Laundry Tips and Tricks for Everyday Families
One thing that never runs out in my home is laundry. There is always a never-ending mountain of whites, darks, and towels to be sorted, washed, dried, folded, and put away. I know you can totally relate, right? I made a few simple changes to my laundry routine, and it made a big difference, now I don’t dread it quite as much. Give my laundry tips and tricks a try and see if they help you cut down that pile.
the household chores that have to be completed each week, there is one chore that most people can’t stand…laundry. It’s rare that someone LOVES doing laundry (and if you do, more power to you). However, most people feel like they go a little crazy trying to keep their laundry under control. I know I do! It seems to be a never-ending, all day, the time-consuming dreaded chore that most of us would rather pay someone to do even if it’s the only thing we did in our homes as far (as housekeeping goes). The more people you have, the more the laundry pile adds up. It can seem like you spend your entire life doing laundry. If you are looking for an easier way to get on top of your laundry, here are some laundry tips for everyday families to help save your sanity.
Laundry Tips and Tricks for Everyday Families
Create a schedule – Some people just can’t get ahead on laundry, unless they establish a plan for themselves. It doesn’t have to be a fancy schedule, just something to keep you on track. The idea is to do a little bit of laundry at a time, so you’re not stuck doing it all at once.
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Wash a load of laundry per day – Doing one load a day is much easier than trying to cram it all into one day, and you are less likely to run out of something like clean underwear. It also gives you smaller piles to fold and put away, making it more likely you will see the load from start to finish.
Make sorting easier for your family members – If you have space, you want to go ahead and have a three compartment sorter for whites, darks, and towels. Sorting your laundry as soon as you bring it to the laundry room or garage makes it a much easier job and you can task each family member with sorting their own laundry even little ones can handle this. Or you could have baskets out that are color-coded in each room or floor. Keep a basket in your bathrooms for towels. If you don’t have to waste time hunting down dirty laundry and sorting it, you will save yourself a lot of extra hassle.
Get rid of extra clothing – I know it may sound silly, but you may be killing yourself trying to get laundry done because your family simply has too many clothes. Get rid of the extra and avoid having to do all of that extra laundry. Really, you are in charge of how many pieces of clothing each person in your family owns, take control of it.
Use a trusted, timeless, practical laundry solutions – Use a refreshing laundry detergent that helps power through tough dirt and odors to leave you with a revitalizing scent. Finally, your laundry will smell as good as it looks because clean, white laundry is a beautiful thing. Right?
Fold the laundry right away – How many of you take the laundry from the dryer and throw it in a basket or in your bed? Always fold or hang up the laundry right away when it is done in the dryer. The longer you wait, the less likely you will actually do it. Set a reminder on your phone if you have to, so you will come back and take care of it.
Or have the owner put it away! I know, it’s hard! But if you are doing a load a day instead of trying to get it all caught up in one or two days it is a much more manageable task. When I used to fold laundry and set it on dressers or tables procrastinating on putting it away half the pile or more would end up on the floor, stepped on, and needing to be washed again doubling my work!
Find a way to remind your family – If you have teens in the house, they can totally help do laundry, it’s just a matter of reminding them. Put a reminder up on the family calendar to remind them, or better yet send them a reminder via text message. Most teenagers are more than capable of doing their laundry each week.
Rotate loads of laundry – Alternate whites on Monday, Darks on Tuesday, Towels on Wednesday, Sheets on Thursday, etc… Then start the whole process over again, this will keep you from Sheets get washed once a week, I try to make sure towels get used at least twice after baths. When I wash darks, I will further sort into blue jeans and more delicate clothes.
Keep all the laundry supplies together – Put a pretty basket on or near the dryer to hold all your supplies- laundry soap, stain remover, bleach, and fabric softener. This saves time and also makes it easy to see if you are running low on something so you can add it to your shopping list.
Do a deep clean on your washer once a month – Your washer will clean better if it doesn’t have hard water and build-up from soaps in it. All you need to do is toss in 1 1/2 cups for plain white vinegar in it and run it through a hot or warm cycle. It is best to do this on a “small load’ option if you have it.
Look behind your dryer and see if there is any lint – Not only is this a fire hazard, but it can be slowing down your dryer and making it work harder to dry things, often leaving them not fully dry at the end of a cycle. This ultimately wastes your time and money because you have to dry it for longer.
Invest in some dryer balls or buy some tennis balls to throw in the dryer – They will cut your dry time down significantly. You can also try throwing in a clean dry towel with bulky things like jeans and other towels to cut your drying time as well.
Spend less time folding laundry by deciding what doesn’t really need to be folded, anyway – For instance, it may seem unconventional, but we don’t match and fold socks./ We throw them in a laundry basket and when a member of the family needs a pair, they dig through and find one. This cuts so much time and it only takes seconds to make a match when we need one.
Don’t waste time re-washing clothes that you forgot about in the washer – Prevent it from happening by setting a timer and a reminder on your phone about 1 hour after the cycle should end. This way, even if you get busy, you should still get a reminder to go down and transfer it.
Don’t invest in stain remover –Instead of investing in expensive stain remover spray, why not try using dish soap on grease, grass and food stains? Most can be removed with just a bit of elbow grease and it usually takes less time than doing a bunch of pre-treating.
What is your favorite laundry tips and tricks?
