Podcast Ep.70: Are We Washing Our Clothes Too Much?

In this episode we're reviewing recent evidence that we in the US are doing too much laundry. Not only do clothes not need to be washed each time you wear them (at least outer ones you haven't spilled spaghetti sauce on), but frequent washing also wears your clothes (and machines) out sooner. Most mind-blowing? Our athletic "microfiber" quick dry clothes are creating microfibers in the oceans every time we wash them. Gulp. The podcast isn't all laundry, though - we have some light making farmhouse updates, an easy winter dinner menu to copy, and we share our cool new discoveries, both book related.

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Washing Clothes Too Much

Here are the super interesting articles that sparked our conversation in this episode about how often we're washing our clothes:

• The Next Big Thing in Fashion is Not Washing Your Clothes
• Levi's CEO: Don't Wash Your Jeans
• More Than Ever Our Clothes Are Made of Plastic. Just Washing Them Can Pollute The Oceans.

We are adjusting not only how often we wash, but also the materials we buy - how about you?

The Project

Here's what the laundry-mudroom windows look like installed. Now this end of the house is done and we can start applying the battens for the board-and-batten siding. And yes, paint eventually...

In other news, the engineering passed for removing the load-bearing wall between the kitchen and enclosed porch - and the county okayed it! We were waiting on that when we recorded, but it just came through, so we're good to go proceeding with putting the beam in place and walling in the area.

Here's that photo I promised of the farmhouse kitchen before and during demo. You can see the window over the sink looking into the enclosed porch which was being used as a laundry. Just what you hope to see from your kitchen sink everyday, right?

If you listened (or watched!) our 2-year update, you might remember that this is the load bearing wall that has been held up for 100 years with a thin 1x6 beam that runs across the top (you can just see it in the photo on the right). That will be replaced with a huge laminated beam (as per country requirements) with side posts going down into cement footings under the house.

Also, there were no headers above this window and door when we did the demo. So everything we're doing is going to hopefully help the house to be more sound and sturdy for the next 100 years!

What's Cooking

Real Food One Week Winter Menu

Monday- Curried Turkey or Chicken Rice Soup, green salad, Easy Artisan Bread
Tuesday- Leftover soup with Caesar Slaw
Wednesday- Cajun Beef on Spiced Potatoes, roasted vegetables
Thursday- Vegetarian Indian Curry Sub-Jee Wraps
Friday- Greek Style Shrimp & Vegetable Orzo, cut vegetables with pine-nut free hummus
Saturday- Homemade pepperoni pizza with this easy crust and this pizza sauce
Sunday- OYO (on your own)

This is Really Cool!

Brian's: Librivox free audiobooks - narration quality varies but a good source for non-fiction books.

Jami's: Lovely War, Julie Berry. Such a beautiful historical fiction. Also note my mistake: this wasn't featured in the Best of Good Things Lists for 2019, but in my Best Books of 2019 list. #oops

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