It’s back-to-school season. That time of the year when you hear the collective sighs of relief from moms and dads everywhere.
But there is one downside to your kiddos being back in school一the laundry! Before you even get to enjoy your first quiet afternoon in months, you feel attacked by a pile of dirty clothes that seems to grow by the hour.
Don’t despair; we’ve got your back! Our six handy laundry hacks will help you get through the laundry madness with ease.
1. Sort Your Laundry As You Go
When you think of laundry tips and tricks, you might think of fancy gadgets or expensive laundry detergent. But sometimes, the simplest laundry hacks are the best ones.
Sorting clothes as you go is a perfect example. That means no more waiting until Monday morning to do a giant sorting of all your clothes from the weekend. As soon as you take your clothes off, sort them into piles: darks, lights, and delicates.
But what if convincing your kids to use laundry baskets feel like herding cats? One of our favorite laundry basket hacks is to delegate: put one in each child’s room. That way, they can sort their clothes before they even make it to the laundry room—delegate like a CEO!
2. Freeze Your Denim
A good pair of jeans is every kid’s (and, let’s be honest, mom’s) best friend. They’re tough, comfy, and go with pretty much everything. But washing them is a serious pain.
You want to avoid washing them too often because it ruins the fabric and causes them to fade. Stone- or acid-washed jeans are no longer in style, mom. But you also don’t want to walk around with a pair of jeans that smells like last week’s lunch. That’s just gross.
That’s where this laundry hack comes in.
When your jeans start to smell a bit ripe, fold or roll them into a Ziploc bag, then throw them in the freezer overnight. The cold temperature will kill any bacteria causing the stench. In the morning, take them out and let them air out for a bit before wearing them.
3. Use Borax
Borax kind of sounds like a Harry Potter spell, doesn’t it? But this queen of laundry detergent hacks is no joke.
Borax is a natural laundry booster that’s gentle enough to use on delicate fabrics and tough enough for all sorts of stains. And it doesn’t matter if you’re using a powder, liquid, or gel laundry detergent. Just add Borax to the mix and watch your laundry transform before your eyes.
4. Fill in the Gaps Around Your Washing Machine
We’ve all been there. You pull your laundry out of the dryer, start folding — and discover that a sock is missing.
Your kids might not care (or even notice), but you certainly do. Those socks ain’t cheap, and you’ll be damned if you’re going to waste your money on new ones when you know that there’s a perfectly good pair somewhere in the abyss.
To prevent your laundry from getting lost in the washing machine’s black hole, fill in the gaps with a strip of foam pipe insulation. It’s cheap, easy to install, and keeps socks and other small items from slipping through the cracks.
5. Enjoy Yourself While Folding
Folding laundry is one of those things that’s so tedious, it makes watching paint dry feel like a night at the club. But its tediousness actually works in your favor with one of our favorite laundry folding hacks: multitasking!
As long as your hands are busy, your mind is free to wander. So go ahead and daydream while you’re folding laundry. Catch up on your favorite TV show, listen to a podcast, or jam some tunes.
Whatever you choose to do while folding, we’re sure it will be much better than focusing completely on the task at hand and regretting the day you taught your kids to wear clothes!
6. Take Care of Your Washing Machine
If your washing machine could talk, we’re sure it would have lots of war stories. Imagine it regaling other washing machines with tales of late-night loads of laundry, overflowing hampers, and wayward socks.
It’s no wonder why washing machines break down after a few years — they just can’t take the abuse anymore!
Your trusty washing machine can clean everything but one thing: itself. Until someone figures that out, you’re going to have to take care of it yourself:
- Use the largest load setting and hottest water temperature
- Pour a quart of white vinegar and a cup of baking soda into the drum
- After a minute of agitation, open the lid or pause the cycle and let it sit for an hour
- Scrub any buildup with a toothbrush or sponge
- Wait for it to dry completely before running another cycle
That’s it! Following these simple steps every so often will keep your washing machine running like a charm. Now you won’t have to worry about it gossiping behind your back to other appliances, especially those hoity-toity air fryers!
Still Can’t Hack It?
Let’s be real here. All the laundry hacks in the world won’t make you enjoy doing laundry if it’s not really your idea of a relaxing afternoon. Thankfully, some people do. And those people work with us!
hampr is an app-based, on-demand laundry service that connects laundry haters with laundry lovers. We’ll pick up your dirty clothes, wash them, dry them, and fold them before returning them to you the next day — all through our handy dandy app.
We have laundry down to a science. Our app-based laundry delivery service features transparent flat-rate pricing, with flexible time slots to fit even the busiest schedules.
Now you leave the laundry to us and focus on the things you love — download the hampr app on the App Store or Google Play today and have as much fun at home as your kids will have at school! (School’s fun — right?)
