There are some cleaning chores that actually have very little effect on the visible cleanliness of your home. If you never lift your cushions to vacuum the seats of your upholstered furniture, no one will know (until they reach for a lost remote). And if you never declutter your closets, well… the mess is literally behind closed doors. But there are other chores—even some very small ones—that, left undone, snowball into a much bigger mess and a much more annoying task to tackle.
To keep your home humming, pay attention to the following small jobs:

Folding the clothes when the dryer beeps

You might be great at washing clothes when they’re dirty, but do those baskets of clean clothes pile up while you’re waiting for a Netflix night to fold them all? Folding clothes when the dryer beeps and they’re still warm isn’t just cozy. It helps prevent wrinkles and having to iron (or wear wrinkled clothes, or avoid said clothes) down the road. Using the dryer cycle ending as your folding cue also keeps folding and putting away clothes a small, manageable task you can do in a few minutes rather than a monumental obstacle you have to set aside a whole day to get under control.
Tip: Try setting your wash cycle to start on a delay so you’ll be home to switch clothes to the dryer and to be there when it beeps.

Putting shoes where they go when you take them off

We’re definitely guilty of this! We don’t wear shoes in our house, and we all take them off by the front door. Having a home for everyone’s shoes – and making sure they are put away – keeps your foyer looking spic and span, and makes it easier when you’re rushing out the door in the morning. No more searching for that favourite pair of sneakers, because you know exactly where they are!
Tip: No matter how good you are at putting away the shoes, sometimes mud and dirt will still make it in to your entry. Keep the WOW Mop nearby so you can easily clean up any messes!

Washing dirty dishes

It’s easier to put just one or two more dirty dishes in a sink that already has a couple dishes waiting to be washed in it—but it should give anyone pause to put dirty dishes in a clean, empty sink.
Washing dishes right away keeps the sink clean and empty, and with any luck, reminds others in your household to do their own dishes. In addition, washing dishes right when they’re done being used keeps you from having to scrub off dried-on food and, again, makes most daily dish-washing a job that takes a couple minutes rather than a mini-marathon at the end of the day before it’s time to prep dinner.
Tip: Keep your favourite One Soap next to the sink, so that when you’re doing the dishes you’ll have a beautiful scent to enjoy.

Keeping counters and tables wiped

If there’s one thing that drives us nuts, it’s having to dodge sticky spots on counters or the table. To dispel the anxiety of wondering where you can sit something down (homework, mail, a casual cookie), keep the All Purpose Cleaner and a cleaning rag handy to take care of any spills or messes as soon as possible, and wipe the table down immediately after it’s used. This habit also keeps you from having to clean up the things that get dirty from being set down on messes as well as the spaces that get dirty from having those dirty things put away (such a snowball).
This habit will also save you from spreading the mess around. For instance: If you set a container down onto a splatter of syrup, and then put the container away in the fridge, you now have three sticky spots to clean up rather than just the one quick swipe you could have made at that initial syrup spill. This keeping-surfaces-clean habit has the out-sized reward of keeping the interior of your fridge and cabinets clean for much longer.
By staying reasonably vigilant to take care of clean laundry, doffed shoes, dirty dishes, and messy surfaces when they are small problems, you’ll empower your future self to enjoy a perpetually clean home. Next thing you know, your friends will be asking for your secret!

No matter how you go about it, laundry is a regular part of life. Even more so if you have kiddos running around and getting dirty! While many might hang our clothes on a line to dry, the majority of us choose the convenience of the dryer. One of the most toxic things we do on a regular basis is use fabric softener or dryer sheets. These products are full of nasty chemicals! Exposure to such toxins is linked to skin irritations, neurological disease, cancer, hormonal imbalance. Yikes!
Chemicals infiltrate the clothing we wear, which in turn gets on to our skin and is absorbed by our bodies. There are reports that show the occurrence of brain disease is growing, as well as the levels of industrial chemicals being found in human bodies. Some suggest the two are linked! Using alternatives to these products is a great way to avoid increasing the amount of chemicals being absorbed by your body.

Soft Laundry with no Toxins

Don’t worry, you can still have super-soft and scented laundry, without subjecting your body to horrible toxic chemicals thanks to Nellie’s Lamby Wool Dryerballs and Nellie’s Flyerballs! Both are made with 100% pure New Zealand wool, so no nasties! They reduce drying time by helping dry your clothes faster, so you’re saving energy and money. They also reduce wrinkles, all while softening your clothes. Plus, they’re chemical free and will last about 2 years. What’s the difference between the original Lamby Wool Dryerballs and the Flyerballs? The wings on the Flyerballs are designed to help float through your dryer to separate fabrics, shortening drying time and reducing static.
If you prefer your laundry to have a fragrance, the Scented Wool Dryerballs are infused with pure essential oils and available in Citrus, Lavender, and Simply Fresh. The scent will last about 50 loads, so you can enjoy the chemical-free natural scent. We recommend tossing one scented wool ball with your four unscented wool balls to enhance your drying experience.
 

We wash our clothes to keep ourselves, our families, and our favourite items smelling and feeling fresh, but there is actually such a thing as washing too much or too little! There are downsides to both: laundering your clothes more than necessary can shorten their lifespan and ultimately wear them out more quickly, and washing them too infrequently can be unhygienic and lead to bacteria growth. Yuck! When to wash? We’ve got you covered. Keep reading for our general laundry guidelines for you and your family!

For your clothes

Bras: After three to four wears
Underwear: After every wear, of course!
Stocks and stockings: After every wear
Sports and swimwear: After every wear
Jeans: five to six wears, although some advocate washing as little as possible
Tops: One to two wears
Dresses: One to two wears
Pants, skirts, and shorts: Three to four wears
Jackets and blazers: Five to six wears
Coats: Once every two months of wear, and before storing away for the season
Pajamas: Three to four wears
Get your clothes fresh and clean, but don’t sacrifice your health and the environment! Wash clothes (and towels, bedding, etc.) with Nellie’s Laundry Soda, and remove tough stains with the WOW Stick. If your clothes need some extra brightening or whitening, choose Nellie’s Oxygen Brightener instead of resorting to harsh and toxic bleach.

For your kids’ clothes

Washing your kids’ clothes doesn’t need to be a massive chore! Many experts say you can wash their clothing along with yours anytime you see stains or they don’t pass the sniff test. The problem is that kids tend to get dirtier more often than adults do, so those stains and smells come up more frequently. Here’s a handy guideline: the lighter and softer the fabric, and the closer it hugs the body, the more you need to wash it. But as long as you don’t notice dirty patches or stains, kids can wear clothes multiple times before they’re ready for the laundry pile, just like you.
 

Like most things in life, laundry can come with a learning curve! If you’ve ever shrunk a shirt in the dryer or discovered detergent residue on your favourite jeans, you know what we’re talking about. What’s the deal with laundry detergent stains? Keep reading to find out!

Can Detergent Stain?

Technically speaking, no. Laundry detergents are formulated to leave clothes clean (some with more chemicals than we think necessary, you can read about that here). However, some detergents can leave spots or residue on clothes, especially with improper use. The good news is you can get those spots out relatively easily if you wash the garment immediately!

How to Remove Detergent Residue from Clothes

If you have a detergent mishap and the spot doesn’t come out after re-washing the item, you’re not hooped just yet. Try this six-step routine:

1. Rise the spot under hot water to remove as much residue as possible.
2. Gently wring out the excess water from the item and lay it flat.
3. Apply household rubbing alcohol to the spot, being sure to cover the entire affected area. We recommend spot-testing on an inconspicuous spot of the fabric first though!
4. Let the spot soak for at least 10 minutes. The longer the better!
5. With warm or hot water, rinse the fabric. This should remove the spot. If not, repeat the above steps!

How to Prevent Laundry Detergent Stains

The short answer – switch to Nellie’s Laundry Soda! Thanks to our highly-concentrated and quick-dissolving formula, you're not likely to run into this kind of issue. If you're still using a conventional detergent, here's the long answer: while laundry detergent doesn’t technically ‘stain’ clothes, the spotting that comes with overuse or washing issues is totally preventable. Using your detergent, whatever brand, as intended is the best route. For complete instructions on how to best use the Nellie’s Laundry Soda, click here.

One sheep, two sheep, three… Introducing the brand-new Flyerballs! Sheep all over New Zealand are lining up to strip down for the newest addition to the wool dryerball family.
Soft, silent, and undeniably adorable, Flyerballs are the wool dryerballs you know and love, reinvented. Made of pure New Zealand wool (as always), Flyerballs have added wings to float through your dryer and help separate fabrics, cutting down on both static and drying time – saving you money and looking cute while doing it!

How to Use

After washing with Nellie’s Laundry Soda, place three Flyerballs in the dryer with your fabrics. Nellie’s Flyerballs shorten drying time, soften fabrics, and reduce wrinkles, all without the use of nasty chemicals. Separate natural fabrics from synthetics to help reduce static.
No sheep are harmed in the making of the Flyerballs or Lamby Wool Dryerballs.