Tips for Making Laundry Day Go Smoothly

In the most recent Marketplace at Fells Point Blog, we offered our readers a few DIY home scents you can use in your apartment for a fresh start to spring here in Baltimore, MD. Keep your clothes, sheets, and home extra clean and smelling great by staying on top of your laundry and making use of your apartment’s washer and dryer. Today, we have tips for helping your laundry day go smoothly.

Manage your time.

As with anything, if you make time for it, you can get it taken care of in a way that works for you. If you prefer to do laundry throughout one entire free day, block out your schedule for it and do other chores while you wait for the machine to run. If you prefer or need to do a load every day, make it a part of your schedule so folding and putting things away actually gets accomplished. Enlist help if needed!

Keep a separate area for single socks.

It happens to the best of us: lost socks can be frustrating to deal with and difficult to match up, even after months of trying to reunite socks of that pair you can’t bear to throw out. One solution to clearing the clutter is to cut up lone socks that are nearing their end anyway and use them as cleaning rags. Or, make it easier to match socks by using a “Lost Socks” sign.

Sort every day.

Sorting through laundry can be annoying and time-consuming. Make things easier by using a divided hamper or separate baskets or bags. Each night, sort by dividing whites and colors. By the time laundry day arrives, you won’t have to worry about sorting through everything. If you treat your stains as they come and as you put your clothes in the hamper, you can get even more done, while maintaining the integrity of your garment. Check out this Stain Solutions Guide for ways to get rid of any stain.

Mind your loads.

It’s tempting to stuff just one more thing into the machine, but doing so can lead to overloading, which traps the water and dirt in, stopping the soap from thoroughly cleaning the items. So fight it! Go for another load. This is easier to do when you separate not only light from dark items, but also things that require gentler washes than other, more generic items. Check the tags on your items and follow the washing directions!

What other tips, stain solutions, or strategies for time management do you have that help you out come laundry day? Let us know by leaving a comment. Good luck! We hope these ideas help!