Introduction
Doing laundry can quickly become overwhelming if it’s not kept up with on a regular basis. Cluttered laundry rooms, overflowing hampers, and piles of clean clothes that never seem to make it to the closet can make this household chore feel never-ending. However, with some simple organizational hacks, you can stay on top of your laundry and maintain a sense of order. Here are 9 tips to help streamline your laundry system.
Schedule Laundry Days
To avoid getting behind on washing clothes, set aside specific days each week when you will do laundry. For instance, tackle darks on Wednesdays and lights on Saturdays. Having designated laundry days builds a routine so you don’t end up with massive piles of dirty clothes.
Try to do at least one load per day if you can. This prevents laundry from accumulating throughout the week. And for busy families, getting everyone to bring their laundry to one central location on laundry day saves time.
Use Laundry Baskets Effectively
Invest in enough laundry baskets so each family member has their own. This eliminates fighting over whose clothes are whose and makes sorting easier. Have hampers in convenient spots like bedrooms and bathrooms so dirty clothes don’t end up on the floor.
Also, get a separate hamper for delicates and towels vs regular clothes. And if you wash different colors separately, dedicate a basket to lights and another to darks.
Fold and Put Away Clothes Right Away
Don’t allow clean clothes to sit in a pile for days. As soon as a load is done washing and drying, take time to fold items right away. Then immediately put them back in drawers or closets.
Folding while sitting on the sofa watching TV helps this chore go faster. And putting clothes away as soon as they’re clean prevents wrinkling and misplaced items.
Do Smaller Loads More Frequently
Washing smaller loads makes the process quicker and easier to keep up with. For large families, avoid cramming multiple days worth of laundry into one gigantic load. This takes longer to wash and dry. It’s also difficult to fold and sort piles this big.
Aim to do smaller loads every day or every other day. This keeps the laundry under control and prevents machines from getting overloaded.
Add Baking Soda to Fight Odors
Over time, laundry can start to take on musty odors from being left balled up in the washer or sitting wet in the machine. Baking soda absorbs and neutralizes these smells.
Sprinkle about 1/4 cup of baking soda directly into the drum of your washer before adding clothes. Or add it to the detergent compartment. The baking soda dissolves and leaves clothes freshly scented.
Use Color Catchers for Colors That Bleed
Some bright fabrics and new colorful clothes tend to bleed dye in the wash. Place a color catcher sheet in the load to prevent colored clothes from bleeding onto lighter items. These sheets trap loose dye, keeping it from transferring to other laundry.
Color catchers prevent you from having to wash darks and lights separately. Just throw one of these absorptive sheets in mixed loads to keep colors from running.
Designate a Laundry Sorting Station
Damaged laundry often comes from tossing clothes on the floor and leaving them there for days. Set up a dedicated sorting table or other flat surface near your laundry setup.
Use this space to neatly fold and organize washed and dried items before putting them away. Having a set spot prevents clean clothes from getting wrinkled and mixed in with dirty laundry on the floor.
Use Laundry Bags for Small Items
It’s easy for small delicate items like lingerie and socks to get lost or damaged in the wash. Keep these smaller clothing pieces together by using mesh laundry bags. Place the easily misplaced items inside, and toss the bags right in with the regular laundry.
The mesh allows detergent and water to circulate while containing the tiny clothes. The bags also make it fast to pair up socks since they stay together!
Clean Out Lint Regularly
Excess lint buildup in the lint trap, vent hose, and ductwork can create a fire hazard over time. Make it part of your laundry routine to clean out the lint trap in the dryer after each use.
Periodically use a vent brush to clear lint from the vent hose and duct system to maintain airflow and drying efficiency. A clean dryer runs better and is less likely to start a fire.
Conclusion
Staying on top of mounting piles of laundry is possible with some simple planning and organizational hacks. Regular laundry days, effective sorting and storage methods, and quick folding and putting away make this task feel less daunting. Implementing a system for washing clothes makes it easy to stay on track. With a few organizational tweaks, you can master laundry management once and for all.