Why Do Your Laundry?

• The longer you leave your clothes dirty the harder it will be to get them clean.  Like you, stains get all moved in and comfy and they want to stay there too.   Once they grab on to the fibers of your clothes they will fight to let go. 
• Then there is the smell issue – I don’t mean you – but your clothes and your room.  Your sheets will take on your stinky human smells and keep them even after you wash them.  That smell permeates the entire room.  Mama has been in some pretty smelly dorm rooms in her day and she knows what she is talking about.  Perhaps you have too?! 
• So now that we’ve established you are going to do your laundry once a week just take a look at your schedule and decide which day works best for you and stick to it.  Making an appointment to do it helps keep you organized.   It doesn’t take that long, especially if you live in a dorm or apartment where there are lots of machines.  This is one major advantage of communal living.  You can get all your loads done at once. 

Sorting

What do I mean by ALL your loads?  Well you have to sort your laundry too.  Most people separate their clothes into three piles: whites, colors and darks.  You could also do separate loads of sheets and towels. 

Why sort your clothes?  Because if you don’t, all your clothes will become ugly.  The whites will turn grey, the colors will lose their brightness and the darks will fade.  Can you afford to buy new clothes every year?  I didn’t think so.   (All three of you who answered yes can skip to the next section!)

• Each pile of clothes will be a separate load and will be washed in a separate washer at the designated temperature. 
• Before you throw them in check your pockets to make sure there is nothing in them that might be valuable (like an important phone number) or could damage other clothes like a pen.
• Check your clothes for stains and treat them with stain remover where necessary.  Some stains will not come out unless you treat them with stain remover.  Ideally you spray it on and rub it in a little by rubbing the two sides of fabric against each other.

 Watch this fun video for help with your laundry!

Temperatures

Here is my trusty washing scale and it’s pretty easy to follow. If you register here I will be happy to send you one free!  It attaches to your keychain or lanyard so you can take it to the laundry room with you.

• Warmer water cleans better but heat can also cook the stains in to your clothes so the only thing you should wash in hot water is cotton undies, t-shirts and socks that won’t shrink.
• If it says hand wash cold – DON’T WASH IN HOT EVEN IF IT IS WHITE.
• The color chart is to help you sort your clothes but you also have to read labels.
• Cooler water is best for rinsing out all the soap. Use cold water for your darkest clothes and anything you are afraid might shrink.
• Most machines have gentle or delicate cycles now and that is what you should use for anything with a gentle label, including sweaters, blankets, anything wool, silk or cotton that is not preshrunk.
• If the label says dry clean only you will probably ruin it in the washer even on cold, but you can always take the garment to your local dry cleaners and ask their advice.

Detergent

Manufacturers may disagree, but I don’t think there is much difference between name brand detergents. Sniff around and pick the one that appeals to you most. 

• Most people will use what they grew up with. 
• If you have sensitive skin you can find color free, scent free versions, which are gentler.
• If you want to be kind to the environment you can buy eco-friendly soaps, or make your own (see Clean Green at right). 

Bleach

Use regular bleach sparingly. It’s only good for that one load of whites that you wash in hot water.

• If you have a pile of really filthy white clothes it will get them clean but otherwise you don’t need it.
• Most of the time it does more harm than good because it spills on the floor and gets on your other clothes and ruins them.
• If you want to boost your cleaning power most clothes will benefit from color-safe bleach.

Fabric Softener

Fabric softener can be added in the rinse cycle or you can use dryer sheets in the dryer.

• The advantages of using softener is that clothes feel softer, smell better (unless you use an unscented brand) and have less static.
• The disadvantage is they are less absorbent.
• Never use softener on your towels or anything you use that needs to absorb moisture. 

Drying

If you shake each piece of clothing out before putting it in a dryer it will come out of the dryer practically wrinkle free, especially if you pull your clothes out as soon as the cycle ends.

• Industrial dryers are sometimes pretty hard on clothes, so be sure to hang all your nicest clothes.
• If clothes say wash on gentle cycle and tumble dry low you are better off hanging them.
• Invest in a bunch of plastic hangers and your clothes  will dry in a day.
• Or if you have room in your apartment or dorm, get one of those clothes hanging contraptions and place all your delicate clothes and sweaters on that to dry. You can probably hook hangers with wet clothes on it too.

Ironing

In general, you want to iron the part of the clothing that wrinkles most, last.

• When ironing a skirt or dress, iron the top of the skirt or waistline of the skirt first and then the bottom.
• Pants—iron the waist, front and back first and then the legs. 
• Shirts- start with the collar yolk, shoulders and sleeves and then the body of the shirt

 Watch this quick video for help ironing a shirt!

Caution: Communal irons can sometimes make a mess of clean clothes especially if they are old. If you are going to put water in the iron to create steam, test it first by ironing straight onto the ironing board to make sure nothing nasty spits out like rust water. Irons don’t cost a lot of money so ideally you should invest in one of your own to avoid these issues.

*If your clothing needs to be super crisp then you might want to buy spray starch.  Lightly spray it on before you iron each section to give your clothes a little stiffness and reduce wrinkles. If you don’t need to look that perfect, then water and steam sprayed from the iron will do the trick.