How to Sort Clothes for Washing

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By HVLong
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Sorting clothes should not be difficult, but a surprising number of men and women are not taught to do their own laundry while growing up. After moving out of their parents' home, they are confronted with any number of tasks in household cleaning and organizing that they may be unfamiliar with, luckily, sorting laundry is pretty straightforward.

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

Step 1

Sort clothes by color. The most straightforward way to sort the clothing is by darks, lights and whites. Whites can be washing in hot water and with bleach. Lights should be washed in warm water and darks should be washing in cold. Color safe bleach is a good idea for these two loads of laundry.
Step 2

Sort clothes by type. A second method of sorting clothing is to sort it by type. All denim, for example, in one load, while all terry cloth (towels and robes) in another load. Sorting by type of fabric helps with both washing and drying. Lingerie, for example, can hung up easily after washing if not mixed in with other clothing types.
Step 3

Sort clothes by person who wears it. In a busy household, you can mix and match your loads if they are small and you use color safe bleach. You may wash a daughter's clothes separate from mom and dad's. Dad's clothing may be washed separately from dad's.
Step 4

Sort clothes and laundry by room. This is similar to step four, but it takes into account bed sheets, towels and other household linens. Kitchen towels, for example, may be washed separately from other towels because they may be greasy.
Step 5

Be sure to hang damp wash up to dry or run it through the dryer shortly after washing to avoid mold .