Margaret Arnold • March 1, 2025
From Mangle Irons to Modern Methods: Embracing Sustainable Laundry Practices

Growing up as part of a large family meant heaps of laundry. As the daughter of a home economist (now called family and consumer sciences), our home often felt like a laboratory. While some of our mother’s laundry practices remain with me today, others no longer suit modern lifestyle. After doing laundry for my family of six — before becoming an empty nester seven years ago — I've developed sustainable practices that extend the life of fewer, high-quality clothing items.


Patric Richardson, Minnesota-based author of Laundry Love and House Love and host of The Laundry Guy TV show, advocates investing in quality essentials year-round and adding a few seasonal pieces instead of fast fashion. He notes: “If you really love your garments, both classic and trendy, you’ll be more motivated to take care of them and make them last. In sum, you’ll be buying both more thoughtfully and less.”


I've learned ... laundry is more than just cleaning clothes — it’s about sustainability, simplifying life ...
Clothesline in Scotland

While there’s plenty of consumer education about laundry care, my “home lab” goal is to accomplish this practice with lifestyle efficiency. Here are some of my favorite practices and a few that honor my mother with a smile but have been retired:


Today’s Practices

  • Gentle and proper washing of clothes – I sort by color, use correct water temperatures, and pre-treat stains while using half the recommended detergent amount. Express cycles serve for most loads and protective mesh bags for delicates. My simplified system of just "whites" and "darks" once or twice weekly has replaced our family’s four-category sorting system that required laundering three or more times weekly.
  • Less frequent washing – Most clothing (except undergarments, athletic and outdoor work wear) can be worn two to three times before washing, reducing fabric wear and workload. Our closet hooks are full of grab-again athlete-leisure wear and echo my parents’ practical approach – a connection I only recently realized.
  • Handwashing – Enter any runner girls’ house and you will see a bathroom full of running gear that have been handwashed and drying in the shower for the next use. In addition to running bras and tops, any piece of clothing that says handwash or that appears special, I take the time to wash and rinse in cold water.
  • Clothesline/air drying clothing – I mentioned this in a previous blog post. It’s a practice I’m passionate about and have a winter method with both a drying rack and a garment rack with hangers and a European-inspired outdoor clothesline. Richardson say: “Abrasion is the No. 1 enemy of laundry.” I avoid the dryer for most of my clothing and use the shortest amount of time if I do use the dryer.
  • Gentle and proper keeping of clothing – With fewer clothing items, it is easier to care for each item from washing and drying to folding and storage. Loosely using a version of Marie Kondo’s folding and hanging methods, I no longer stuff items in my closet or drawers and give them air to breathe. A final folding touch is to hand pressing the item before making the fold. To add more freshness to the closet or drawers, I add my favorite baking soda-based odor balls to shelves and drawers and cedar blocks for longer-term storage.
  • Annual dry cleaning for special items – Weekly trips to the dry cleaners to less than a handful of times a year, I have a practice of wearing special clothing more than once, researching and washing dry-cleaning items at home with gentle detergent and avoiding the dry-cleaning expense and more sustainability.


Practices Left Behind

  • Bulk dry cleaning – One of mom’s regular errands was dropping off "bulk dry cleaning"—a mountain of Dad's suits worn nearly every day. I still smile thinking of her meticulously cleaning pipe tobacco from his pockets before adding each suit to the pile.
  • Mangle iron – Our mother taught her three daughters to iron on a mangle iron, progressing from pillowcases and napkins to shirts and pants. Our mangle iron was with my parents for the duration of their marriage before finding another home.


As I reflect on these practices, I realize that much of what I’ve learned and still learning about laundry is more than just cleaning clothes — it’s about sustainability, simplifying life and preserving a few memories.

Silverish Simplicity Links


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Past Blogs

Saying Goodbye to Boxes, Keeping the Memories

By Margaret Arnold • July 26, 2025
Thirteen years, seven rental properties, and countless storage boxes later, my oldest daughter finally has a home of her own. Through college, medical school, and residency, we continued to store belongings that didn't fit or belong in the cramped spaces of her temporary living situations. Passing along her belongings felt like closing one chapter and opening another—most of all, it represented the end of her grueling training years and the beginning of truly settling down in a lovely home and neighborhood. Her move got me reflecting on my own relationship with storage and my journey toward "Silverish Simplicity." In our former family home, we had one large storage area and two guest bedroom closets filled with plastic totes and banker boxes (see picture below). I even stored empty totes—a sure indication I was planning to accumulate more rather than less. With our move nearly four years ago and the natural process of downsizing while launching our children into their first homes, the number of boxes and totes has dramatically decreased. More importantly, I have no reason to purchase new totes, and I celebrate each time I empty a box or bin and it moves on to family members who need them. ... THE NUMBER OF BOXES AND TOTES HAS DRAMATICALLY DECREASED ...
Flower container pot with a bag of tools

Next Needed Thing: Grandpa's Summer Visits

By Margaret Arnold • June 28, 2025
My spring and summer to-do lists fondly remind me of my father. When my husband and I started caring for our long-time family home and 30 acres, spring's excitement came with overwhelming feelings. Early there with four young children ages six months to five years, I found myself in tears facing all that needed to be done, including a large pasture that needed mowing. My dad — a master gardener and hobby farmer — saw my tears and what was needed and stepped in. This began a 15-year summer routine to help with pasture mowing. Our family fondly remembers those early summer mornings when Grandpa arrived in his little tan truck, sometimes before 7 a.m. We'd chat over coffee at my kitchen table (youngest daughter remembering him sitting in "my chair"), then off he'd go to mow his adopted pasture. He loved to mow and, like everything our energetic father did, approached it as if he were running out of time. Oldest son recalls: "I'd bring him lemonade, and he'd drink most of it quickly. Then, without stopping, he'd throw the almost empty cup back at me and keep mowing." Oldest daughter added: "He was so focused that when we delivered lemonade, I was scared he might run me over." ... SPRING'S EXCITEMENT CAME WITH AN OVERWHELMING FEELING ...
A tote bag is sitting on a counter next to bottles of cleaning supplies.

A Happy Cleaner: Four Decades of Family Moves & Experiences

By Margaret Arnold • May 17, 2025
When my four children were in elementary and middle school, an annual Christmas card and letter that arrived each year gave me a glimpse of the life stage that awaited our family. I recall the usual family news but what struck me about this particular holiday update was the amount of moves her four children made in those college and post-college years and the loving assistance she provided. Little did she know she was modeling how I wanted to be, and have been, for my children these past 13 years and 18+ moves (counting three for my husband and me). From college dorm room to first apartments and now to first homes, I have had the joy of helping my kids settle into their spaces. What an exciting time it is for them! A key role I’ve played during these move-ins and occasional move-outs has been that of a cleaner. I like to clean – I mean I really like it. Not only do I enjoy the physical work I especially like the mental and organizational challenge and doing this domestic task better, deeper and, in the last three years, more sustainable. A KEY ROLE I'VE PLAYED DURING THESE MOVE-INS ... HAS BEEN THAT OF CLEANER.