source: one good thing
I’ve been blogging for a decade as of this year, and laundry has been a major focus of mine since the beginning! Keeping a household running and keeping on top of laundry often go hand in hand, especially for those of us who play the role of CHO, or Chief Household Officer. 🙂
And, while some of the laundry tips I’ve shared over the years are quite specific (for example, the best way to remove blood stains), I’ve discovered that the more general tips and tricks save me the most time and energy. So today I’d like to share some of my favorite game-changing laundry tips with you all, so we can all work smarter, not harder when it comes to keeping our clothes and linens clean!
Know Your Laundry Symbols
Keep a copy somewhere in your laundry room (I taped mine to the inside of the cupboard door directly above my washing machine) so you can reference it quickly to make sure you’re washing your clothes the correct way.
Wash Expensive Items Carefully
You get what you pay for with certain items of clothing, and that’s especially true for bras. If you’ve invested in a quality bra, then you probably want to get your money’s worth out of it!
The best way to ensure your bras and other expensive items last as long as possible is to wash them carefully and correctly. But the good news is that it isn’t all that difficult or time-consuming to wash your bras and other delicates properly!
Maintain Your Washer & Dryer
And speaking of protecting your investments, major appliances like your washing machine and dryer are definitely investments worth protecting too! Keeping them in tip-top shape is as simple as giving each of them a good deep cleaning at regular intervals.
Give your dryer a tune-up to cut down drying times, save money on your power bill, and most importantly, avoid a potential house fire! And deep clean your washer to eliminate grimy buildup inside the machine that can impair its ability to keep your clothes clean.
Cut Down On Drying Time
From saving money on electricity to plain old impatience, there are plenty of valid reasons you may want your laundry to dry in less time! And luckily for us, there are a couple of laundry tips that make it easy to do just that.
Adding several wool dryer balls to your dryer along with each load will improve airflow and help your laundry dry faster. Another simple option is to add an extra spin cycle to the end of a wash cycle. More spinning means less water, and less water means faster drying!
Use Fast Folding Hacks
If you dread the monotony of folding laundry once it comes out of the dryer, learning a few folding hacks can speed up the process considerably. Check out my favorite way to fold a t-shirt quickly, a fast-folding hack for fitted sheets, and my helpful folding guide for time-saving and tidy folding tips!
Never Lose Another Sock
We may never truly understand the dimensional disturbances or metaphysical phenomena that cause socks to disappear from our washers and dryers forever.
Iron As Needed…
Keep a towel on top of your washer or dryer for quick ironing jobs. There are lots of times that I just need to iron a hem and I don’t want to drag out my ironing board, so I just toss the towel over my dryer and iron away!
You could even keep a hair straightener handy to quickly sort out unruly collars and cuffs. And for those who are really short on space, like in small apartments and dorms, a made bed makes a suitable ironing surface too!
…Or Avoid It Altogether
Avoid ironing altogether by whipping up a batch of your own homemade wrinkle release spray! Just spritz it onto wrinkled items, gently stretch the fabric to release the wrinkles, and then let the item air dry.
Wash In Cold Water
Conserve energy and save money by washing the majority of your laundry in cold water. Hot water is great when you need to dissolve tough residues or eliminate bacteria, but for most everyday loads that are lightly soiled, cold water works just fine!
Air Dry Often
Air drying your clothes is another simple way to save energy and money! If you don’t like that stiff, starchy feel that air-dried clothes sometimes have, throw your clothes in the dryer for 5-10 minutes, then hang them to dry the rest of the way.
In the winter, air-drying your clothes inside can help combat dry air from your heating system, especially if you put your line or drying rack near one of your heating vents.
“Dry Clean” At Home (Option #1)
You may not need to make the trip to dry cleaners for every piece of clothing that’s labeled “dry clean only.”
“Dry Clean” At Home (Option #2)
Another way to cut down on dry cleaning bills is to make a homemade version of Dryel dry cleaning cloths! These special at-home dry cleaning kits are sometimes available in the laundry aisle at the store, but you can easily replicate it at home and save yourself the money (and the trip to the store!)
