How to fold fitted sheets

So simple, even a baby could do it! Well, he's trying.

So simple, even a baby could do it! Well, he’s trying.

Hello, Laundry Revolutionaries! If one of your New Year’s Resolutions is to start keeping things a bit more tidy – well, we hope you’re doing well so far! But even the most committed neat freak can have their resolve tested by the humble fitted sheet. With its weird shapes and raggly edges, it cries out to be bundled up and chucked in the closet – but don’t give in! We at LaundryRepublic have the answer.

First, find one of the short edges, and with the sheet inside out, put one of your hands into each of its corners, like a glove.

Then bring your right hand to your left, and fold the corner in your right hand over the corner in your left. Any lefties should swap all the directions around, as from this point, your right hand will do most of the work while the left does the holding.

With your right hand, reach down and pick up the corner that is now hanging in front. Pull that up, and fold that over both corners – and if the corner that’s showing is inside out, you’re doing it right!

If wriggling occurs, check for stowaways.

If wriggling occurs, check for stowaways.

Next, pick up the final corner with your right hand, and fold it over the others. You’ve got all the corners! Don’t drop them, even if they wriggle.

You can then lay the folded sheet on a flat surface. Straighten it out so the edges are straight, folding in two edges so that all of the elastic is hidden. With a well-earned sense of triumph, fold the sheet into a rectangle, and keep going until it’s the size you want!

So, there’s no need to give up on a neat and tidy New Year just yet.

Of course, you could always just send your bedding to us for cleaning, and our team will make sure it comes back to you beautifully folded!

 

Photos from Flickr: by Tofslie and FairerDingo

£20,000 now raised for Scope!

Thanks to your generosity, we have now collected over 3,000 kg of donated clothing for our charity partner Scope since we started working together in 2012, raising almost £20,000 from sales in their charity shops. Amazing!

Scope uses this money to support disabled people and their families, providing residential care, supported independent living schemes, short breaks, and employment and training. You can find out more about our work with Scope on their website, here:

http://www.scope.org.uk/how-you-can-help/corporate-partnerships/our-corporate-partners/laundryrepublic

Christmas Closure Dates

On behalf of the whole LR team, we’d like to wish you a Merry Christmas and thank you for your custom in 2013.

We’ll be having a short break over the festive period, so our final day of deliveries before the holiday will be Christmas Eve (Tuesday, December 24th), and we’ll be starting up again on Thursday, January 2nd.

To ensure your order is back before the break, please place your order by this Friday, December 20th with Standard Service, or by 11am on Monday, December 24th with Next Day Service.

LaundryRepublic makes headlines on News on the Block

This year, LaundryRepublic was a finalist at the HP Smart Business Awards 2013. We’re very proud to say that this has now made headlines at ‘News on the Block’, the UK’s leading publication for flat owners!

You can read all about it here:
http://www.newsontheblock.com/news-and-opinion/60512/laundry-firm-shortlisted-for-award.thtml 

You can also see our blog post about the awards at: http://blog.laundryrepublic.com/2013/10/18/laundryrepublic-finalists-at-the-hp-smart-business-awards-2013.

How to get rid of those stubborn rings inside shirt collars

One of our Laundry Revolutionaries wanted to know how to get rid of those stubborn rings which form inside shirt collars. So, we thought we should share our tips!

For all of these tips, an old toothbrush will really help you out – if you’ve got one that’s been sitting around for a while that you might be happy to replace, they’re very handy for really getting your home-made stain removers deep into the fabric!

Ok, not that old

OK, not that old

There are a good few ways to get rid of these pesky stains, but it does depend whether your shirts are white (ooh, classy) or coloured (stylin’!).

For white shirts, make your own stain remover by mixing 1 part white vinegar with 1 part water. Let your shirt sit in the solution for a few hours or overnight, then pop in the washing machine as normal.

 

When life gives you lemons, make home-made stain remover!

When life gives you lemons, make home-made stain remover!

If you don’t have any white vinegar, try direcly applying lemon juice, which can rival heavy duty cleaners for cleaning power. Or, if you need a quicker fix, get a little of your dish washing detergent and mix it with water to make a paste. Apply that to the stained area and let it sit for half an hour or so before laundering in the machine.

(Gross tip – the rings around the collar are formed by the natural oils from your neck, so as well as dish washing detergent, you can use any cleaning agent labelled as a “degreaser”.)

CAREFUL THOUGH! The above methods can all bleach dyed clothing, and for your colours, you’ll need something a bit more gentle.

Don't forget to take the shampoo out of the shower first...

Don’t forget to take the shampoo out of the shower first…

Firstly, try a bit of shampoo – it is designed to remove body oils, after all! Doesn’t matter what kind you use, so this is your chance to get rid of the awful bubblegum shampoo you accidentally bought, or that caustic hotel stuff that slipped into your washbag. Use an old toothbrush to rub a little shampoo directly into the stain, let it sit for 15-30 minutes, then wash as normal.

Alternatively, if you have some lanolin-based handwash, apply some to the stains on your shirt (fine with whites or colours), let it sit for 15 minutes, then wash. This method might take a couple of goes!

Of course, if none of these work, or if you just don’t have the time, send your shirts in to LaundryRepublic and our experienced team will be happy to take care of those nasty stains for you!

Flickr images credit: Napoleon’s toothbrush, c 1795 by Science Museum London; Lemons by Penelope Waits; Tears in rain by FailedImitator

LaundryRepublic, finalists at the HP Smart Business Awards 2013

Laundry Republic was a  finalist in the Innovation category at the second annual HP Smart Business Awards, which recognise the contribution of small and medium sized businesses to the UK economy.

It’s been a busy year for LaundryRepublic. Earlier in the year, LaundryRepublic was named in the Accelerate 250, a group of the fastest growing businesses in the UK. Founders David Lambert and Ian Walker were invited to Accelerate 2013 where LaundryRepublic was recognised by Wikipedia Founder, Jimmy Wales, as an example of a high-potential online business whose disruptive innovation is transforming an age-old model to better suit the needs and lifestyles of customers.

Here’s what co-founders David Lambert and Ian Walker have to say about their company’s latest award nomination: “We are honoured to be finalists for the award among so many fast-growing businesses. It’s great to see the value of small, growing businesses recognised as a vital part of the current economy. It has been a very exciting couple of years for us, and everyone at LaundryRepublic is delighted at our inclusion among the list of nominees.”

The HP Smart Business Awards ceremony was held at the Serpentine Sackler Gallery in London on 15th October.

Pictures of the event: https://www.facebook.com/pages/LaundryRepublic/

Get £5 off duvet cleaning with this exclusive code

Duvet_foilman

The nights have suddenly turned chilly, and lots of our customers are getting their duvets ready for some serious snuggling over the course of the winter months!

Over time, duvets collect large amounts of bed bugs, dust mites and dead skin cells, which can cause allergic reactions and respiratory problems, so now is the ideal time to get it laundered by LR.

To help keep you nice and toasty, we’re offering £5 off duvet cleaning until the end of September. Simply use the voucher code DUVET5OFF when you place your order at LaundryRepublic.com.

* Photo: Foilman

Wire hanger craft ideas

Recycling hangers and other plastic packaging has been one of the main features of our environmental policy since we started, and we’ve now collected, and re-used, thousands from our customers.

However, if you don’t want to re-use them for their original purpose there are some amazingly innovative ways to make them into fantastic craft designs. Here are some of the best ones I’ve found:

Paper towel hanger: what about turning your wire hanger into a practical paper towel hanger like the one our friends from Instructables created?

Paper towel hanger via Instructables

Christmas wreaths:  turn our wire hangers into Christmas wreaths for your front door – you can even reuse our pins and plastic packaging! (via Eddie Ross and Ruffled blog)

Christmas wreath eddie rossChristmas wreath1 ruffled

Magazine display: I love keeping good magazine articles, but they always end up in a pile on the coffee table. A Merry Mishap Blog showed us a beautiful way to store your magazines using hangers to display them on the wall!

Stylizimo_workspace magazine display

Accessories holder: another practical way to reuse our wire hanger is as a funky scarf holder like this one(via  Boxwood Clippings), or even to hold your necklaces!

hold scarves

Decoration: If you’re feeling really creative, use hangers to decorate your living room like this one (via Family Chic), or to make these fun animal creatures for your kids (via the Thrifty Crafter)

party-animals-1011 hangersart love hanger

Any more ideas? We’d love to hear them! Drop us a comment 🙂

Jimmy Wales, founder of Wikipedia, speaks about LaundryRepublic at Accelerate 2013

We finally got the clip from the video where Jimmy Wales, founder of Wikipedia, speaks to Michael Hayman about LaundryRepublic and the future of online business, at Accelerate 2013, Liverpool, UK, 27.06.13. The clip is courtesy of Accelerate 2013 and Seven Hills.

With thanks to Jimmy Wales and Michael Hayman.

We are very proud!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=04Rde-Civy4

25% off pillow cleaning until the end of August

Image credit: Joelk75 (Flickr)

Over time, pillows collect large amounts of bed bugs, dust mites and dead skin cells, which can cause allergic reactions, respiratory problems and a number of other unpleasant ailments. And in the current heat wave it’s more important than ever to get your pillows cleaned regularly.

To help keep them clean and fluffy, LR is offering 25% off our pillow cleaning prices from now until the end of August. Simply use the voucher code PILLOW250813 when you place your order at LaundryRepublic.com.

With the discount, cleaning a polyester pillow drops to just £5.99 and a feather pillow to £7.49 – fantastic value!

Image credit: ‘Seven pillows’ by Joelk75 (Flickr)