How to Save Time Doing Laundry

Contributor

By Ruby Bayan
eHow Contributing Writer

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(55 Ratings)

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.

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

Hampers
Wheeled cart

Step 1

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.
Step 2

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.
Step 3

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.
Step 4

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.
Step 5

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.
Step 6

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.
Step 7

Have someone else do it. This will definitely save you time, but of course, it comes with a price.