Efficient laundry routine: 10 tips for busy people

If you’re busy, household chores often take a back seat to other more important tasks. You say to yourself “I’ll do it tomorrow”. Tomorrow probably doesn’t work for you either. Before you know it a week goes by and you haven’t done any of your household chores. Your floors look dusty and your laundry pile is now a mountain surrounded by clouds. You could probably use a few tips for a more efficient laundry routine right? Well, we’ve got you covered. Here are 10 tips to make you a laundry pro!

 

 

1. Create A Laundry Basket System

To sort dirty clothes, it’s best to acquire a couple of laundry baskets. One for whites, one for darks, and one for pastels. With this system you sort by colors. You can also sort by types of clothing. Fill each basket with pants, sweaters, socks, etc.. After washing and drying you’ll already have your clean clothes sorted, ready to be folded and put away.

 

Do you live alone? Then it’s more efficient to not sort at all. You probably wont be able to fully fill each basket/load with your clothes. Just wash everything together! Do wash new clothes (especially darks) separately the first time to prevent color bleeding in the future.

 

2. Apply The Golden Laundry Rule

Do you have to go down on your hands and knees looking for socks and picking up shirts in the bedrooms before every wash? Give each kid his or her own laundry basket, and maybe even your husband (or wife!). Present the golden laundry rule: only the clothes that are in the baskets get washed!

 

 

 

3. Clean Your Washing Machine Periodically

The washing machine itself needs to be cleaned once in a while too. Doing this is not only good for the durability of the machine, but also for consistently spotless wash loads. Vinegar is an excellent cleaning solution for you washing machine. You can find instructions on how to do that here.

 

4. A Towel In The Dryer

You waited too long to wash a pair of pants that you want to wear right now. But you’re stuck waiting for the drying cycle to end. Sound familiar? Add a soft, dry towel to the drying load. Your clothes will dry much faster!

 

5. Use Your Dryer As An Iron

Do you hate ironing? Stupid question. Of course you do. Add your clothes to the dryer for 10 minutes, take them out and hang the warm-and-damp pants or t-shirts to air dry. You wont need to iron them anymore! Sadly, this trick does not work for button-down shirts (cue the sad violin).

 

 

6. Hang Directly After Washing

Take wet clothes out of the washing machine directly after the cycle ends. By leaving your wet clothes in the drum, you give bacteria the chance to play freely and your load can start to smell. You should also fold clothes straight from the dryer to prevent wrinkles. You’ll notice that your iron won’t be used as much.

 

7. Add Socks To A Small Laundry Bag

You run your wash cycle and notice that fewer socks came out than you put in. The sock mystery is an issue most people have dealt with at least once. Where in the world is that other sock?! Sometimes they hide in pant legs or bed sheets. Other times they get eaten by your washing machine. The solution: wash them in a small mesh laundry bag like the one below.

 

 

8. Make A List Of “Dryer Proof” Items

Letting your significant other or older kids take care of the laundry saves you a lot of time and energy. You’re just not home 100% of the time. To make sure you do this without the worry you can leave washing instructions on the washing machine and a list of dryer proof clothes on the dryer. Items that are not on the list need to be hung to air dry.

 

9. Use Mr. Timesaver’s On-Demand Delivery Service In The Hague, Leiden, Rotterdam & Delft

Leave your laundry, & dry cleaning (and ironing!) to professionals. This way you know your clothes are being properly taken care off. You can place an order online and set your preferred pick-up & delivery times. Mr. Timesaver picks-up your items at home and delivers them back to you in 24 hours!

 

10. Consistency

The most important tip for a more efficient laundry routine is: be consistent! If you let your laundry basket bulge out every time, you’ll always feel like you have to move a mountain before you actually move your mountain of clothes (to the washing machine). You just don’t know where to start. It helps to set a standard laundry day every week. It may sound old fashioned but it adds structure to your household. Mr. Timesaver can help you set this up asap! Choose to have your dirty clothes picked up and delivered on standard days every week, every other week, or once a month. Whatever works best for you. Just email us at info@mrtimesaver.nl