If you feel overwhelmed by doing laundry for your family, these tips and hacks will make your life easier when it comes to washing your clothing, towels and bedding. From washing to stain removal to drying and sorting, today I am sharing all of my best tips for creating a laundry system that works to minimise stress and mess.
AD – These tips are brought to you in collaboration with Ace Stain Removers.
For more tips and stain removal advice, follow ACE on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter – @acecleanuk
Table Of Contents
Assess your system and identify problem areas
Take a look at the way you are doing laundry now. Do you have a system? Where do back logs occur? How often are you putting a wash on? Which element of laundry drives you mad?
Start by identifying your biggest laundry pain points then we can start to get the laundry sorted once and for all.
Develop a system
Now is time to develop your new laundry system! This will be the set way in which you manage your laundry on a daily and weekly basis. Keep reading for ideas to include within this system to make it as streamlined as possible.
Check out my laundry routine video to see my exact system for damaging laundry for my family of 6.
This tour of my laundry room will give you some more ideas as to how you can organise your laundry system to work for your home.
A load EVERY DAY to keep overwhelm away
This may seem extreme, but hear me out.
Laundry is not like other housework. If you leave dusting a bit longer than you planned to, catch up dusting doesn’t take too much longer. A few wipes and you are done.
Laundry is not the same, laundry is relentless. Once you let it build up, it’s like a mountain that you can never seem to climb. The backlog can be crippling.
Putting on a load a day helps to stay on top of the laundry monster and keep he overwhelm away.
Got a smaller family and don’t need to wash every day? Then at least check once a day. Check how much laundry you have and if you need to put a wash on at least once as day and do laundry when necessary. Future you will thank you for doing it.
Baskets are your friend for sorting and transporting
Baskets are great for so many sorting and storing jobs around the home. I use them for sorting dirty laundry into loads, sorting clean laundry to go away and generally moving “stuff” around the house from where it’s been dumped to where it belongs.
Top tip – when buying baskets, buy multiples of the same type so that they can easily stack when not in use.
Use the right products for the right job
When it comes to laundry, there is no “one size fits all” approach. Luckily, Ace has an amazing line up of stain removers to help you tackle whichever stains your family decides to throw at you. Each of these products can be used in conjunction with your usual laundry detergent.
Ace For Whites
Ace For Whites is the ideal product to add to your whites load to keep your whites sparkling. Add Ace for Whites to the drawer of your machine along side your usual detergent to bring back your whites.
Ace For Colours
Ace For Colours is ideal for both coloured items and whites that can only be washed at lower temperatures, as Ace For Colours is active from just 30 degrees.
Ace Spray
Use Ace Stain Remover Spray to pre treat stains before washing. Spray directly onto stains then leave Ace to work it’s magic before washing as normal.
Ace Power Mousse
Ace Power Mousse is perfect not just for pre treating stains on your whites, but also for stain removal around the home. Use Ace Power Mousse on your surface stains in the kitchen and bathroom.
Use the right machine settings
Get up close and personal with your machine’s settings, chances are that your washing machine is capable of more than you realise! If you haven’t read the manual (and don’t know here it is) download yours my searching for your make and model on Google.
Look at which settings you are using now and experiment with some of the other settings too.
As a rule of thumb;
- Lightly soiled clothes that are merely in need of a refresh are best washed on short, cooler washes as this minimises wear on them.
- Items with heavier soiling will need a warmer setting and extra rinses.
- Towels and bedding will need a long, hot wash to really get them clean.
One to use, one as a backup
Keep a backup of all of your must use products so that you don’t run out and laundry comes to a stand still. As soon as you open your “backup” product, add the item to your shopping list and pick up another as soon as possible. There is nothing worse than laundry building up because you do not have the products in stock to tackle it.
Set place for dirty laundry
Decide where your dirty laundry is to be kept ready for washing and ensure that all of your family is aware of where they are expected to put it. Train your family from a young age that this is where dirty washing goes and if it’s not in the basket, it doesn’t get washed.
In our house, we have a communal dirty laundry basket upstairs as well as a dirty laundry station in the laundry room. Damp washing like towels, flannels and cloths are stored in a separate basket until washing to avoid cross contamination. I know that the damp laundry loads are a priority to avoid mould.
A time minimising trend
There is a trend going around at the moment which every family member has their own laundry basket. Each family member’s laundry is washed separately then returned to them. This reduces sorting as no-one’s clothes get mixed with anyone else’s. While this may sound appealing, it has it’s downsides, hence why I do not adopt this method.
To separate vs not to separate
In order to jump on the “not mixing family member’s clothing” trend, you will have to allow each individual person’s basket to fill up a lot more before anything is washed, meaning that it will be a lot longer before the clothes are returned clean.
The biggest issue I can see is that it becomes unrealistic to separate loads by type using this method. There are countless videos on YouTube swearing that this does not matter and that mixed loads are the way to go, but personally, here’s how I like to organise my loads.
- Whites
- Lights
- Darks
- Bedding
- Towels, cloths & other items that need sanitising
By washing in these categories, each load can be washed on the right settings for the garments with the right products to tackle them.
The only exception to these categories is when I am dealing with very lightly soiled quick wash only clothes. These are the only items that I put in a mixed load. When I do mix darks and lights I use a colour catcher just to be safe. I only really do this when things are needed to be returned urgently and do not need more than a refresh.
Identify stains early
As soon as you notice a stain, tackle it as soon as possible. The earlier you identify and tackle a stain, the easier it will be to banish it for good.
Dab off any excess stain where possible then treat with Ace Stain Remover Spray for colours or Ace Power Mousse for whites. Then add a capful of Ace for Whites (for whites you can wash over 60 degrees) or Ace For Colours (for colours or whites that are washed at 30 degrees) in with your usual laundry detergent.
Check items as they come out of the washing machine
Check items as they come out of the washing machine to ensure that they are really clean. Check that every stain is 100% removed before drying. Absolutely do not tumble dry any items with stains that are not fully removed as this will cause them to set.
Read the care labels to avoid damaging clothes and get longest life out of them
This may seem like common sense, but it’s worth checking every care label, especially when it’s a new item that you haven’t washed before. Many garments will only be able to be washed at certain temperatures and some have specific instructions such as no softener. Check these labels to avoid ruining your clothes.
Popper your bedding
When you strip your bedding, popper or button it back up before washing. This will help to avoid other items, such as pillow cases for example, working their way inside the duvet cover and getting lost.
Dry garments in shape
When drying your clothing. make sure that they are dried as “in shape” as possible. Shake out sleeves, straighten out packets and smooth them out. Drying on hangers really helps garments dry efficiently with minimal creasing. When drying outside, consider peg placement to avoid strange shapes being dried into your clothing that you will have to battle to iron out.
Clean your machine
You cannot expect to get your clothes clean if your machine is not clean. Periodically run your machine on an empty wash with sanitiser and wipe the seals and door regularly.
Count your wins
An empty basket may be the dream and potentially the best 5 minutes of your week, but you are deluding yourself if you really expect that basket to stay empty for long. Winning at laundry is not about having it all “finished” as there is always more laundry. Instead the goal is to keep it moving and stay on top of your laundry so that it is not taking over your house and stressing you out.
So count your wins! Go and stick a load on then give yourself a well deserved pat on the back.
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