Laundry HE

Laundry is a chore, right? But not always … I can remember, as a kid, laundry was a lot of fun. And not because I got extra allowance to do it or because I got to play with the adult “gadgets,” but because I had this quirky shaped laundry basket that doubled as a castle for my sister — and sometimes my cat — and let’s face it, I was mesmerized by static cling.

I found this old school Burt & Ernie clip the other day that brought me back to those days … when I learned to love laundry.

In the clip, Ernie is on his way to the Laundromat. While he’s missing the clothes he actually needs to wash (in typical Ernie fashion), he does grab a pair of boots in case the machine overflows. I would imagine that Ernie might have wanted to overflow the wash on purpose because he does love bubbles – baths that is!

If I were Burt, I would have made sure that Ernie knew that using the correct High Efficiency detergent prevents oversudsing, which means you leave the boots at home! HE detergents are formulated to be low sudsing. Even though they produce fewer bubbles, HE detergents can be used in both HE washing machines and in traditional models.

While the technology of High Efficiency detergents may be a bit too technical for kids, having them grow up on the benefits of HE detergent will stay with them forever. Many of us use products, from detergents to toothpaste that our parents used just from seeing them around the house. If kids get used to the HE logo, they’ll be sure to keep HE in their own laundry rooms when they’re older.

In addition to introducing them to HE, I think there are a number of ways to make laundry fun for kids so they don’t grow up giving laundry the evil eye. Here are a few tips I came up with:

• Put removable tape down on the floor every few feet leading up to his or her hamper. If he or she tosses a piece of clothing in the hamper, they move back and so on. You could even incorporate a game of “Horse.”

• Make a special laundry mix with tunes about water, clothes, etc. Only play the mix in the laundry room!

• Race to see who can fold the fastest. Or, hang the wet pieces outside to dry and get some sunshine in.

• Create a chart that gives a gold star each time a load of laundry is completed; once they reach a certain number of stars they get something special.

What are some you would add to the list?

Until next time,
Kristen