How long do you spend doing laundry each week? And how long does it sit in the basket after it’s been clean? Don’t feel guilty, we’ve all been there. But let’s try and change that routine and make your laundry faster and easier to do.
Laundry Supplies
I tried doing the DIY route for laundry detergent, but I found that it didn’t dissolve in cold water and I felt like my whites got dingier.
Instead, I opt for Costco’s Free and Clear laundry detergent. I pretty much just pick up a bottle whenever it’s on sale and that seems to line up well with how quickly we use it. Costco also makes an Environmentally Responsible detergent. I haven’t tried it yet, but I am curious.
Other than detergent, the only other thing I use is felted wool dryer balls. You can DIY these, but I know myself well enough to know that they’d probably end up on my long list of unfinished projects, so I just bought some from Amazon.
You can add essential oils to them to add scents to your laundry, but I’ve never done this personally.
I love my dryer balls! They work well and I never have to think about them, other than to make sure they all stay in my dryer and don’t get caught up with the clothes. Plus, it was a one-time purchase. Talk about cheaper, better and safer!
Sorting
One of the best things my husband brought to our marriage (besides his awesome self, of course), was a laundry hamper like this. I can’t recommend this hamper enough.
It makes it so my clothes are pre-sorted and it stops me from going too crazy with the sorting because there are only 3 bags. Plus, when I’m ready to do laundry, I just pull out one of the bags and dump it in the washer.
I divide our clothes into whites, jeans/dirty clothes, and colors. That’s it. Whites and colors are separately washed cold and gentle, and jeans warm and regular. If there’s room with the jeans, I’ll wash our towels too, if not I do a separate towels load and a linens load.
If you’re lazy like me, you might even rotate washing your towels and bedding every other week…
So far we’ve narrowed our laundry down to 4-5 loads. That’s not too bad.
Note: I don’t believe in dry cleaning or hand washing. Instead, I’ll wash things on gentle and hang dry. Nothing has been ruined so far!
Routine
Now, are you the kind of person who’d rather do one load a day or would you rather bust all the laundry out in one day?
Personally, I’m the second. I’d rather get it all done and then not have to think about it the rest of the week. Plus it feels complete to me when all the clothes are clean at the same time.
I do laundry on Friday nights or Saturday, a time when I know I’ll be staying around the house working on things. That way I can just keep the loads going one right after another.
I’ve worked my routine down to be as quick as possible.
The first thing I did was cut out the extra rinse on my washer. I personally haven’t noticed a difference in my clothes and it cuts my wash time down significantly.
Next, I’m very intentional about the order I wash my clothes in. I always do my jeans first because that load takes the longest to dry. While my jeans are in the dryer I’m able to wash my colors and hang them to dry and then wash my whites. By the time my whites are done washing, the jeans are done drying.
Then I’ll wash the towels and bedding if I have time and feel up for it. Like I said, these don’t always get done every week.
Folding
Last is the dreaded folding of the laundry. I know it feels like it takes forever, but it really doesn’t. I make myself fold my laundry as soon as I take it out of the dryer.
I try and make it more enjoyable though, by listening to fun music, an audiobook or a podcast. It’s a good distraction that makes the time go faster.
If for some reason the laundry didn’t get folded right after drying, I’ll pull it out the next time I’m vegging in front of the TV. Again, it makes the time go faster and be more enjoyable.
Bonus
One of my secrets for getting myself to not procrastinate laundry is not having a lot of clothes! I only have 2 pairs of jeans, and enough underwear to last a little over a week- enough to give me some wiggle room on what day I do laundry, but not much. I have enough tops that I can opt to do colors every other week if I wanted, but jeans and whites HAVE to get washed every week.
Don’t let the laundry take over your life! Instead, simplify your routine so you can get it done and move on! There’s no need for fancy supplies, detergent and wool dryer balls are all you need. Pair down your number of loads to the least amount possible and figure out the most efficient order to wash them in. And don’t procrastinate folding! Put on some fun music, and audiobook or podcast and bust it out! Soon you’ll forget why it used to be such a hassle!