Laundry Doesn’t Have to be a Dirty Word

Courtesy of and Cindy Bernstein, owner of Aim4Order.com

Do you do your laundry regularly? Or do you wait until you run out of underwear before you do it? Washing clothes is a necessary evil in all of our lives. Finding the best way to organize laundry and your laundry room is important to keep things running smoothly.

Keeping the dirty clothes in check will help you keep other parts of your life in order as well. Getting ready in the morning can be a real time killer if you can’t find the clothes you want to wear.

Make sure everyone in the family knows where to put dirty laundry and make that part of their daily routine. Place a clothing hamper in every bedroom. Clothes that need to go to the dry cleaner can be put in a designated container.

If space allows, add a clothing rod to hang up blouses, dresses and slacks as you take them out of the dryer to avoid wrinkles. Find a good place nearby for your ironing board if you use one. You can also use the ironing board as a place to fold the laundry if there is no other surface available.

Wash your clothes on a specific day or a one load every day or two, whatever is easier for you. Pick one method and establish a routine.

Organize your laundry room or area. Always have a little extra detergent, dryer sheets and other laundry supplies on hand. Keep a small waste bin for lint and other trash that will accumulate. Usually there is not a lot of space in this area, so you have to make sure you use it wisely.

If you can put your supplies in a cabinet and not have it sitting out on a shelf, your laundry area will look more tidy. Front loaders and some other washers and dryers can go up on risers, to allow for a small storage drawer under the machines. The smaller the space, the more creativity you will need to come up with a workable solution for storage.

Apply stain remover when you take off the clothing or see the stain, not when you wash it. Stain remover works best when it has a chance to soak into the fabric for a few days. You can add a little detergent directly to the spot right before you put it in the washer.

Once you are ready to get started, you need to sort the laundry into categories: darks, lights, whites, towels, bedding and delicates. Most of us have had a disaster where everything got dyed pink from red clothes or blue from new jeans, so sort carefully.

Depending upon the season, your laundry needs will change. Every week you might not have an entire load for each category. Generally people have more light colored clothing in the summer and more dark clothing in the winter.

Don’t allow those stray socks to accumulate. Try to find and pair them as soon as they come out of the dryer. Upon discovering loose buttons, look for the source and sew the buttons on right away. Put all of your clothing away as soon as possible. If you wait, it may be the start of more clutter that will need your attention later.

Use your common sense with sorting and keep to a schedule to get your clothing and laundry organized. You will feel a marvelous sense of accomplishment when the clothes are clean and put away.