I never really appreciated all the “mom jokes” about laundry until I brought my youngest child home from the hospital. Thanks to pretty severe reflux (which has thankfully calmed down), we went through ALL of his clothes on day one. His frequent spit-up, combined with two older girls who love messy art projects and playing in the mud, turned laundry into one of the most dreaded chores in our house.
Thankfully, I recently got to try HappyNest, a laundry service with a 24-hour turnaround window. Here are my top 6 favorite things about the HappyNest service.
1. Customized Wash & Dry Instructions with HappyNest
Everyone has different laundry practices, and I’m pretty particular about mine since we have frequent heavy stains. At home I wash with Tide and almost always add some OxiClean to the load depending on how dirty it is, and I never, ever use dryer sheets.
After setting up my account (which took less than a minute), HappyNest let me recreate those same preferences. There were four detergent options, including my beloved Tide, All Free & Clear, Cheer, and Seventh Generation. I could choose whether I wanted fabric softener or vinegar added (no – but should I do this?! I’ve never considered it…), and preferences for each type of load – light or dark – including water temperature, bleach/OxiClean, etc. I could choose my dryer preferences too, like the setting and whether to use dryer sheets.
And after filling out a quick survey, I was able to recreate the exact settings we use and are comfortable with at home. Perfect!
2. Amazing Stain Removal with HappyNest
The day before our laundry pickup, my daughter came home from school with the sleeves of her white turtleneck covered in orange and brown paint. Ugh. Normally, I would soak it overnight to try to loosen the stain, then wash the next morning. But, I was trying HappyNest so decided to see what they could do.
When you sign up, a large blue laundry bag is delivered to your home. This is the bag they pick up during the scheduled pick-up in the morning. There’s a smaller white mesh bag that comes inside, that’s designated for items that need more attention. So, I put the turtleneck inside the mesh bag, crossing my fingers they’d get the paint out.
When my laundry was returned the next day, the turtleneck was the first item I looked for. The stains were out, and I couldn’t believe it. There’s no way they would have come out had the shirt just been tossed into the washer – they definitely took extra care to get it clean, and I was very impressed.
3. Excellent Folding with HappyNest
I am a stickler for folding. I like our things folded just so. It drives my husband crazy since it makes laundry take much longer than it would otherwise, but I like what I like.
We have some cotton napkins that always come out of the wash SO wrinkled to the point where they almost look shrunken. When our laundry was returned, everything was folded perfectly, including those difficult napkins. I was so relieved. Folding preferences can also be set when you set up your HappyNest account, like whether you want shirts, pants, or dresses folded or hung; whether socks should be folded or rolled. I chose hangers for some items during the questionnaire but ended up not sending any of those out for washing. So, I can only comment on the folding and it was really well done.
4. Frequent Reminders (Or Infrequent if You Prefer!)
As a mom of three kids four and younger, including an infant who doesn’t sleep for more than three hours a stretch at night, I need frequent reminders of pretty much everything. Thankfully, Happy Nest has lots of reminder options for you to opt-in or out of. I chose both text and email.
I got a reminder the morning of our pickup, letting me know what time the HappyNest driver would arrive so I could be sure the bag was out in town. I also was notified when it was picked up. The next morning, I got a text and email letting me know when it would be back at my house, and another once it was delivered so I could go out and bring it in right away.
I’m sure not everyone needs these reminders, but I found them really helpful.
5. Pay Per Pound vs. Flat Rate with HappyNest
HappyNest charges per pound instead of a flat rate per pickup. Pricing varies by zip code, but for me, the cost was $1.80 per pound. If I were on a weekly plan, that would be reduced to $1.65 per pound. Bedding is the only thing that falls outside of the price per pound rule, with a flat rate per piece.
The blue bag HappyNest sends is very large, so can hold a LOT of laundry. We included a bunch of towels in ours making it pretty bulky, and there was still room to spare. Our bag weighed 23 pounds, so the cost was $41.40.
If I’d done the wash at home, it would have been done in three loads – whites, darks, and towels – and would have taken a minimum of 4 hours if I did it all back to back (which is unlikely). Adding on pre-soaking time for that turtleneck plus folding, we’re looking at way more than that, so the pricing seems fair to me.
6. No Commitment with HappyNest
I really enjoyed the service, and plan on using it again. That said, I don’t like being beholden to subscription services and have so much laundry these days that the cost would become exorbitant pretty quickly.
So, I really appreciate that HappyNest laundry service allows for one-off orders. Their truck comes to my neighborhood twice a week, and I can decide the night before if I want to schedule a pickup.
Want to Try HappyNest?
For a limited time, HappyNest laundry service is offering $10 off your first pickup with code DCMOM.
