How to do Your Laundry

Everybody needs to do laundry, it is not fun, but it needs to be done. There are many different way to do your laundry, and I will go over the basics with you.

Divide your laundry into four massive piles. One with underwear, socks (white ones), light colored t-shirts, light colored basketball shorts, and any other light colored clothes. The second pile is towels, washcloths, kitchen towels and the hand towels that you dry your hands on in the bathroom. Third pile is all your sheets and pillow cases. And the last pile is all your jeans, jean shorts and all the dark clothes, including dress socks, dark t-shirts and anything the color red. There can be other piles too such as shop rags, do not EVER wash these with your clothes because the grease will get on your clothes and ruin them. You should also wash your comforter and blankets at least once a month; these too will be a separate batch. If one pile is huge, divide it into two by like clothes. If the light batch is big, divide into shirts and shorts and all others into another. If darks are too big, just separate all the denim into one and everything else into the other.

If you have shirts or pants that are inside out, make sure to turn them the correct way around. Also be sure to empty all pockets of everything. A pen in a pocket will ruin all your clothes; change in your pocket will be super noisy and let’s face it, you need the change.  It’s just a good habit to empty your pockets before throwing them into the dirty clothes pile.

Now that the clothes are separated you are ready, get your first batch into the washer. Wash all clothes on a cold cycle to #1 save money heating the water and #2 it is gentler on your clothes and they will last longer. The only exception is your sheets and bedding. They should be washed on hot with a cold rinse. The hot water will “kill” anything on them and sanitize them better than cold water can. Put your first batch into the machine, top loaders add your soap to the top, front washers pour soap into the chamber. If you are using liquid soap, you DO NOT need to use as much soap as you think. Read the instructions on the bottle of soap that you bought, and use about 1/2 to 2/3 of that much. You can add additional products such as a fabric booster inside of the washer to add more scent to your clothes, It is nice with towels and sheets. You can also use fabric softeners, but I don’t use them too often. I do use it when I am drying the clothes outside to get them a little less crunchy.

Now turn on the machine and make sure the buzzer is on so you will know when to switch it.

When the machine buzzes, move them over to the drier. Make sure the lint trap is empty! If it isn’t, it will take longer to dry the clothes and can possible cause a fire. Check it each time you put a batch of wet clothes in, because you never know if the person using the machine before you emptied it or not. Throw the clothes in and add a dryer sheet if you don’t have a dryer bar in your machine. Turn on the machine and make sure the buzzer is on again. Now throw your next batch into the washing machine and follow directions above depending on what you are washing.

When the dryer buzzes, grab the shirts out and hang them immediately. By doing this you will cut your ironing down to nothing, if you iron at all. Fold up pants, shorts and t-shirts. Fold towels and sheets also. This will make putting clothes away easier. If you just throw them into the basket, you know darn well that they will sit in that basket until you want to wear it, and then it will be wrinkled and you will look like a schlub. Take the two minutes to fold and hang up your clothes.

Now you know what to do, move the washer into the dryer, empty the lint trap and add more clothes into the washer, until all your clothes are clean again. Depending on how much you have to wash, and when the last time you did your laundry was, it might be an all day job. Good news is, the machines do the work for you and you can still play PS3 while the clothes are washing. That is what the buzzer is for, right?

Questions that were sent in on this topic:

I am broke and can’t afford the quarters? If you are strapped for cash and have to plug quarters into the machines where you live, how about line drying your clothes? Face it, laundry mat dryers never really dry the clothes completely anyways. Hang your shirts on hangers and hang them on the shower curtain rod in your bathroom. Hang your sheets, blankets and comforters on the balcony, but make sure they are weighted or clipped somehow so they don’t blow away. Jeans can be hung on hangers by their belt loops and hung up to dry too, plus they won’t shrink in the dryer that way either. Socks and underwear can be laid out to dry, just don’t double them up, let the air hit them. And towels… I personally hate line dried towels, they smell good, but they turn rock hard! Spend the few extra quarters to put them in the dryer. And if you are still to broke to wash your clothes, better go visit your Mom and use her machine, you might even get a home cooked dinner out of it.

I can’t afford (or don’t like the smell of) laundry softener. You can use plain white vinegar. Buy a big jug of plain old white vinegar and use ¼ cup in the washing machine in the fabric softener bin. It will not smell at all and will make the clothes soft and static free.

Are Dryer sheets really needed? You do not need to use a dryer sheet, but they cut the static and help the clothes smell better too. You do not need to use a full sheet for each batch of clothes though. Take your new dryer sheets and cut them into thirds or at least half. If you do three batches a week, you really only need one dryer sheet. And any brand will work, you don’t need to buy the most expensive.

My underwear are pink, what happened? You didn’t sort your clothes correctly. You have to wash anything red with your dark clothes. Or if your school colors are red and you have tons of school spirit, do an entire batch of just red clothes. The red dye will not come out of your underwear, so either do not wear it when others will see them, or toss and get some new ones. This also applies to new tie-dyed t-shirts too. Wash them by hand or with darks the first few times until all the excess dye is washed out.

Powder Soap vs. Liquid Soap? Cleaning wise, there is no difference, price wise there is a huge difference. If you are using a front loading washer, stick to the liquids. If you have a top loading washer, try switching to power soap and you will notice the price difference immediately. Check the sales at your store, they go on sale a lot.

If you have any other questions, please leave a comment below and I will get the honest answer back to you.