I save time and money in the laundry room THIS way.
When I take my clothes from the washer I hang almost all of the shirts on hangers, button the top button on button-downs, straighten the collars, tug on the sleeves, pull and smooth, etc. From there, I either hang them on over-the-door hooks or on the wash line if the day is nice (even the shower rod is good if there aren't too many hangers to weigh the rod). When dry, they can be put straight into each person's closet. I also pay attention to the direction clothes are hung in each closet and hang the wet shirts accordingly so I don't have to re-hang them later.
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Not having your washed clothes dry in time for an event can be a bit of a damper. (Get it? Damper! Sorry.) Here is how to get them dry quickly. Here is a real-life example with my socks.
I was taught to put bleach in all my white loads for 3 reasons.
Use pliers to pull the spout out from liquid laundry soap when the bottle is empty. You can get one more load out of what would normally get thrown away.
I have learned to keep a couple large pins attached to the cell phone/ID case I wear around my neck.
Jump start stain removal for your clothing by keeping a pre-treat spray bottle (or whatever you use) in the place where you undress or with your hamper. This works better for me than waiting until laundry day when the stain is well set.
If you need to use bleach on your fabric, make certain to rinse with white vinegar in the water. This keeps the bleach from continuing to work after it has been 'rinsed' out with plain water.
Conserving on Laundry Costs. I fill and run the washer at bedtime, only full loads and cold water. In the morning I hang the clothes on an old fashioned clothesline. . .
A lot of power and water is used doing your laundry. Here are a few tips to help decrease the impact of doing laundry on your utility bills.
When I'm doing the laundry, I keep a threaded needle in the cupboard above the washer so I can sew buttons back on clothes as soon as I find they came off in the washer or dryer.
Pull something out of the dryer that's not quite dry? Lay over the top of the boot dryer to finish drying it.
Machine-wash your whites in cold water, using a detergent and washing soda mixture. Hot water sets the stains, instead of removing them.
It's common knowledge to save on water by adjusting the water level of the laundry load. They say to wait until a full wash load is dirty before washing to also save on hydro.
If you have a dowel, piece of PVC pipe or like me, a butter knife you can hang up to 5 or 6 shirts or pants between the washer and dryer. I recently found this was so much handier than hanging up clothes on door knobs and the backs of chairs.
I supplement regular detergent with borax, and wash in cold water always. When using the clothes dryer, I throw in a couple clean tennis balls.
It's as easy as pie. I "discovered" this by simple accident. 'I spilled the vanilla on one of my towels and had to wash it right away to get the stain out.
I have a favorite magnet, that's really eye catching, that I use it in my laundry room. I usually use liquid fabric softener, so if I need to put dryer sheets in a specific load of laundry, I put the magnet on the washer as a "reminder".
I like to run a extra wash cycle on my clothes sometimes. The problem has been that I missed the end of the wash cycle, and when I got back to the washer, it was already into the rinse cycle.
I found that I saved a good amount of money by waiting 2 weeks to do laundry -- and also by ironing only once every 2 weeks. Savings have been about $50.00 a month on our electric bill!
I often don't have time to separate laundry. No, that's not quite true, I often don't care enough to separate laundry (LOL) and I have a feeling that I'm not alone in my 'sloth'. Actually, it works out well for me.
If your washing machine does not have an alarm that sounds when it is finished, set the kitchen timer after starting the wash load to remind yourself it is done.
Have you or your kids ever added too much laundry detergent to your washing machine, and found that the bubbles were beginning to overflow?
I have several pairs of lounge pants that have both elastic and a drawstring in them.
When treating laundry stains, I keep safety pins handy and put one where the stain is. When I pull the laundry item out of the washer, I look for the safety pin, to see if the stain came out, before I put it in the dryer.
When washing large or heavy loads of laundry, run the washer thru a second spin cycle. Gets out lots more water for faster dry time.
When a laundry basket breaks, don't toss it. Drill holes in the rim on either side of the break and sew it together again!
Take a permanent ink Sharpie and write the temperature in bold letters on the tags.
Keep a stain stick in the kitchen or near your eating area, so when someone spills food on their clothes, they can immediately rub stain stick on the spots.
When doing laundry, you only need to use about half the amount of soap that the box or bottle calls for to get your clothes clean. More soap can gunk up your washer and doesn't always rinse properly out of your clothes, leaving an unsightly build-up.
All those expensive t-shirts need to be turned inside out when you wash them so the design continues to look like new. Jeans look great for a long time if you turn them inside out also.
When I do my laundry I separate the clothes by color. I put the greens with greens, reds with reds or pink, purple and blacks with black, etc. This way the colors of the clothes circulate throughout the wash and thus preserving the colors in your clothes.
For musty smell, add 1 cup ammonia with laundry detergent and wash as usual.
This is a little something that I do to save me time, money, and sanity. As soon as I take my pants off for the day, I look through all my pants pockets and remove change, papers, and Chapsticks.
When doing laundry for my 5 boys, sorting is easy: each boy's clothing item is marked on the "collar" area with the first initial of their name, in permanent marker.
When putting my laundry in the wash I put all my socks in a mesh bag and also a seperate mesh bag for my underwear. When it comes out of the dryer, it is already seperated to be put away.
Keep a can punch in the laundry room. This is a great tool for opening those boxes of laundry detergent without ripping your fingernails.
Before washing clothes which have a drawstring at the waist (or anywhere for that matter), stitch across it down the middle of the back. If you don't sew, a safety pin will do the trick.
Set your oven timer when you put a load of clothes in the washer. If left crumpled up in the washing machine, they'll develop more wrinkles, and colors will bleed more.
I hang shirts and blouses on hangers to dry after washing. Most cotton shirts can be softened up for wearing by putting in the dryer with a dryer sheet for only about 10 minutes and then rehanging on the hanger. This saves you money on your energy bill! By SueKaf
