So… no one really loves to do laundry, but we all love the feeling of having the laundry done. You know- it feels good to wear fresh, clean clothes, or to sleep in a bed with fresh, clean linens. Not to mention that favorite sweater you saved from an unfortunate coffee spill…
In any case, if you’re doing the laundry anyway, might as well do a fabulous job of it, right? Here’s what you need to know to win at laundry:
1. Remove grease stains:
Rub a piece of chalk over the stain and then wash as usual.
2. Remove ink stains:
Rub in a little hand sanitizer before washing.
3. Remove lipstick stains:
Blot with white bread- crusts cut off, rolled into a ball- and then wash.
4. Remove armpit stains:
Mix lemon juice and baking soda in to a paste. Apply to stain and let it sit for one hour, then wash.
5. Easy sorting:
Set up separate baskets for dark, light, white, and delicate. Train your family to dump into the appropriate baskets, and the sorting is all done before laundry day!
6. Prevent static:
Ball up a piece of aluminum foil and place in the dryer to prevent static. You can use the same ball for up to six months- a great savings on dryer sheets.
7. Release wrinkles:
Smooth out wrinkles without an iron by placing a moist towel in the towel with your wrinkled blouse or shirt. Turn on drying cycle for a few minutes, remove clothes, and hang up.
8. Faster drying:
Help a load dry faster by throwing a (dry) fluffy towel in the dryer with the wet clothes for about 15 to 20 minutes. The towel will absorb the excess moisture, speeding up the drying for everything else.
9. Read all tags:
I know this hardly sounds like a hack, but trust me- reading the washing instructions on all your clothes will save lots of time, stress, and possibly clothes. You’ll have to rewash less often, and you’ll be spared the despair of ruining your favorite sweater.
If you want your laundry as clean and fresh as possible, it makes sense to keep the machine that cleans it as fresh as possible, too. Every so often, run it (empty) through a wash cycle with baking soda and vinegar. Here are the easy instructions to do this.
