Here are some simple laundry tips and tricks so you spend less time sorting, washing and folding your family’s clothes.
Laundry is one of those chores that you can’t (or shouldn’t) ignore. Putting it off only leads to monstrous piles of dirty clothing that take forever to wash and fold.
Depending on the number of people in your household, doing laundry can take up a significant portion of your week. If you want to save time, here are some of my best laundry tips.
10 Best Laundry Tips To Save Time
This post contains affiliate links. If you click and make a purchase, there’s absolutely no extra cost to you. Read my full Disclosure Policy here.
1. Pare Down
Have you ever found yourself running out of clean clothes to wear? If you absolutely dread doing laundry, what usually happens? You reach into the back of your wardrobe and pull out clothes you normally never touch. This means that you end up with a huge pile of clothes to wash when you finally get around to it.
Clean your closet and keep just your favourite clothes. Similarly, reduce the number of bath towels, wash cloths, kitchen towels and sheets you have. When you have less stuff, there’s less to wash, fold and put away and this all adds up to saving time. Plus, it forces you to actually do laundry instead of putting it off because you need clean items to use.
2. Wash Clothes Only When Dirty
If you’re one of those people who washes clothes every single time you wear them, cut it out. There are some instances where you can simply hang the clothing up and let them air out before replacing them in your closet. For example, if you wore your clothes in a/c and really didn’t do anything to dirty them or if you’ve only worn an article of clothing for a couple of hours, you don’t need to launder them.
Washing clothes frequently really wears them out and you’ll find yourself replacing them a lot more often than you need to.
The exception to this will, of course, be underwear, socks and active wear. Wash these every single time you wear them.
Don’t change towels every day either. Launder these once per week unless heavily soiled.
3. Treat Stains Immediately
The longer a stain sits, the harder it is to get out. So, make sure you treat them as soon as possible.
Heat sets stains so use stain remover and cold water. Also, check that the stain is gone before you place the piece of clothing in the dryer.
Getting stains out fast, the first time around, means you won’t have to spend ages scrubbing and you’ll avoid washing the same item again.
4. Sort Laundry Ahead of Time
Sorting clothes into different categories on laundry day adds to the amount of time it takes before you finish. My suggestion is to sort as you undress. It takes two seconds to do each day.
Have a laundry sorter where you can separate lights, darks, delicates and even towels or any other categories you prefer. When it’s time to actually start washing, you just need to throw clothes from each hamper into the machine. No need to stop and sort!
5. Buy Socks That Are The Same Colour And Style
Do you have posters of missing socks stuck all over your laundry room walls? Where did they go? You may not be able to solve the mystery of the missing socks but you can prevent it from happening again.
Buy socks that are all the same colour and style. This has to be one of my top laundry tips. It means you don’t have to go crazy when a sock’s mate disappears. Plus, it makes getting dressed a breeze since you can grab any two socks from the drawer.
Also, use laundry bags to corral your socks in the washing machine and dryer. Keep them prisoner behind mesh bars so they can’t grow legs and run away.
Related: How To Get Ready Fast And Save Time In The Morning
6. Organize The Laundry Room
Store your laundry supplies e.g. detergent, fabric softener, laundry bags etc. in an easily accessible place.
Have a flat surface available for folding clothes and keep it clear of clutter. It’s so annoying to have to stop what you’re doing to move things out of the way!
Place some helpful extras nearby e.g. a small garbage bin for lint or trash found in pockets, a container for change, a stain removal chart and even a laundry care symbols chart (’cause who knows what half of those symbols mean?).
A clean, organized laundry room is functional and it’s easier to move around in there and grab what you need.
7. Distract Yourself
While you’re doing laundry, distract yourself with something you actually enjoy. When I’m doing chores I don’t like, I listen to podcasts, music, or audio books.
8. Delegate
The best way to reduce the amount of time you spend doing anything is to delegate it. Let your family put away their own clothes.
You have two options—separate clothing into piles and leave them in the laundry room for collection or place each person’s clothes in their room. The final act of putting clothes into closets and drawers is left up to the owner. Your part is done.
9. Put Away Laundry Immediately
Don’t allow mounds of clean laundry to stack up. Once the clothes have been washed and dried, put them away immediately. Enforce this rule with your family if they are responsible for putting away their own clothes.
The longer you leave a task unfinished, the harder it is to get back to it. Plus, when you leave piles of clean laundry in your bedroom, you risk getting them mixed up with dirty ones. Then, you don’t know what’s actually clean from what isn’t.
10. Don’t Fold Clothes
Finally, on my list of laundry tips is to stop folding laundry wherever possible. Items like underwear and active wear don’t require folding. Eliminating this task will cut down on the amount of time you spend doing laundry.
There’s something very comforting about wrapping yourself up in clean clothing and linens. They smell good and feel even better. But, doing laundry can be quite time-consuming. Use my ten best laundry tips to cut down the amount of time you spend sorting, washing and folding laundry each week.
Do you have any other tips that save you time when doing laundry? Please, share them in the comments below.
Did you enjoy this post? If so, don’t forget to share it on Pinterest!
