Whether you view laundry as a necessary evil or a much-anticipated chore, it has to get done! Here are some of my best laundry hacks. I hope they make your life easier!
Whether we like it or not, we spend a lot of time on laundry. So naturally, I always look for ways to get that time back!
I’m also always looking for products to invest in, and ways to just make laundry easier.
This list is by no means comprehensive, but it was created with you in mind! Whether you’re a working mom or a stay-at-home mom, I hope these tips help you keep your laundry pile low and your laundry day a smooth, easy event!
30 Simple, But Genius, Laundry Hacks for Busy Moms
1 Have a Laundry Routine
Whether you do laundry all in one day, or do laundry throughout the week, having a sort of routine will ensure you always have clean laundry.
For our family, we do a load or two of laundry every day. For others, doing laundry all in one day may be better.
2 Deal with Stains Immediately
As a toddler mom, I know how critical it is to tend to stains immediately. That’s why I carry a stain remover pen. When I’m at home with my kiddos, I spray stain remover on their clothes before putting them in the wash.
When my children were infants, I kept stain remover on their changing table! This was a huge mom moment for me. Nothing was stained because everything got treated immediately! It was great!
This saves me time in the long run because I’m not spending my time tending to stains. I’ve already dealt with them!
3 Use a Laundry Sorter
My husband and I asked for a four-part laundry sorter when we got married and it was incredible! Each bin was dedicated to a particular fabric. Jeans and pants, delicates, general, and whites. Sorting from the get-go was a great way to get going on laundry!
4 Organize Your Laundry Room
When you know where everything is, you can get through laundry quickly!
5 Fold and Put Clothes Away Immediately
My favorite homemaking tip has been, “If it takes less than 5 minutes to do, tend to it right away.” The same is true for laundry!
It truly doesn’t take long to fold and put away a load of laundry. So just do it! If not immediately, at least the same day.
If you’re lacking motivation, pair this step with tip #12.
6 Wash or Load the Washer at Night and Move Clothes to the Dryer in the Morning
If you’re looking to take your time back, utilize your machines while you sleep! This may be useful for working moms. Put laundry in the washer before you go to sleep, and before getting ready for the day, put it in the dryer!
However, I don’t recommend using your dryer while you sleep. This is a fire risk!
7 Get Your Children Involved
This is not a time-saving hack by any means. Instead, think of it as a long-term investment into your laundry system!
If you get younger kids involved in doing their laundry from a young age, they will slowly be able to take over all of their laundry well before they leave the house! Think of the great life skills they will have. Responsibility, time management, and looking after themselves.
8 Don’t Fold Baby Clothes
When young kids are changing in and out of clothes so often, it seems counterintuitive to fold their clothes. They’ll be wearing that shirt in two days, no doubt!
Consider foregoing folding clothes for younger kids.
9 Ditch Homemade Laundry Detergent
If we’re looking for hacks that make your life easier, this is one of them!
There is controversy surrounding homemade laundry detergent. The greatest argument against homemade laundry detergent is that the ingredients are lacking the power to remove stains. The second is that homemade laundry detergent isn’t compatible with today’s washing machines.
There are also arguments saying it doesn’t interact well with cold water.
If you’re looking to simplify your laundry routine, selecting a dye-free, or natural, laundry detergent will be the way to go.
10 Swap Dryer Sheets for Dryer Balls
If you are more naturally minded, dryer balls are an incredible alternative to dryer sheets. You’re also able to save money because dryer balls keep their consistency for several loads!
If you don’t already use dryer balls, you may not know you can scent them however you like. Select your essential oils of choice, add a few to your dryer balls with each dry cycle, and you’re on your way!
Frequently Asked Questions
How can I make my laundry interesting?
Decorating your laundry room and pairing the activity with something you enjoy are great ways to make laundry more interesting!
What are mesh bags used for?
Mesh laundry bags can be used for intimate clothing, socks, and even some toys! Mesh laundry bags come in a variety of sizes and are very useful.
11 Sort by Texture, Not by Color
This tip comes from Jordan Page at Fun, Cheap, or Free. She is a mother to 8 children, so she knows a thing or two about how overwhelming laundry can be.
Her tried and true method is sorting by “texture,” not by color. That means all play outfits get washed together. All church outfits get washed together. All school uniforms get washed together. So on and so forth.
By doing this, she claims everything gets washed and nothing gets ruined.
12 Entertain Yourself While You Put Away Laundry
In my homemaking journey, I love pairing a repetitive task with something I enjoy doing. For me, that looks like listening to podcasts while I cook dinner.
When I do laundry, I watch YouTube videos. You could easily put on a show and fold your laundry at the end of the day!
13 Wash a Load a Day, No Matter What
My favorite laundry method has been washing a load of laundry a day, every day. I usually end up doing two loads a day!
By doing this, I’m able to stay on top of laundry and never be overwhelmed!
14 Have a Laundry Schedule
If organization works well for you, consider assigning certain laundry to certain days. For example, say every Monday you clean your bathrooms. Wash your towels on the same day!
Or say that you’re always around the house on Thursdays. Spend the day washing your bedding! That way you know it will be washed thoroughly and beds will be reassembled by bedtime.
15 Decorate Your Laundry Room
If you see laundry as a necessary evil, consider making it an enjoyable process! Make your laundry room a place you want to be.
16 Tackle Laundry in Smaller Loads
Smaller loads are always manageable, especially when you have small children like I do. So consider making smaller loads your focus!
17 Convert Your Family to a Capsule Wardrobe
If your head is swimming over sorting, soil level, and dry temperatures, consider converting to a capsule wardrobe!
A capsule wardrobe is a limited wardrobe with several interchangeable pieces that can easily cross a variety of seasons. They all complement each other, and they don’t ever go out of style. A capsule wardrobe is considered “classic.”
When you use a capsule wardrobe, you’re drastically reducing the number of clothes you have. Thus, less laundry!
Capsule wardrobes are available for everyone in your family, from children to adults.
18 Don’t Spend Time Matching Pairs of Socks
We have all seen the cute signs in laundry rooms. “Looking for my soul mate.” Or “Missing socks, return here.”
What if we stopped worrying about matching socks?
While disorganization will surely slide into your underwear drawer, it is something you can let go of to gain momentum in your laundry.
19 Swap Vinegar for Fabric Softener
White vinegar is an incredible addition to your laundry room. This one product acts as a stain remover, odor eliminator, and fabric softener.
Simplify your routine and use white vinegar instead!
20 Swap Your Ironing Board for a Steamer
Steaming your clothes can take as little as 45 seconds! No more standing around, trying to navigate around an ironing board.
Steamers are also portable, so you can consider taking them with you while you travel!
Steaming does produce a more casual finish, though. So if you prefer a pressed, polished look to your clothes, ironing is still the way to go.
21 Got Wrinkles? Use Water!
If you’re looking for a quick way to get wrinkles gone, sprinkle some water on the wrinkles and throw your garment into the dryer!
Another quick hack is adding an ice cube to your dryer!
22 Have Separate Laundry Baskets for Each Member of Your Family
Instead of washing your clothes by type, you can wash them by person! This is what I currently do for my children. I wash each child’s laundry on a separate day of the week.
And by the time the child’s laundry is through the wash, I can simply return the clothes to the child’s room! Easy peasy!
23 Tend to New Clothes Immediately
We’ve all been there. A sitting chair in your bedroom becomes a dumping ground for everything you don’t get to in a day.
Don’t let that be the case! When you get new clothes, immediately hang them up or remove the tags and throw them in the wash.
If you’re overwhelmed with the new clothes already in your closet, this next tip is for you!
24 Reduce the Amount of Clothes You Have
If you’re overwhelmed with anything, a great thing to do is look for ways to pare down.
So naturally, if you’re overwhelmed with your laundry, pare down! This could be a quick way to save a ton of time on laundry! And with fewer clothes, you will have less to manage, thus reducing your stress even further.
25 Prioritize Certain Laundry
Before I get started on my chores each day, I consider what needs to be moved to the top of my to-do list. Since I wash most of our pieces of laundry once a week, I prioritize the important things that need to get washed that day!
If we’re running low on towels, that’s the laundry I’ll wash that day. If my children need church clothes for Sunday, I wash their laundry that day.
Before you tackle your laundry today, consider what needs to be moved to the top of your laundry list. And start there!
26 Clean Your Lint Trap After Every Use
Did you know cleaning the lint trap of your machine will increase the efficacy of your dryer? Don’t skimp on this step! Save time by getting those clothes dry the first time.
27 Regularly Clean Your Washing Machine
We throw in dirty clothes and expect clean clothes. But are you helping your washing machine to achieve that every time?
Don’t forget to regularly clean your washing machine! This will help it run smoothly and prevent grime and other buildup.
Check your user manual for recommended cleaning practices. This can vary by brand and manufacturer.
Laundry hacks that go against conventional advice
28 Wash All Your Laundry in Cold Water
Did you know environmentalists suggest washing your clothes in cold water to prevent microplastics from seeping into our water supply? They also suggest it reduces energy use.
Traditional laundry advice says to wash dark-colored clothing in colder temperatures to prevent colors from bleeding. Traditional advice also says don’t machine dry your jeans, because they will shrink!
Wherever you stand on the water temperature in your laundry, cold water washing is an option.
29 Don’t Sort Your Laundry
We have already talked about sorting laundry by texture. You can also consider sorting by soil level. Or not sorting at all! Just be aware that crossing delicate fabrics with denim could result in damage or pilling.
30 Don’t Turn Your Clothes Inside Out
Laundry experts suggest turning clothes inside out to prevent fading. This extra step can easily be skipped!
Are you looking to implement other effective routines into your homemaking?
I love routines because they reduce decision fatigue for me. I naturally move into the next task without having to think too much about it.
But that didn’t always come easily for me. I truly had to work at establishing the routines I have in my home! (Not to mention the fact they change with every new season of life I’m in! Life with two toddlers looks a lot different than it did with a single newborn…)
That’s why I start my day with prayer. When I can connect with God first, I’m ready to get to work! I pray for my hands as they work through the day and I pray for my children as they grow.
To become a more effective homemaker, I also foster good habits! Prayer is a wonderful place to start. I also try to stay off of my phone, read more books, get outside, and drink more water.
Staying off of my phone has proven to bear more fruit than I anticipated! I didn’t realize that the average person was spending more than 3 hours on their phone a day, and almost 2.5 of those were on social media!
When I started using social media sparingly, the discontent I had with comparison completely disappeared. Now that I focus all my time and energy on my own home and my own family, I’m ready and willing to keep doing the Lord’s work!
If you’re ready to make changes in your homemaking journey, check out this blog post for tips on how to become an effective homemaker! If these tips don’t apply to you, that’s okay! I hope they inspire you on your homemaking journey!
Check out these other great blog posts!
20 Simple Homemaking Skills for the Modern Homemaker
17 Simple Tips to Become an Effective Homemaker
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[…] If you’re looking for laundry hacks that will impact your laundry routine for the better, I have 30 tips for you in this blog post! […]