If only there were an all in one washing-drying-pressing-and-folding device that could save us all from the time-consuming task of doing the laundry! Until such a genius invention becomes available, the best we can do is to try and make laundry day as quick and easy as possible. Here are a few clever ideas you can implement in your home.
Establish House Rules
Shed minutes off your laundry time each week by having a set of simple rules to govern your household’s washing, including getting everyone to: • Check their own pockets before placing their items in the washing hamper • Make sure their clothes aren’t inside out • Ensure that both socks in the pair go into the same load
Sort Your Washing
Pre-sorting your dirty items will save you time from sorting through a big pile of soiled laundry yourself. Come up with a system that will best suit your household’s needs and get each member to sort their soiled items into the appropriate hampers. You can buy two or three separate baskets or one large one with dividers. Label each hamper accordingly with “Whites and Lights”, “Dark Colours” and “Towels and Linen” or whatever categories you have decided upon.
Shop Smart
Hand-washing and drip-drying is even more time consuming than doing regular washing so why not save yourself the hassle? Instead of cashmere and silk, invest your fashion budget on wrinkle-free fabrics and wash-and-wear items, saving you time on ironing and money on dry cleaning bills.
To avoid wasting time on trying finding matching pairs of socks, buy in bulk. Buy multiple pairs of identical sports socks and dress socks, and replace them all at once every 6 to 12 months.
Have a Laundry Day
Economise your time as well as your power and water bills by doing all of your laundry in one go. Designate a weekly laundry day and do all of your washing, drying, folding and ironing on that day. Not only will this strategy free up your time for the rest of the week, it is also more cost-effective in terms of water and power consumption to wash and dry full loads.
Get Help
Make laundry day a family affair and lighten the workload for yourself in the process. Give each family member a task to complete and make the job fun by making a game out of getting the job done. Doing the laundry is a great way to get children involved in contributing to the essential duties around the home and teaches them important skills which will help them to independent in the future.
If all else fails and you still find yourself swamped by laundry, you can always look into outsourcing all or part of the task to a laundry or ironing service!
