My daughter is off to college next fall and I am collecting and making gifts for her and her two BFFs to take to college. (Read more about that here.) I will put them all in the large Thirty-One totes I got each of them. My daughter has learned (I say that term loosely) to do laundry, but I am still in charge of laundry in this house. I don't mind; they are responsible for the put-aways of their clothes/towels/linens. But I know once she's off to college, she will be doing it all by herself, so I wanted her to have a few essentials that she can take to the laundry room easily.
I forgot to put the small white scrub brush in the photos, but that will be included too. It was $1 from the Target Dollar spot!
The laundry basket in background is mine. It is not included. ;)
Dish Soap, Vinegar and Honest Co. Stain Remover are the essentials I've taught her to use for stains and "incidents." Yes, white vinegar and dish soap can pair up to clean some mighty stains, my friends.
I created pretty labels for each...no surprise. I am a papercrafter at my core, and I simply cannot help myself!
A small stack of inexpensive white washcloths to dab and blot at stains are essential in my laundry room and for Alexa's Kit. I tied them off with a pretty ribbon to match.
Then momma made her up some Laundry Tip cards, all laminated for the inevitable spills and splashes! (They are linked below for anyone that would like to use them. They are in pretty colors, so if you need them for a boy you will need to change text colors -- or ask me to and I'll email them to you if you'd like.) They are formatted for a 4x6 card.
I used my printer to create all these tags, stamped the teal swirls on each label, and then laminated them. Because I used thick cardstock, I sent them through the laminator 3 times...just to be safe; I'm all for safety and longevity. I then hole punched and hooked them together.
I bought a NEW laminator from Target, a Scotch machine for $24 and it worked beautifully. I had an older Xyron and it broke as I was beginning this project. Argh.
The laundry tips that I know Alexa may forget (or question what she remembered) that she can either attach to her laundry bag easily or keep in the bucket.
At the bottom it reads "WHEN ALL ELSE FAILS USE GOOGLE OR CALL MOM!" Or in my daughter's case, she will probably text me while she's doing laundry.
A tip sheet on how to use white vinegar effectively on stains!
And another Stain Removal Tip Sheet with how to clean off grease, lipstick, soda, pizza sauce, etc...all those things that may get on clothes while at college. My daughter is the leader in dropping food on herself..so I got it all covered.
This is Alexa's new laundry bag that her grandmother got her to take to college. It's a Vera Bradley bag and it's huge, will haul a lot of laundry and has a nice thick strap to carry too. Inside it has an attached pouch for change but at U of SC (where Alexa hopes to attend), they can use their student ID cards like a swipe card in the laundry room to pay for loads of wash. A little easier to do the task. Why? Because when her card is empty of $$$, she simply calls the Bank of Mom and Dad to load it up again.
I made a matching tag to attach to her laundry bag as well just in case. And cuz' its purrrrty.
I added some pretty paper to the galvanized bucket (bucket was $3 at Michaels) to match the labels I made and another tag that hooks on the bucket saying "Laundry Essentials." Just in case you forget, ya know! And everything fits inside nicely (and the scrub brush which I forgot)!
Everything in this bucket including the bucket ran approximately $18 for all supplies. I will make two more of these sets for her friends in their favorite colors as well, and then they will go in the large tote bags. So by the time they graduate, there will be all kinds of goodies for them to use at college and maybe not feel too homesick.
This is a great idea for a brand new home owner too. Even a college grad moving into their first apartment or a young person moving into their first home, perhaps.
Here are links to print the files for my Laundry Tip Cards if you'd like to use them. They are formatted to print in a 4x6 size on an 8.5 x11 size paper. They will also print in pretty colors.
Laundry Tip Card 1
Laundry Tip Card 2
Laundry Tip Card 3
And you can find masculine versions here:
