7 Hacks to Tackle Laundry Effortlessly

This post is all about my hacks for making laundry go faster and feel effortless!

I remember the days of 3 young children and a busy husband. I was always feeling bogged down by laundry.

I dreaded having to tackle a load. I felt drained just looking at the overflowing basket of laundry. I almost laugh about it now.

Things are different as my kids are older. They can help with their laundry. I still feel like I know plenty of moms who have kids close to the same age as mine. These moms feel at least a little overwhelmed by all the laundry.

They struggle with folding, sorting, and keeping up with it all.

I have done some research and found some simple tips. They make a huge difference!

7 Hacks to Tackle Laundry Effortlessly

Ok…laundry still isn’t on my list of favorite chores, but it definitely feels much easier with these hacks!

Tip 1: Downsize Your Wardrobe

• Less clothes = Less laundry
• How many outfits in your drawers and closets do you actually wear each week?
  • My kids and I normally wear the same 4-5 outfits each week.
  • I donated 10 shirts 1 year ago that I had been saving for “I might wear it for ___someday.” I haven’t missed them one little bit yet!
• DON’T feel like you need to go through every single drawer and closet right NOW.

• ACTION TIP!!
  • Pick a family member each week and find 5-10 items in their closet that can be donated. Or at least put them in a tote in storage if you aren’t ready to part with it.

Dedicate 5 minutes to this task each week. You’ll end up with less clothes to clutter your drawers and closets. This makes it easier for kids (and YOU) to put their own clothes away. It also reduces decision fatigue too.

Tip 2: Reuse Clothes

Obviously, this doesn’t work as well with babies and young children with extra spills and accidents.

Once they hit 6-8, it is easier to reuse pj’s a couple of times. Teach them to check their jeans and sweatshirts. This way, they can wear them a couple of times before washing.

• ACTION TIP!!
  • Adults especially can check and use your own judgment. Clothes can be worn again if they were only worn for a few hours.

Tip 3: Only Sort Essentials

Every family is different. We live out in the country. Most of our clothes are not super important to keep unwrinkled and fresh.

Unless something gets extremely dirty or is really nice church clothes, we don’t really sort clothes before washing. I usually try to keep washcloths and towels in the same load. I don’t stress about being picky with this though.

I haven’t had any trouble with clothes bleeding or getting ruined.

I have read that sorting by texture is more important than by color!

• ACTION TIP!!
  • Try out no sorting on a few loads. Just be careful with silks/delicates!

Tip 4: Only Fold Essentials

My kids each have a set of drawers for old/home clothes. Then a closet with hangers and fabric cubes for newer clothes.

Then they hang up their school shirts on hangers. We don’t fold anything else!

• Soft, jogging pants and sweatshirts don’t need to be folded.
• Old shirts, pants, pj’s underwear each have a drawer. As long as they go in the right drawer, no folding is needed. Everything is kept organized, and we don’t waste any extra time folding.
• The same thing happens with my husband‘s work clothes. He has thermal clothes for under his work clothes in the winter. Each of those has a fabric cube, so no folding is required. Just toss them in the right cube with the right label. We only fold his pants so they can stay in a smaller area. 

• ACTION TIP!!
  • 1. Check drawer space
    • Separate clothes according to drawer space. Even if you only have a few drawers, tops, bottoms, and pj’s is a great start. Some people label the outside of drawers or the inside.
  • 2. Invest in fabric cubes or start with shoe boxes if on a budget
    • I like these storage cubes. They are a little investment. I feel like it is well worth the time saved folding clothes.

Tip 5: DON’T Fold Socks

I used to DREAD folding socks when I was younger. I would lay them all out only to find a bunch of missing matches.

I was ecstatic after I did some research and came across these sock hacks.

• We DO NOT fold socks!
• I buy the same plain black socks that will fit all three kids. If you have more kids with different sizes, then you would want two different kinds. However, you would be surprised how one size socks will fit a wide variety of ages.
• We keep them in 2 baskets by our door next to our shoes. We do not keep socks in our bedrooms. This way, socks are always right next to the door. We need them there right before we put our shoes on.
• This post from that practical mom has more awesome laundry tips.

• ACTION TIP!!
  • Invest in 1 set of solid socks. Find a basket or container you already have. Try keeping it by your door and see how it goes!

Tip 6: Keep it Simple with Soap/Stain Remover

• Soap
  • We are super lucky and have a washer that has a soap holding tank and self dispenses. We check that once a week. Easy Peasy!
  • I have experimented with laundry sheets/pods. There are so many possibilities these days.
    • These are the laundry detergent sheets I used.
• Fabric Softener
  • Vinegar
    • I have heard great things about using this. Simple, effective, and it cleans your washing machine and helps keep the musty smell away!
• Stain Remover
  • Stick to the basics as much as possible.
    • First blot stain. Don’t Rub.
    • Run under cold water.
    • Rub the stain with baking soda paste and let sit for 15 min. Rub off and wash like normal.
    • Do Not wash with hot water!
  • Check out this post for more stain-removal tips. She has tips for every type of stain imaginable.

• ACTION TIP!!
  • Check your laundry cabinet. Declutter 2-3 extras that you haven’t used in a while.
  • Try a few loads with fewer add-ins. Only use something if there’s an issue. It’s easy to use soap, fabric softener, dryer sheets, and whatever else they are coming up with these days. Start with the basics and go from there.

Tip 7: Teach Kids Young

• My kids each have 2 days a week. They take turns bringing up laundry. They also start and switch a load and empty the dryer. Then they each have a basket for their clean clothes.
• A sample laundry day for the kids looks like this:
  • Bring dirty clothes to laundry and start a load in am
  • Empty dryer if there are clothes in it
  • Switch laundry from washer to dryer (don’t forget to check the lint trap!)
  • Put clean clothes in drawers/cubes/hang up shirts
    • This list takes them 10 minutes or less. They have had some practice, so expect some training time. It pays off in the long run.
• Even kids as young as 3/4 can help with parts of laundry. It helps to have them start practicing even if it is just switching clothes over.

• ACTION TIP!!
  • 2-3 years olds can bring small baskets of laundry to the laundry room/help switch and start practicing putting clothes away in drawers
  • 4-5 year olds can be responsible for taking care of their dirty clothes to the laundry room, help empty the dryer, and put their own clothes away and
  • 6-7 year olds can start learning about loading and starting the washing machine
  • Of course reminders and training will be needed for a while at first. It is worth it in the long run!

Conclusion

These laundry hacks have been a game changer. I can proudly say that we don’t spend more than 5 to 10 minutes each day on laundry. It’s always kept up with. It is definitely more manageable and dare I say effortless with these awesome tips in place!

Try even just 2 or 3 of these tips and that would be a great start.

Let me know how it works! What other tips do you guys use to make laundry life easier?