Hate doing laundry? You’re definitely not alone. However, just because you dislike laundry doesn’t mean you can ignore it forever. Since no one wants to walk around in dirty clothes, the next best thing is to figure out a better approach to this process. Fortunately, there are lots of fairly easy strategies and tips you can put into action to significantly reduce the amount of time it takes to get through all the laundry that needs to be done.
Get Organized
Is your laundry room a total mess? Then it’s going to be next to impossible for you to make this process more efficient. Luckily, you can whip this space into shape in just six easy steps. Start by tossing out empty laundry detergent bottles or other items that have piled up but no longer have any practical use. Next, create a board or rack where you can easily pin or hang items you may pull out of pockets prior to washing. Third, create permanent hampers for lights, whites and dark items.
The next thing to do is create a spot where you keep special items like treatments for stains. Second to last is to add a line or rack where you can hang items that aren’t supposed to go through the dryer. Finally, make a habit of folding and putting all clean laundry away within 24 hours. Although it may take some time to break your habit of letting things pile up, it will have a big impact on this space.
Cut Down Your Laundry Time
Once your laundry room is organized, you’ll find that it’s much easier to reduce the total amount of time it takes to get through everything. That’s especially true if you follow a few simple tips. The first is to ensure that every member of your house actually uses the three hampers you added during the organizational phase. By keeping all laundry organized, you’ll no longer need to spend time sorting every time you want to wash a few loads.
Next, start applying stain remover as soon as you put an item in your laundry room. Just be sure that you choose one that’s safe to leave on for a few days. If you do this and also add a detergent booster to your loads, you’ll no longer have to worry about going on the hunt for stains. Another simple way to cut down your total time is to run shorter washer and dryer cycles. While you may be concerned that doing so will reduce the effectiveness of your laundry process, as long as you use ample heat, it won’t be a problem.
You can also save yourself a lot of hassle by taking time to find the ideal load size. Once you figure out exactly how many items you should wash at a time, you won’t have to worry about getting your machine too full, or wasting a cycle by only partially filling it up.
If you want to save as much time as possible, there are two more tips that can really help. First, use an item like sock clips to eliminate the need for sorting socks. With this handy accessory, you simply clip socks together as soon as you take them off. Then you’ll be able to wash and dry them without ever needing to do any sorting. Also, you can significantly reduce the amount of time you spend ironing by making a point of promptly getting clothes out of the dryer and hanging them up. And if you really want to reduce the need for ironing, look for clothes that are made from fabrics that don’t wrinkle.
Fast But Still Clean
If you’re worried that streamlining this process will come at the expense of actually getting your clothes clean, you can eliminate that concern from your mind. As long as you follow the advice we covered for sorting laundry properly, finding the right amount to put in each load and combating stains by using a combination of pretreating and a detergent booster, you’ll be able to enjoy completely clean laundry without the stress of it consuming huge chunks of your day.
Julie Walker is a professional blogger. Since she also has two small children at home, she’s become quite the expert at finding shortcuts around the house. This has freed up lots of time for her to enjoy with her children, as well as on projects like the book she’s in the process of writing.