Hey AuDHD,

this was a great story and very well told. I know how overwhelming it can be to the autistic mind to trauma flash. How paralyzing.

Don't forget to breathe, you've got this.

Don't forget, clothes don't have to be perfumed to be clean. Commercial laundry detergents overly rely on perfumes, which is why they don't take care of mildew smells. The white vinegar is a good idea and will cut that smell.

Here's some others that may help.

*Switch to bar laundry soap. It's significantly cheaper, lasts longer, and typically cleans better. Lighter scented if you're prone to perfume allergies like me and overall milder if you have sensitive skin like my daughter.

*Baking soda works almost as well as vingar and is much cheaper. Try adding 1/4 or so into the water and let it dissolve in good before adding clothes. Let your clothes soak for 20 to 30 min in the baking soda before adding detergent and washing.

* Mildew smell happens because of too much humidity. You can try moving where you store your dirty clothes so they don't have a chance to pick up mildew smell or put in a dehumidifyer in that room. If your hamper is in the bathroom, move it to the laundry room. Fix the overhead exhaust fan if it's broken, for example. If it's the laundry room that's the problem, dehumidifyer, boxes of baking soda or those silicate pkgs if you can get some that absorb moisture or move the hamper to the bedroom closets.

Just think it through...options and costs.

Back when I was in college, one year my housing was an old house that had been converted to housing. AL, so high humidity year round. The house didn't have an exhaust fan in the bathroom or the laundry room so you can just imagine. My roommates and I were all broke students lucky to feed ourselves and cover tuition. I've been where you are. Our solution was to each get a $3.00 over the door hook and make a mesh laundry bag out of an old net we got from my teacher that we could hang over that door hook in our bedrooms. Not the most sightly of solutions but it was cheap and it fixed the problem.

My best to you. Let me know if you'd like to brainstorm some more ideas about reducing costs or solutions for problems.