Growing up, Saturdays were always laundry days and Mum did not have to remind my sisters and I of the same at all. We woke up early, did laundry, cleaned the house and opened all the windows and curtains wide so that the house was airing all day. We them made enough food for lunch and dinner. In the afternoons when we collected our dry clothes and folded them, that was the best feeling – clean clothes, a sparkling airy house and ready food so that our afternoons were free to do a lot of nothing. We would then go ahead and either laze around in the compound, make our hair, take afternoon naps under the tree shades or play cards and scrabble. These were some of the defining moments that made home, growing up, and family all the more worthwhile. These, along with the reassuring presence of Mum.
We did not use fabric softener much then because after we were past baby stage, Mum usually stopped buying. I always wished we had some and could hardly wait to make my own money and be able to do my own shopping so I could include a few things in my wish list – including softener. That has since happened and I’ve been an avid user of softener all my independent life.
The laundry routine is so hard wired in me that whenever I don’t do laundry on Saturdays, I feel like I’m erring against my mother. This considering that even in boarding school, Saturdays were always laundry and general cleaning days. I have options now and I do not necessarily have to do my own laundry, or even do it on Saturdays, but I still find myself opting to every once in a while. I still air my house and I still have trouble using my Saturday afternoons for anything else other than lazying around. I’ve always used fabric softener with my laundry but as I’ve realized, I’ve never quite fallen in love with any as much as I’ve fallen in love with the recently launched downy.
I’ve been using Downy for close to 3 weeks now. I’m using all four variants interchangeably and I still can’t seem to make up my mind on which one I’ll stick to – though I’m tending towards floral breeze. That’s how awesome they all are. The variants are valley dew which is blue in colour, Floral breeze which is pink, feel relaxed in purple and feel romantic which is in happy fuchsia packaging. I’ve used them enough though to at least recognize that I’d recommend either valley dew or floral breeze for baby laundry. I find the other two a big mature in scent.
My only problem with Downy is the packaging. I’m not bothered by the fact that the bottle is light plastic. With the amazing scents I wouldn’t care what it came in really. What I have a problem with is the lack of either a handle or grip on the bottles. They have grooves alright, but not enough for grip. Laundry is generally a wet and slippery affair and it is a struggle to get the bottles open without either first drying your hands or looking for something like dry clothes to give some grip. All the Downys I have are half litre and I hate to imagine how the 1 litre must feel, given the added size of the bottle and the weight. They also do not have handles.
Other than that I’m having an absolute blast with my laundry. I’m so in love with how my house smells after I clean it with leftover water and air it out on laundry Saturdays. Downy is the first thing I’ll buy for my Mum the next time I’m going home.
