THE LORD OF THE RINGS - WOOD EMBRACES LAUNDRY DUTIES

THE LORD OF THE RINGS star ELIJAH WOOD has picked up a new weekend pastime - doing his own laundry.

The 24-year-old actor admits that since taking residence in a property of his own recently, he's become quite fond of washing his clothes on weekends.

He says, "I'm doing my own laundry. I actually really enjoy it, funnily enough. I love it, and the funny thing is the great motivator - dirty clothes.

"I initially started doing that, where it was completely filthy and I had nothing to wear. That's sort of slightly foolish. So now I'm doing it in spurts.

"I make a habit of doing it every weekend. There's something kind of relaxing about it. You put the load in, listen to some music, watch a DVD, you hear the load's done. It's great.

"And the folding is easy. I love that."

Wood has even become particular about the detergent he uses, shunning traditional soaps for an orange extract product favoured by his mother.