I save time and money in the laundry room THIS way.
When I take my clothes from the washer I hang almost all of the shirts on hangers, button the top button on button-downs, straighten the collars, tug on the sleeves, pull and smooth, etc. From there, I either hang them on over-the-door hooks or on the wash line if the day is nice (even the shower rod is good if there aren't too many hangers to weigh the rod). When dry, they can be put straight into each person's closet. I also pay attention to the direction clothes are hung in each closet and hang the wet shirts accordingly so I don't have to re-hang them later.
Machine-wash your whites in cold water, using a detergent and washing soda mixture. Hot water sets the stains, instead of removing them.
Have you or your kids ever added too much laundry detergent to your washing machine, and found that the bubbles were beginning to overflow?
All those expensive t-shirts need to be turned inside out when you wash them so the design continues to look like new. Jeans look great for a long time if you turn them inside out also.
I read the tip about using oven cleaner to get out stains. I have a much safer alternative than oven cleaner for laundry stains.
Dry place mats by hanging them over the side of the bathtub. They dry flat and straight and don't need ironing.
I hang shirts and blouses on hangers to dry after washing. Most cotton shirts can be softened up for wearing by putting in the dryer with a dryer sheet for only about 10 minutes and then rehanging on the hanger.
When doing laundry, you only need to use about half the amount of soap that the box or bottle calls for to get your clothes clean. More soap can gunk up your washer and doesn't always rinse properly out of your clothes, leaving an unsightly build-up.
Keep a stain stick in the kitchen or near your eating area, so when someone spills food on their clothes, they can immediately rub stain stick on the spots.
Take a permanent ink Sharpie and write the temperature in bold letters on the tags.
When a laundry basket breaks, don't toss it. Drill holes in the rim on either side of the break and sew it together again!
Set your oven timer when you put a load of clothes in the washer. If left crumpled up in the washing machine, they'll develop more wrinkles, and colors will bleed more.
A lot of power and water is used doing your laundry. Here are a few tips to help decrease the impact of doing laundry on your utility bills.
When washing large or heavy loads of laundry, run the washer thru a second spin cycle. Gets out lots more water for faster dry time.
I found that I saved a good amount of money by waiting 2 weeks to do laundry -- and also by ironing only once every 2 weeks. Savings have been about $50.00 a month on our electric bill!
If your washing machine does not have an alarm that sounds when it is finished, set the kitchen timer after starting the wash load to remind yourself it is done.
When doing laundry for my 5 boys, sorting is easy: each boy's clothing item is marked on the "collar" area with the first initial of their name, in permanent marker.
Conserving on Laundry Costs. I fill and run the washer at bedtime, only full loads and cold water. In the morning I hang the clothes on an old fashioned clothesline. . .
This is a little something that I do to save me time, money, and sanity. As soon as I take my pants off for the day, I look through all my pants pockets and remove change, papers, and Chapsticks.
I often don't have time to separate laundry. No, that's not quite true, I often don't care enough to separate laundry (LOL) and I have a feeling that I'm not alone in my 'sloth'. Actually, it works out well for me.
I like to run a extra wash cycle on my clothes sometimes. The problem has been that I missed the end of the wash cycle, and when I got back to the washer, it was already into the rinse cycle.
When treating laundry stains, I keep safety pins handy and put one where the stain is. When I pull the laundry item out of the washer, I look for the safety pin, to see if the stain came out, before I put it in the dryer.
