Air Your Dirty Laundry

If my name were Pinocchio I’d say I absolutely LOVE laundry day. But I’m not made of wood and thankfully my nose doesn’t grow…

Doing laundry isn’t high on my favorite things list. What is? Trying out the new latest and greatest (yes, even if it involves the dreaded L word).

So when Method told me that they were the world’s first to create a dryer-activated fabric softener spray… my ears perked up. No sheet.

Just 4 entertaining sprays into the dryer and… WOWZA! Sweet smelling clothes that are static free and softer than a parade of velvet bunnies.

But what if I still hate (oh wait we don’t say that in our house…) a’hem LOATHE doing it?

Here are a few tips and tricks that I use to pretend I sorta-kinda like it or something…

ONE DAY OR MORE

Experiment to see which way works best for you. Some like to do a smaller load several days during the week. Whereas, others like to do several loads on one day. Play around. There’s not one right way of doing it. Which way do you prefer?
HAMPER(S)

Your hamper can be your bestie. I use mine to transport the wash to the laundry room and back up again to my bedroom (more on this later) and then yet again when putting piles of clothes away. Do you have one communal hamper or a hamper in each room? If there are young kids in the house, chances are they don’t know how to do their own wash from start to finish. That being said, little ones need help taking clothes off. What better time to teach them to put soiled clothes in the hamper? One hamper simplifies this teaching opportunity. In addition, having more than one basket makes it more difficult to determine when a load needs to be done. For me, if it’s all in one place then I can visually see, when it’s full… and thus, when it’s time to wash! Besides, it all gets tossed together at one point (after being sorted, of course) before washing, right? When kids get older and more independent, then yes, it makes sense for them to have their own hamper to do their own wash. Tip: We do have one other place to collect dirty clothes/linens… a smaller basket that sits on top of our dryer. That way, dirty linens or spur of the moment messes on the main floor, have a place to go. It’s small enough that it can always be combined when I wash a main load of clothes.

TREATING

Stains happen. But it’s easy to forget to treat them while they’re fresh. Keep a bottle of your favorite stain solution… or THIS DIY remover next to your laundry hamper(s). That way, before you toss into the hamper, you’re reminded to treat the stain. (This works best for those who do laundry more frequently.)
FOLDING (3 Tips)

1. Throwing the clothes into the washer isn’t the hard part. It’s the blasted folding part that’s the pain in the keester. So don’t. Don’t fold everything. If it’s meant to be hung up, why waste your time to fold it just to UNfold it when you put it away? Hmmm.

2. I learned a life-changing trick from my Mom (of course). After your clothes are dried, instead of folding them in the laundry or living room (or dare I say leave them in the dryer or hamper to do later…) dump them on your bed. Plus, you’re one step closer to getting the clothes back to the closet and/or drawers. If you get to folding right away then awesome. But if not, by the end of the day, you’ll be forced to fold before you go to bed. It’s a great way for me to get Husby involved too. Afterall, he’d like to sleep without rumpled socks between his toes. And I love the time it gives us to talk while doing it.

3. Before you fold, sort… by family member. Then when all the clothes are folded you have a neat pile to take to each person’s room – rather than getting winded running around the house taking one item at a time.

This post is in partnership with Method. All opinions expressed are my own.