Oh, laundry … like all household chores, it's never done. Ever. EVER. So, since it's an eternal fact of life, we might as well make the best of it, right? I mean, short of winning the Lottery and hiring a personal laundry assistant, plus one person whose sole job is keeping socks matched up. (Hey, a mom can dream. We can call him Keeper of the Socks!)
Ok, fine, buy some Lottery tickets. But in the meantime, we've rounded up a bunch of really great ideas and tips for making your laundry life just a little bit easier, and, dare we say … more pleasant!
What's your least favorite part of doing laundry?
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Make a Laundry Organization Binder
Chelsea McDonnough of Two Twenty One has completely blown my mind with her Laundry Organization Binder. It makes so. Much. SENSE! Check out her post for what to include, like stain removal guides and a laundry symbol decoder. Brilliant!
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DIY Your Own Reusable Dryer "Sheets"
Ali from The Mama's Girls has a super-easy-to-follow tutorial for making your own fabric softener sheets. It's truly effortless, and really cost-effective!
Give New Life to Your Leather Pants
Wash leather pants. Wait, what?! Oh yes, yes you can. The team over at She Finds says that washing leather pants and skirts "is good for them, helps them retain their shape after several wears, and even improves the overall sheen of the leather."
Holy moly! Check out their instructions for giving your leather clothes new life by throwing them in the dryer, or even getting them wet first, then drying.
Use Mr. Black for No-Brainer Specialty Fabric Care
Another great tip from She Finds: check out Mr. Black Garment Essentials for products specifically designed to clean and/or refresh (via garment spray!) everything from cashmere and wool to shoes. The line totally removes the thinking and guesswork out of washing tricky items
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How to UN-SHRINK Your Clothes
Finally!!! Help for that rayon dress you accidentally threw in the dryer! (AUGH!) Lindsay Bay of the blog Down by the Bays has step-by-step instructions here for using conditioner (and some patience) to un-shrink clothing.
Use Essential Oil Instead of Scented Laundry Detergent
Holistic Health Coach Kelly Costigan of My Happy Belly has a great tip for people with allergies or sensitive skin who typically can't use scented laundry detergent: Add a couple drops of essential oil to your hypoallergenic laundry detergent before you pour it into the washer. You can create a custom scent; Kelly's favorite combo is equal parts sweet orange and lavender.
Use Dry Erase Pens on Your Washer for Notes
Never forget again that you have something in the washing machine that can't go into the dryer! Tina M. at Mother's Niche shares her washing machine / dry-erase board idea — all you need is a dry erase pen. (This is also super helpful if you've got any family members in the house who actually help you do the laundry!)
Make a Crib Spring Drying Rack
This is a bigger project to complete, but once it's done, it'll be great, especially if you don't have a lot of room to hang things. Courtney from A Diamond in the Stuff has all the easy instructions for making your own drying rack to hang from the ceiling.
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Use Aspirin as a Brightener
Jenna Mahoney, author of Small Apartment Hacks: 101 Ingenious DIY Solutions for Living, Organizing, and Entertaining (Ulysses Press), recommends aspirin as a brightener and whitener. Just toss into the drum of the washer to take out stains!
Laundry Basket Dresser
So smart! This is a "dresser" for laundry baskets, so you can sort right into the baskets, and then take the whole thing to the room where those clothes live. It's also just a great way to get baskets up and off the floor. DIY expert Ana White has all the instructions for this laundry basket dresser.
Use a Salad Spinner for Delicates
Style expert Bridgette Raes uses a salad spinner to help dry delicate items like bras and other lingerie. This way, you don't have to wring out those items, and it cuts the line-drying time way down!
Keep Your Messy Detergent Cup Clean
The Stir's very own Senior Editor (and mom of two) Sheri Reed got sick of that sticky liquid laundry detergent measuring cup sitting around her laundry room between washings, leaving drips and rings and mucking everything up. So now she just throws the whole cup in with her load and it comes out clean every time.
IS YOUR MIND BLOWN?!
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"I Know Where It Goes" Drawer Decals
AKA: How to get your little ones to help put their clothes away! Genius, right? Start them young, that's what I say. Susan of Crafter Hours has a tutorial for making your own drawer decals, and information on where to buy them if you don't want to DIY.
