Laundry is an abysmal chore that not many people want to tackle. Plowing through mountains of laundry for the family is tedious and time consuming.
If dirty clothes—and clean ones—are dragging you down, here are a few tips to help you save time on laundry!
#1. Create a laundry schedule.
It can be helpful to create a laundry schedule for yourself. Wash and dry like items on different days of the week, such as sheets on Sunday, towels on Tuesday, and so on. You can save time on laundry with a schedule, because you won’t be fumbling around trying to figure out what needs washed and what doesn’t on any given day.
#2. Do one person’s clothes at a time.
Sorting through laundry can be a tedious chore. Save time on laundry by washing each person’s clothes in separate loads. That way you can just take the out of the dryer, fold or hang up clothes, and put them away—no sorting required. You can even assign each person a day of the week to rotate into your laundry schedule.
#3. Get rid of your socks.
I’m not advocating going sockless here, but purging your socks can really save time on laundry! A couple of years ago, we tossed all of our socks and replaced them with socks that were identical. The old socks were getting worn out anyway, and now we don’t have to worry about matching socks at all. Huge time saver!
#4. Coral lone socks.
Even after The Great Sock Purge, we still end up with lonely mateless socks from time to time. These lonely socks get tosses into a dedicated mesh bag. When we get enough of them, they all get mated and the cycle repeats itself.
#5. Clean your closet.
Chances are you have at least some clothes in your closet or drawers that you don’t wear for whatever reason. If so, it’s time to get rid of them. Not only can they find their way to the laundry, somehow, but they can also be a pain to sift through when you’re looking for something to wear. This goes double for kids, who have a habit of sneaking clothes they haven’t worn into the dirty laundry.
#6. Invest in multiple laundry baskets.
I have a theory—you can never have too many laundry baskets! Each person in our house has a laundry basket, and there are laundry baskets in the bathrooms, laundry room, and kitchen. We presort the laundry before it even makes it to the laundry room, which is a great way to save time on laundry!
#7. Time it right.
You can really save time on laundry by simply timing each step of the chore right. For instance, start a load of laundry before dinner and it should be ready to put in the dryer by the time dinner is done. You can also fold and hang up laundry while you’re watching a movie or TV show.
#8. Stack clothes to hang them quickly.
I discovered this little trick a few months ago, and it’s a great way to save time on laundry! Instead of putting clothes on hangers one by one, lay them flat stacked on top of each other. Then, slip a hanger into each shirt or under each pair of pants and fold them over as you do. With a little practice, you can have a whole load of clothes hung up in no time flat!
#9. Hang outfits on hangers.
This is a lazy person’s way to hang clothes, but it’s a huge time saver in the morning! Hang entire outfits—underwear, bra, shirt, and pants—on one hanger. That way you can just grab and go in the morning.
#10. Learn a quick folding technique.
Have you ever heard of Japanese t-shirt folding? If not, make sure you check out this video for a quick lesson. It will change your life!
#11. “File” your clothes in drawers.
You probably fill your drawers with clothes on top of each other. To save time and get a little more organized, fill your drawers vertically, with folded clothes going up and down. It’s similar to putting files into a filing cabinet. It’s way more organized, and you can find items much faster and easier. This video shows a great example of this method!
