A Beginner’s Guide to Doing Laundry

Doing laundry for the first time in your new apartment can be stressful. But with a little planning, the chore is not particularly time consuming or difficult. There are a few things that you should know and do prior to starting your laundry.

Divide and Conquer

Separating your laundry is the key to making the task simpler and faster. Divide darks from lights and medium colored clothes from darks. You might want to place particularly bright colors such as red or denim in individual piles and wash them alone to prevent their color from bleeding onto other items. Delicate or other items needing to air-dry should also be placed in a separate pile.

Check Your Supplies

Doing laundry requires certain supplies such as detergents, dryer sheets and other items to complete the job. Any general detergent will do, but check the label to see if it is designed to work only in certain units, for example high efficiency washing machines. You may choose to purchase additional detergents geared towards protecting the colors of your dark items. While helpful, these detergents may be unnecessary.

You may also want to purchase fabric softener either in liquid form to add to the washing machine or as a sheet to put into the dryer. This will prevent static electricity and make your clothing softer for wear. Stain removal sprays may also be necessary, and should be applied prior to washing the item.

There are many other items designed to make doing laundry easier, including delicate item and lingerie pouches that will prevent your clothing from snagging or becoming ruined during washing. These items are helpful, but an unnecessary expense

Schedule and Plan Ahead

Identifying a good day to do your laundry is the best way to ensure it will all get done timely and safely. Check whether there is a consistent time on the weekends or a weekday when you will be able to commit to doing your laundry. For example, a weekend afternoon or evening that you typically stay at home might provide the perfect time for the task.

When picking your laundry day, keep in mind that certain items take longer than others to wash and dry. Before beginning your laundry put the loads in order according to the required washing and drying time and desired finish. Jeans, towels and other thick items take longer to dry, and so should be left until last so that no wet clothing will be left waiting in the washing machine. It does not matter if towels and sheets become wrinkled, and so these items can dry overnight or while you are out of the house.

Ironing

Similar to laundry day, schedule a specific time for ironing, which may be as the items come out of the dryer. You can save ironing time by laying items flat after taking them out of the dryer. A starch spray will reduce the time spent ironing and keep items wrinkle-free for a longer time.

By scheduling a time and preparing, the chore of laundry can actually be fun. After a few times you may be surprised at how little time the chore takes. If doing laundry seems overwhelming, try breaking it up while you do other tasks.