Learn where the main water shut-off is located and how to operate it. Any water leak that you can’t control will have to be controlled by shutting off all the water until a repair is made.

 

Learn everything about operating the air conditioner/heater. This is probably the biggest energy hog you have on your electric bill. Get in the habit of turning it off or setting it to 80 degrees (Air conditioner) when no one is home. Turn off all lights, TVs, etc. when no one is home. Another energy hog is the hot water heater. If you are responsible for a hot water heater on your electric bill, find out to what temperature it heats the water hotter

 

 

Check the labels on all items and read how it should be washing and dried. Do not wash items which are supposed to be dry cleaned. These items may shrink and discolor badly in the wash, making them un wearable.

 

Check and empty all pockets. Gum, paper, and tissues don’t work well in the laundry. Nor do cell phones, ink pens, etc.

 

Separate laundry by colors: whites/light colors and dark colors. Wash these separately. Whites/lights wash in warm water. Dark colors wash in cold water. If you mix these colors in the washing machine, you may end up with the whites absorbing the dark colors released in the wash. Whites may no longer be white.

Certain laundry may need to be washed in hot water: items such as towels, bed sheets, kitchen towels, underwear. Hot water kills more germs then warm or cold water. But hot water also causes dark colors to bleed more and hot water can cause clothes to shrink more than cold water. A perfect hot water load: white towels, white tee shirts, white cotton underwear, white sheets.

 

 

The only laundry product to buy is a big jug of least expensive liquid laundry detergent. Read the instructions for how much to use and follow it. Too much detergent can cause the washing machine to overflow or stop working because of too many suds. Powder detergents can end up not fully dissolving and they are hard to use for stain treatment. Skip the following:

Trick for extracting water from a sweater (or other items hand washed): Squeeze out as much rinse water by hand as you can, then stretch out the item onto a clean dry towel. Roll up the towel and item together into one sausage-like roll, and twist it holding each end in each hand. Unroll and move the item to another clean dry towel to air dry flat. Light weight items like bras and panties can be hung to dry, but heavy bulky things will stretch out of shape when hung, so they need to lie flat to dry. (The first towel is not dirty, only wet, which can go into the dryer.)

 

 

Dryer loads are not as critical for sorting as wash loads. Colors can be mixed more freely. Things that can go wrong in the dryer: Light towel lint clinging to a black/dark garment. Sheets balling up smaller items and the smaller items not getting dry because they can’t get any air. Drying an item in a hot dryer that is supposed to be dried on low heat can shrink the items or melt parts.

 

In a Laundromat with the huge dryers, stand around and remove the things that dry quickly like sheets, cotton shirts. This will prevent the sheets from balling up the other items and it will make more room for the bulker wetter items.

 

Clean the lint filter at the beginning of every load and frequently during a load; the load will dry faster when the wet air can pass freely out of the machine.

 

Some garments do better Not going in the dryer, but drying on a hanger: bras, delicate tops/blouses, sweaters and any items that says dry on low or ‘lie flat to dry’ should not be put in a hot dryer. These same items wash well in a sink by hand, instead of a washing machine.

 

 

Try to own clothes that do not need ironing: knits, jeans, permanent press pants and shirts. This makes life simpler. Men’s shirts and pants come Permanent  Press or No-iron. Choose these when you can if you need that crisp look.

 

An old saying: “A place for everything and everything in its place.” Adopt this and your life will be more organized and you won’t lose many things.

 

Everything you own should have its place. Clothes go in certain drawers, boxes, or a place in the closet. Dirty clothes go in their own basket, bag , box or pile. Food and dishes go in the kitchen in assigned places. Towels and grooming items go in the bathroom, etc. If everything is put back in its place, your home stays neat and you know where things are.

 

Same with your backpack, wallet, purse, or pockets. Keys should be placed in the same place every time…. A secure zippered compartment in your backpack/purse is best. ID card, money, etc. should be in the same place in your wallet/purse every time. Important things like ID’s, driver’s license, money should have their specific spot and should always be there.

 

When you come home your backpack/purse should be placed in the same place every time, maybe next to the front door. Empty your pockets next to your bed or next to your backpack/purse, before putting your clothes in your dirty clothes pile and before going to bed. Always the next morning you know exactly where everything is that you might need when you leave.

 

Further, f you know you must remember to take something new with you the next day, such as a book or completed form, place that item next to your purse/backpack before going to bed. Maybe you want to remember to take some food for lunch, place a little note by your backpack/purse.

 

Everyone experiences these moments when a lot s happening at once in a strange place and our minds are racing and being distracted. This trick helps organize us to keep up with our stuff.

 

Example: you go into a place where an employee asks to see your ID. You hand her your ID, and she takes it into her possession, asks you to fill out some forms. Assuming you took this Id from your wallet, hold your wallet in your hand the whole time she has you ID, even while you are filling out the forms. Do not put your wallet away until she has returned your ID and you return that ID to its place in your wallet. This sounds a little silly, but it works. Why? Holding your wallet in your hand and not putting it away seem inconvenient, a little bit of a bother. And that is the point. That wallet in your hand is reminding you that it is incomplete, because your ID is still missing. If you return the wallet to its place without the ID, and she forgets to return your ID there is nothing telling you it is missing until the next time you need your ID and it is GONE. This could be days later and you can’t remember what happened to your ID.

 

Alternatively, if you don’t carry a wallet, but carry a backpack or purse, hug you backpack/purse to your chest the whole time your ID is missing; don’t put the purse/backpack on the floor, hug it or hold it in your lap if sitting.

 

Try to find the source of the stink. Rotten garbage? Rotten food? Dirty laundry? Find the stink and take care of it, if you can. Don’t buy deodorizers, sprays, or sweet smelling products to mask the odor, because, unless you get rid of the stink, these things can only mask the odor and they don’t last very long. They are a waste of money.

 

Stinky dirty clothes: never put wet towels or clothes into the dirty clothes pile unless you are planning to do laundry immediately. Damp or wet clothes (whether from sweat, water, whatever) will smell after a day or so. Dry those items before adding them to the pile. Hang them in the bathroom or wherever to let them dry, then add the item to the dirty clothes pile. The dirty clothes won’t smell great, but dry dirty clothes smell better then wet ones.

 

Bath towels: let them dry after use. Hang over a rod in one layer, not bunched up. Damp towels bunched up on the floor or anywhere will smell sour. Let them air dry between uses.

 

Garbage odors: garbage stinks; that is the nature of it. Empty the garbage before it stinks. If you don’t use plastic bags to line your can, wash your can frequently. Raw meat trays smell after a day. Save the little plastic bags from the grocery. Rinse out the tray the raw meat was in and tie it up in a little plastic grocery bag before putting it in the garbage.

 

Stinky refrigerator: find out what is causing the smell and throw it out if it is bad. Raw onions and such will smell even if they are fresh. They need to be sealing in a plastic bag. Plates of food should be covered when in the fridge. Clean out the fridge periodically. Check that the items are still useable and within their dates. Wipe out the inside of the fridge with a cloth soaked in vinegar and water. Check under the fridge for a drip pan and clean it.