Reduce Time You Spend doing Laundry

As promised here is another handful of housekeeping tips to reduce the time you spend in the laundry room.

• Keep a bath towel in your laundry room to throw in the dryer with something that needs “ironing.” Set your dryer for a 10 minute spin, and you are good to go. (If the wrinkles are bad, lightly spray the item with water or put a damp wash cloth in the dryer with the item).

• Clothes dry faster if you pop a tennis ball or two into the dryer with the wet clothes.

• Have pants that can’t go through the dryer? Hang them upside down. The weight of the top of the pants–which is now at the bottom ;-)– will pull out all or most of the wrinkles.

• Keep a bag or box in the laundry area for those lone socks that always seem to show up in the wash. At the end of the month you will have the joy of witnessing socks reunited with their mates. Hey, you’ve gotta get joy where you can find it!

• Vinegar makes a superb fabric softener. Just pour a cup into the fabric softener section of your washer. Vinegar also makes your towels more absorbant, and actually deoderizes your wash too. (I know that’s counter-intuitive, but it’s true–trust me!)

• Yes, you can keep your dark colored clothes from fading. Before the first wash set your washer to the small load setting and add 2 cups of salt and 2 cups of white vinegar to the water, agitate and then add the clothing item. Run it through the wash cycle and then launder as usual.

Now, it’s your turn. What makes “laundry day” easier for you? Please share.