Cooking and Washing...

duckygalway

So my flight has been delayed a week and I've been thinking... I should really learn to cook and do the washing! I'm 25 and never had to do it for myself, always brought it home or if I was away for a long spell throw it into a dry cleaners! What are the basics I need to know and any cooking classes for beginners in Sydney?!!:D

woolymammoth

duckygalway wrote: »

I'm 25 and never had to do it for myself, always brought it home or if I was away for a long spell throw it into a dry cleaners!

lol! i never had much of a choice myself, had to look after myself!

Doesn't really matter where you are in the world i guess, it's still cooking and cleaning. Skip the classes and just get stuck into it. It's a pain in the ass (especially when you forget to put on a wash and run out of clothes!), but it's a lot easier than people think! your cooking will only ever improve. I have a really easy curry recipe if you want it.

Mellor

25 years old and not being able to cook or wash your clothes is pretty embarassing

mandrake04

Theres a name for it here. Mammys Boy

CiaranC

Why would you post that?

woolymammoth

mandrake04 wrote: »

Theres a name for it here. Mammys Boy

I lived with a guy in Castlebar for a while. He used to drive home to Tuam every week with his washing (for his mother to do)! And he was a Garda.

mandrake04

There was a fella from Limerick moved in to our place a few years back and he didn't know how to operate a tumble dryer, washing machine or cooker. I cant understand how he managed for the previous 9 months of his visa.

He's actually sponsored and only went home for a holiday after 2 years with all these new skills, his mother thought his body had been taken over by someone useful. Think she threatened to send his younger brothers to Australia nearly as good as the Army

duckygalway

Mellor wrote: »

25 years old and not being able to cook or wash your clothes is pretty embarassing

Why should I be embarrased?! I've never had to wash my own stuff and normally prefer to eat out! In Sydney I'll be on a tighter budget though so I'll be cutting back! I can cook a fry but that's it! Washing wise -do ya have to separate colors/fabrics/blah! What's the craic with ironing and folding?!

I've been living away from home for 7 years and spent months at a time abroad, always managed but never brought the skills home with me!

duckygalway

woolymammoth wrote: »

I lived with a guy in Castlebar for a while. He used to drive home to Tuam every week with his washing (for his mother to do)! And he was a Garda.

Ledge!

Mackman

duckygalway wrote: »

Washing wise -do ya have to separate colors/fabrics/blah! What's the craic with ironing and folding?!

Jasus lad, its men's wasing you'll be doin! (i assume??) Only women do that folding/ironing thing.

Mens washing = throw it all into the machine, turn on, take out, dry, wear. easy

Shouldnt this be posted in the Ladies Lounge?? :P

Xavi6

Don't mind them OP. I didn't boil my first kettle til I was 19 and had a packed lunch made for me all the way through college. Mammy's boy and proud.

Best advice I can give is to just wing it and pick things up as you go along. It's not that difficult really.

Alternatively, get yourself a hot Aussie cougar and let her do it all for you

Mahatma coat

A hot Ausie Cougar will be moer impressed if you can cook for yerself, Seriously OP Xavi's technique works a treat, but not if they smell desperation

also dont worry about Australian Washing machines, theyre the technological equivelant of Puttin yer clothes in a bucket of cold water and stirring it with a stick

m@cc@

duckygalway wrote: »

So my flight has been delayed a week and I've been thinking... I should really learn to cook and do the washing! I'm 25 and never had to do it for myself, always brought it home or if I was away for a long spell throw it into a dry cleaners! What are the basics I need to know and any cooking classes for beginners in Sydney?!!:D

If ever there was an advert against mollycoddling..........

Mahatma coat

afh come on lad, dosent it make ya feel a little Homesick.

I'd love to roll home on a friday evenin give me mam a Big bag of dirty DKMD shirts and tuck into some waitin dinner.

Mellor

duckygalway wrote: »

Why should I be embarrased?! I've never had to wash my own stuff and normally prefer to eat out! In Sydney I'll be on a tighter budget though so I'll be cutting back! I can cook a fry but that's it! Washing wise -do ya have to separate colors/fabrics/blah! What's the craic with ironing and folding?!

I've been living away from home for 7 years and spent months at a time abroad, always managed but never brought the skills home with me!

Everyone prefers to eat out. It far less hastle. It's still useful to be able to cook.
By embarrasing, I meant it the same as if you were 25 and couldn't drive, cycle a bike etc. Basic skills. I lived at home until last year, I was still able to cook, wash, iron (even though it was done for me and I never had to.)

I suppose there is no point critising without posting advice

Washing;
mens clothes are easy, lash it all in together, scoop of powder, stick it on high
only exception to this for me is new brightly coloured stuff. Wash alone the first few times in case of runs

Ironing
I rarely iron, only if it's badly creased, I'm going out somewhere more fancy than the local or it's a shirt.
Men can get away with creased jeans etc, gotta love shabby chic fashion, ripped jeans etc

cooking
start off with pasta or rice in pot of water till it's cooked, chicken or beef in a pan add a jar of sauce when cooked through
combine n serve
you'll manage steak n chips/spuds the same way

single dinners are way easier than trying to cook whole roasts for everyone

Mahatma coat

I Dunno Mellor a Roast can be fairly straightforward, OP if ALL Else Fails - Barbeque :D:D

Jagera

good man ducky galway for getting your act together.

here's my tips, similar enough to what Mellor wrote though really:

- wash everything together, colours, whites, black - except new stuff.
- find the setting on the washing machine that is like "normal", or "standard", no need for the long/short or other ghey wash settings.
- after its finishes, hang everything out straight away,
- as you hang each thing up, give is a good shake/flick (like you'd do with a blanket to lay on a bed, just a lift up and a good yank down) that will take a lot of the creases out & make it easier for ironing.
- in australia, hang everything in the shade.
- take clothes down, wear & repeat from first point

good luck, next week - how to boil your toast.

duckygalway

bw wrote: »

good man ducky galway for getting your act together.

here's my tips, similar enough to what Mellor wrote though really:

- wash everything together, colours, whites, black - except new stuff.
- find the setting on the washing machine that is like "normal", or "standard", no need for the long/short or other ghey wash settings.
- after its finishes, hang everything out straight away,
- as you hang each thing up, give is a good shake/flick (like you'd do with a blanket to lay on a bed, just a lift up and a good yank down) that will take a lot of the creases out & make it easier for ironing.
- in australia, hang everything in the shade.
- take clothes down, wear & repeat from first point

good luck, next week - how to boil your toast.

why do you hang it in the shade?!!

Coileach dearg

duckygalway wrote: »

why do you hang it in the shade?!!

He meant to say 'In Australia, hang your clothes upside down'. Hang them in the shade because there's a danger they'll all go up on fire like what happened to my boxers last week, left them out 10 minutes too long and my calvins I paid dear for had the b*****ks all burnt out of them!!

woolymammoth

duckygalway wrote: »

why do you hang it in the shade?!!

well that depends on the item, the sun it extremely harsh here, it has a kind of bleaching effect. People like us really tend to underestimate it the difference between the sun here and in ireland. wear sunscreen, you will get burned

your clothes will still dry in about an hour or less in the shade. I think there's certain things are better dried in the sun, some whites, towels and those. the sun can help to kill of bacteria and stuff as well if you have sweaty pits! if you do have sweaty pits like me, i can't recommend Rexona Clinical Protection enough.

Mellor

Mahatma coat wrote: »

I Dunno Mellor a Roast can be fairly straightforward, OP if ALL Else Fails - Barbeque :D:D

Wasn't saying a roast was hard, esp with beef or lamb as they can be mid rare.
I cooked my first large roast here, 19 peole Xmas dinner
But pan frying diced chicken is fool proof, as you can just keep checking as you get

Jagera

duckygalway wrote: »

why do you hang it in the shade?!!

Your clothes fade a lot in the sun, alternately hang your stuff inside out.

Zambia

duckygalway wrote: »

So my flight has been delayed a week and I've been thinking... I should really learn to cook and do the washing!

Bollocks you must know how to cook something, washing well chances are you may never need to where I lived in sydney there was a laundry downstairs when the bag was full the bag went down stairs. Clothes where washed,dried and folded. Some places you will live its just too hard to do it yourself space wise.

duckygalway wrote: »

I'm 25 and never had to do it for myself, always brought it home or if I was away for a long spell throw it into a dry cleaners!

You brought washing home ...thats actually f**king shocking. "Hi mum here's me kecks" Jesus wept

duckygalway wrote: »

What are the basics I need to know and any cooking classes for beginners in Sydney?!!:D

Hungry jacks will feed you for 5 bucks

watna

I'm actually a pretty good cook and of course, I can wash clothes (I just bought a new washing machine and I was very sadly excited about it). I've been home in Ireland for the last 4 weeks staying with my parents and I've been totally spoiled. I cooked once and I put my clothes in the washing machine, only to find them magically folded on my bed! It's so nice after living like a grown up for the past few years to come home and not have to look after yourself at all.

I'm heading back to NZ tomorrow and back to reality

Delorian

bw wrote: »

- wash everything together, colours, whites, black - except new stuff.

If you're in New Zealand, DO NOT wash your new $8 red Warehouse bed sheets with all your other clothes. I've more feckin pink clothes that I know what to do with now...

afkasurfjunkie

the boyfriends brother was on fas college placement for 3 months in sligo. drank his bus money for a few weeks. got his mother to POST clean clothes up to him. and she did. what hope does he have?

filthymcnasty

duckygalway, just throw away your clothes when they get dirty,as you are in Oz it will be warm and replacements won't be necessary.

Seriously though, you can cook rice in the kettle if you have no pots/pans, any remaining water can be used to make yourself a nice cup of tea (might taste a bit rice-y though, but no harm).
Also when cooking a steak be sure to turn the blow-torch off after.
Good Luck!