes....


Some people prefer to wash their clothes all on one day typically the weekends and other wash different loads on different days.
If you are one of those who choose one day a week to do all your laundry, I recommend sorting as you wear your clothes. Use a laundry hamper with sections or get 3-4 hampers for each load you plan to do.
If your hamper doesn't have labels create them. The most common are whites, darks, towels and jeans. You can even create a section for dry cleaning so this isn't just laying on the floor of your closet.
Pre-sorting will make your laundry seem less of a chore!

Laundry Hamper
Hamper

Step One

If you are familiar with your clothing items you may be able to skip this step...
Read each care label on each piece of clothing, on the label you will find how the item can be washed, sometimes even at what temperature and how it should be dried.
If an item says wash separately or hand wash put it in its on individual pile.
If an item says dry clean only, then DRY CLEAN ONLY!!!

Step Two

Once you have your hand wash and dry clean items separated sort into color piles
1) white, pastel, greys, etc
2) dark- black, red, navy, brown
3) jeans
4) towels (white/color)

Step Three

Once separated into lights and darks you may want to separate further and do tops, pants, underwear/lingerie

Step Four

I like to put my bras and underwear in lingerie bags...you can find these several place for no more than 10 dollars. These items are expensive and you want to keep them lasting for years

Step Five

Wash, Dry, Fold, Repeat

What laundry tips can you share that save you both time and money? Comment below


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Tuesday, March 20, 2018 2 comments

Why a Laundrymat?


Many people have been asking why a laundrymat? What made you decide to go into the family business? As a woman can you do it?

laundry mat

What made you decide to go into the family business?

After 8 years of teaching third grade and being a school librarian this past March, I made a huge switch. I along with my husband decided to dive into the world of laundry mats. My father likes to call himself a textile maintenance engineer.

40 + years ago my father, along with his grandfather (my great grandfather) and my dads father (my grandfather) they decided that Killeen, TX needed a laundrymat. My great grandfather was in the construction business along with his son and another local friend.



At the age of 25 my dad build his first location, over the years he has built and bought multiple laundrymats throughout our city. I remember being in middle school and helping him build one of our locations. I was just 11 years old and in the 6th grade. He was building the store just a block away and I remember many long hours spent there while he laid floor, installed plumbing, ran electricity and the like. I remember learning about welding and realizing that having a laundrymat is so much more than just dirty clothes.



In high school, I was known as the girl whose family owned local laundrymats. My father has coined literally the phrase we "make our living a quarter at a time." Not much has changed in over 40 years of ownership. It still cost 25 cents to start a dryer and we have no washers that cost over 8 dollars for a load. WOW 8 dollars seems high however, this one washer can hold over 90 pounds of your clothing.


As a woman can you do it?

The answer is YES! This is just not a man's occupation anymore. We pride ourselves on the fact that we do fix all of our machines. Recently I helped my father lay tile at one of my stores, we can fix the fan in the hot water heater.

girl boss

We supply all the candy, chips and sodas to our vending machines. I can clean up water on the floor or fix a machine when a sock is caught in the door.

If a dryer isn't getting hot enough, yes I can flip a switch and make sure the flame is igniting.

I can unstop a sewer line.

Is it a pretty job no! I don't get to wear fun jewelry or heels but I do enjoy every moment of everyday and have found something that makes me happy!

YES it is a messy job, but YES I can do it. Everyday, I constantly have something new to face. Everyday I am learning something new.

The biggest thing I have learned is that 99 percent of problems are really not that big a deal in the grand o scheme of things. It can be fixed or you can get the part in a matter of days.


laundry mat
Tuesday, February 20, 2018 2 comments

The Great Debate Top Loader vs Front Loader

 
top vs front loader
 

I recently did a Facebook Poll of my friends/family and was surprised to see that many of them preferred a top loader to a front loader.

 
 
My family has owned laundry mats for the past 40 years and overtime seen the shift from customers and personal friends using top loaders to converting to front loaders over the past 10 years. Today it seems that in Lowes, Home Depot, Sears, etc. you tend to see more front loaders and this is the new trend in washers/dryers.

 

My parents personally own top loaders and always have. I owned a top loader the first 8 years of my marriage and recently switched this year. We now have a front loader and I have been very happy with. My main complaint with my top loader was how long a cycle took, knowing water was essentially just standing in the tub for a long period of time and how loud it was when going into the spin cycle. If you have ever noticed top loaders tend to shake, rattle and roll as I like to call it on the spin cycle. This is typically due to being overloaded. I will never forget one of the first arguments I had with my husband. He decided to wash about 12 pairs of jeans in one load the machine was unbalanced and wouldn’t finish the cycle. He argued with me saying it could handle the load as I shifted the jeans around to balance the machine again. I walked away saying, “my family has been in the business 40 years I know what I am taking about.”

 

With top loaders you have the advantage of being able to

 
Soak your clothes before the cycle begins

Adding items to you cycle

Life expectancy and cost of repairs is less

Purchase price is less

 

With front loaders you have the advantages of


Much gentler wash cycles

Water and energy savings, they use far less water

Detergent savings, you don’t need as much

front vs top water usage
 

Front loaders have a different washing action, which tumbles your clothes in an up and down motion similar to hand washing. Top loaders use a central agitator which moves your clothes in a circle and causes more wear and tear of clothes getting caught.

The main complaint I hear with front loaders is the smell! With some extra care you can eliminate these smells. The main causes of the smells are the humidity that stays in the washer. We are used to leaving the lid of a top loader open and this remains true for a front loader, keep the door open. Because of the lower water level in a front loader you may see excess grime and dirt build up. To prevent this from happening follow these simple steps...

Leave the door and dispenser unit open after the laundry is done

Never leave a wet load in the washer overnight or for several hours

After a load is done rotate the drum with you hand, things could stick to the top and sides of the washer drum

Use softener sheets in the dryer vs using fabric softener in the washer

Liquid detergent is better than powered formulas

Dry the washer door and seal after each load

You can also buy products like afresh to run though the cycle

I personally prefer to turn my machine to the sanitize cycle and run some vinegar though it when I notice a smell. I have had my personal front loader since March and have never noticed a strong smell from it.

Front loaders spin your cycle much faster which allows you to cut your dry time exponentially.
 

Which do you prefer and why?


 
Wednesday, January 31, 2018 2 comments

I love this!!! I never truly learned how to IRON and strongly dislike folding laundry (tshirts ahhh). However, our family business is laundry mats so I wanted to share a couple good tips and tricks!!!



People ask me all the time, why did my clothes shrink?!?! Number 1 if you wash your clothes in HOT water they will probably shrink!!! I tell everyone to wash everything in COLD water, expect towels and sheets which you should wash on HOT. The water temperature in the washer is what shrinks your clothes. Always make sure you read labels!!! A dryer temperature does not shrink clothes...I repeat it is not the DRYER!!!


The best way to save TIME when needing to do multiple loads of laundry is to make sure you SORT everything first. I like to sort my
1) TOWELS this sometimes can be more than one load if you have light and dark towels
2) Lights (greys, beiges, khaki pants)
3) Darks (reds, purples, blues, greens)
4) Sheets
5) Delicates (I suggest using laundry bags for lingerie, bras, etc.)
6) Active Wear (let's be honest it stinks) I am saving some tips for washing active wear for another blog post


If going to a laundry mat it is best to buy soap in advance. At our local TX locations we provide detergent however it is 1 dollar per box. This can get expensive if you have multiple loads and we may not have the brand you prefer. Come prepared, you are most likely going to spend 2-3 hours doing laundry on a weekday/weekend so you want to make sure you have everything you need. 


If possible try to use a front loading washer over a top loader!! Front loader use a ton less WATER!!! A lot of people complain about the smells in front loading washers and mold and mildew. Stay tuned to learn some tips and tricks on this also!!
Thursday, January 18, 2018 3 comments
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Hi y'all! I'm Kelli, and I love all things Texan, Southern, and of course, Classy. Take a look around the blog to find more details on travels we take, sales I find on my favorite brands, and links I love to share. Thanks for visiting!

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