Laundry Tips for Living Abroad

I just finished two large loads of laundry, and I started thinking, "I wish I had known ____ about doing laundry before I got here." I actually did search the internet a lot to find lists and helpful hints, but I guess nothing replaces old fashioned experience.

So, I'm going to share with you what I've learned so far. Lucky you :)

1. Check the tags of your clothes before you leave your country, and only bring clothes that you can wash. I brought one of my favorite sweaters with me, but I had not worn in in a year and failed to remember that it is supposed to be dry cleaned. I would wear it a few times before retiring it, but I somehow came home smelling like a cigarette that night.

2. Bring clothes that are easy to wash. My washing machine (like every other appliance in the house) does not have any word labels. Instead, there are just a bunch of random pictures that don't really make much sense. Thus, I still haven't conquered the gentle/hand-wash cycle.

3. Learn how to hand-wash clothes. I've been using the washing machine for towels, t-shirts, pjs, etc., but I've noticed that things have started to come out a little misshapen. (I obviously haven't figured out how to change the spin speed either.) I now hand-wash if there is the slightest doubt as to how it will hold up in the washer.

4. Pack clothes that dry quickly! There is no dryer in our apartment, as is the case in most apartments in Spain (and probably most of Europe). Everything must be hung up to dry, and this just isn't always easy when you have 3 girls living together. As you can probably imagine, there are clothes hanging out 85% of the time.

5. Invest in a drying rack... well, if you will be there for an extended amount of time. A lot of clotheslines are on a balcony, but ours is in a dark alley. You never know, this could be the case with you as well. I just don't like the idea of my clothes hanging to dry in a dark damp alley. Honestly, it seems germy to me. When I can, I put my drying rack and wet clothes on the balcony (the sun is good for killing germs). However, most of the time it's just sitting in our hallway. It's really funny when people just stop by and the first thing they see is our underwear hanging in front of them.

6. Wear clothes more than once before washing! It may seem obvious, but so many people just won't do this. A lot of times your clothes don't really get dirty after one wear. For instance, wear your jeans at least 5 or 6 times before you wash them. I actually wash my jeans maybe maybe twice a month, and I wear them almost every day. Some people (ahem, Lucinda) think this is dirty, but you're probably not going to be rolling around in mud. And really, noone notices. Plus, the more you wash your jeans, the quicker they get thin, frayed, and just plain worn-out.

That's all I can think of right now. This is kind of a lame post, but let's just say it's part of my "helpful hints" series.