I love hacks. They bring solutions that make my life easier. I want to bring you these 15 laundry hacks and tips to aid you in your laundry journey. This post should help you on a variety of areas: recipes, organization, hacks, and tips. I actually really love doing the laundry. One reason is that I feel like, in a way, it does itself. The hum of the dryer mean that something is getting clean, while you are busy doing something else. I also always fold my laundry in front of the TV. I don’t watch loads of TV, but to be able to sit down and watch a show and fold the laundry while the kids are asleep or having quiet time feels like a great chore – much better than cleaning the toilet. I hope you find these tips helpful, whether you enjoy doing the laundry or not. * Affiliate Links Added for Your Convenience *
Carpet Strip Between Washer and Dryer – Tired of small objects, like socks, falling between the washer and dryer? Cut a strip of extra carpet or linoleum to fit between the washer and dryer. Simply pull it out to retrieve the fallen object.
Dry Erase Pen to Note What Shouldn’t Go Into Dryer – Do you have delicates in the wash? There are so many things to juggle that how can you possible remember what you put in the last load? A dry erase pen will help anyone that is working on the laundry know what to remove before the wash hits the dryer.
No More Wrinkled Shirts – I was complaining…yes complaining…about the wrinkles that seem to cling to my clothes and linens. A reader gave me some advice. Just prior to folding, fluff the load again in the dryer, even if the load has been sitting around for a while. Remove the load and stack all of the shirts on top of each other. The heat and weight removes the wrinkles. When you are done stacking and transporting the laundry, they are flat. I’ve been trying it, and it works.
Over the Door Hanging Rack – This is a great rack solution for those wanting a space saving idea.
How to Remove Vomit Smell – This is the best recipe for removing vomit smell. It is a recipe found on my blog, but it has become ranked #1 on Google search. It gets rave reviews every time!
How to Remove Mildew Smell – This is the method I use for removing that nasty mildew smell from towels and rags. It works great!
“Socks That Need Friends” Bin – Lost socks – Where do they all go? Who knows, but I do know they often show up again. I have a container I keep on a shelf in the laundry room for “socks that need friends.” Whenever I have a lone sock, that’s where they go.
Drink Dispenser Also Dispenses Laundry Soap – Want an attractive way to display your homemade or store bought laundry soap? Why not try a drink dispenser? If you have dry detergent, why not try an attractive flour canister and metal scoop?
Roll Your Clothes – I have been rolling my shirts since I lived in England and travelled Europe. It was the easiest way to pack tight. Specifically, I would roll my shirts and stick them in a big ZipLock bag. Recently, I have begun rolling my daughter’s shirts, and their drawers have stayed much more organized. When you roll, the shirts are all in a line, and easier to see, make a decision and grab without disturbing the clothes around it. It really has changed the state of my daughter’s drawers. I only do it with my shirts, tank tops and yoga pants, and it works great for me too.
Dawn Dish Soap – Grease stains are the worst. Guess what, Dawn not only works on dishes. It works on clothes too. Just rub the soap into the stain and let it sit for a bit. Throw it in the wash, and watch the grease disappear.
Wrinkle Free Tablecloth Solution – My mother and mother-in-law are a wealth of information. I have a hard time with table cloths. I iron them, but when I put them on the table, they are still wrinkled. What my MIL does is iron them and then put them on the table. She sprays lightly with water from a spray bottle. Within a few hours, the table cloth is flat and wrinkle free.
Stain Solutions – The University of Illinois has put together this comprehensive list of stains and their solutions. It’s easy and visual to navigate. Keep it handy for your laundry needs.
Retractable Laundry Line – Not a lot of space? Get a retractable laundry line to save room. Pull it out when needed. Put it back in its base the majority of the time.
409 Removes Berry Stains – Want to know the secret to removing berry stains? 409. I have found it works on juice also.
Organize Your Space with a Peg Board – I love how The Posh Space creatively used peg board to help organize this laundry room. What great design.
I love your idea of roll your shirts. My boys are learning to fold their own laundry this Summer and they keep “forgetting” how to fold them. Any tips for rolling? Shirt laid flat, roll from bottom, and Sleeves tucked in as you roll up? or shirt folded in half with sleeves folded over then rolled?
I fold the shirt in thirds and roll. However, there’s no reason they couldn’t fold them in half, fold in the arms and roll from there. Whatever is easiest for them. Let me know how it goes. I still do most of the folding, but it has made a huge difference in the drawer organization.
The carpet strip is brilliant! My washer and dryer aren’t next to each other or very close to anything else, so I don’t have this problem in the laundry room…but I often spill things into the tight space between the stove and counter, don’t want to move the stove while it’s hot, and then forget about the spilled food until it starts to smell! I’ll look for an extra strip of linoleum for that space.
I line-dry almost all my laundry, on clotheslines in the basement. My favorite laundry hack is setting the basket on a wheeled desk chair. I can roll it under the clothesline and hang clothes (or take down the clean clothes) without bending over! Here are all my best laundry tips:
http://articles.earthlingshandbook.org/2013/10/16/a-laundry-line-drying-system-that-will-work-for-you/
Love the idea of adding a strip (maybe a piece of flooring sample instead) between the stove and counter. Great idea!! You have lots of other great ideas in that post. Thanks for sharing!
Re: your “socks who need friends” bin, one thing that I find that saves even an extra step, is to save a little space in the sock drawer (I keep our socks in dividers so I use the space between the divider and inside of the drawer) to put those single socks. As you said, eventually most of them show up again. This way I can easily match them up without having to look through a bin. Keep it in mind!
That’s a great idea. Thanks for contributing to the conversation!!
So does anyone have a hack to get rid of the smell of pee on my toddlers sheets sometimes the smell just doesn’t go away
I would try the recipe for vomit. I think it would work!
I put anything that I don’t want in the dryer into a mesh laundry bag. This way, when my helpful husband is doing the laundry, my clothes go into the washer with everything else, but he can easily pull the mesh bag out before transferring the load to the dryer. The system is working well for both of us!
That’s a super good idea! I’m totally going to use that. Thanks for the contribution!