How to Save Time Doing Laundry
One of the most dreaded, tedious and boring household chores is doing laundry. The sooner we can get it over with, the better. We can hardly wait for the day a genius inventor designs a gadget that can wash, dry, fold, press and hang our clothes without human intervention. But until that day comes, we must devote major chunks of our precious time to doing our laundry. How can we save time? Here are some minute-saving tips. Does this Spark an idea?
Instructions
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Use a three-bin hamper system. Whether it's one big hamper with three sections or three different hampers lined up, it doesn't matter as long as you can use it to presort your laundry. Label the first bin "Whites," the second bin "Light Colors" and the third bin "Dark Colors." Toss your dirty and soiled clothes into the appropriate bins as soon as you take them off. This will save you time from sorting your clothes out of one big, dirty laundry heap.
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Designate a laundry day and do it all in one swoop. Doing one big batch of laundry is faster than doing two small batches on separate occasions. Washing and drying full loads is also more cost-effective in terms of power and water consumption.
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Use wheeled laundry carts. Wheeled devices will help facilitate transporting dirty (and clean) laundry to and from the designated areas. A wheeled cart can move loads that will otherwise require two or more trips to carry between the laundry room and the walk-in closets.
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Use the appropriate wash cycle. Observe how long it takes for your washer to go through the "Normal" cycle. Are your clothes so dirty that they need to be subjected to an hour-long wash and rinse process? If your laundry is mostly regular casual wear, consider using a shorter cycle. It not only saves time, but also reduces the unnecessary abuse your wardrobe is getting from the "Normal" cycle.
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Multitask. Doing laundry requires very little brain function; therefore, do something else at the same time. Read a book/magazine or do some gardening while the dryer is spinning and watch television, listen to the radio or phone your folks while folding and ironing clothes.
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Get a helping hand. Make laundry day a family activity. The more hands, the faster you load and unload the washer/dryer, move and carry the laundry baskets and fold and hang the clothes. Laundry day might even turn out to be a fun day.
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Have someone else do it. This will definitely save you time, but of course, it comes with a price.
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Tips & Warnings
Keep all of your laundry paraphernalia together. Detergents, stain removers, softeners, hangers and other accessories should all be within reach.
Plan ahead. If there are stained items you need to deal with, pretreat them early so that they can join the rest of the laundry items in your wash/dry routine.
When it's time to purchase a new washer/dryer set, choose units that are ergonomically attuned to your situation. Front-loading and elevated units might be more convenient (therefore less time-consuming) for you. Naturally, more efficient washers and dryers require less time to do the job.
Resources
Comments
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I hate to do laundry!
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stained items you"ll need a soap that I use called Astonish stain remover Bar Soap and and it is really good, put the soap onto the stain,, with a good among of water and if you can not get a hold of this soap just try another stain remover soap.
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doing all whites with whites, is really good, when laundry is doing you can be doing other things not just sitting their having tea watching the machine go round and round.
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we hang dry our clothes and dry them in a condenser dryer to make it softer, as you know hung dried clothes get really hard ;).
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I try to use my clothes line, for drying whenever possible!
