Take a load off your laundry?  I’ll be the first to say it: I loath laundry!  Perhaps because it’s one of those household tasks that literally never ends, or because stubborn stains just seem to laugh at you time after time, or perhaps it’s the snarky sock monster — for whatever reason, I know I’m not alone in my feelings about this.  Am I right?

In any case, I’ve developed a few strategies to help ease the pain of this never-ending saga known as laundry.  Take a look, and see which ones work for you, or what more you would add to this.

* Schedule it: I do one load of laundry every weekday.  (An awesome tip I picked up from The Stressed Mom!)  I’ve found that by sticking to a schedule, and doing just one load a day, it’s MUCH more manageable for me.  I bring that load down either first thing in the morning or after I put the kids to bed the night before; throw the clothes in the dryer in the morning; then fold while the kids nap – or whenever I get a moment.  This also allows for a little wiggle room, like if I fall behind, it’s not dreadful to catch up, doing two loads a day, or simply moving each load back a day, and doing one load over the weekend.  Here’s my schedule, if you need some inspiration: Monday – whites; Tuesday – darks; Wednesday – alternate between bed sheets and hub’s dress shirts; Thursday – towels (includes all bibs, washcloths, hand towels, etc); Friday – kids clothes

* Vinegar! If you haven’t unleashed the awesomeness that is vinegar, the laundry is a great place to start.  Since I only use a little bit of laundry detergent, I fill the rest of my cup with vinegar.   This acts as both a fabric softener, and helps to brighten clothes.  As a bonus, it costs only a buck or two for a gallon size, compared to the much smaller containers of liquid fabric softener.

* Make it Smell Good.  Yeah, this may seem silly, but indulge in products like Downy Unstopables or Purex Crystals for select loads of laundry, and your senses will thank you!  I use them on bed sheets, towels, and my husband’s dress shirts.  (I also stick some in mismatched baby socks, and toss them under the trash bags in our diaper pail and kitchen trash.  This makes a BIG difference!)  An added benefit is the rather long-lasting scent that’ll stick with you (er, your clothes) for WEEKS!

* Designate a “Soaking” Area. I’m fortunate to have a sink in my laundry room; but I don’t like taking up the sink for the sake of soaking one (or even a few) pieces of clothes in the process, nor using the washing machine either.  SO, I use a small bucket or tub (the ones we brought home with us from the hospital) to soak a few items.  I use a paint stick to stir or agitate when needed.  This would be easy to do in a smaller laundry area, as well.  (P.S.  WHY don’t I soak in the machine?  Because sometimes I let items soak overnight, and want to keep the machine available.  Also, it typically takes less water to soak this way.)

That’s a few of my favorite laundry tips.  Do you have others you’d like to share?  Please comment below with some of your favorite tips OR questions about laundry.

Keep on saving!  :o)

A trick I’ve learned after doing laundry for almost twenty years?  (I know, I know, I started doing laundry when I was, like, five…  tee hee) Never go by how much the manufacture label tells you to use!  Think about it: they WANT you to use large amounts, so that you go through it faster, so you have to run out and buy more of their product.  SO, are YOU using too much laundry detergent??? [Read more…]