Laundry days can feel hectic at the best of times — especially if you run a busy household or have young (and messy) children who can easily get through a wardrobe of clothes in a week. More often, you’re wading through a pile of laundry that can easily take up much of the day, and leaving you with little time for anything else (like a movie-binge, maybe?).
But there are a few hacks that can speed up laundry day, and make your life so much easier. While these simple hacks are hardly rocket-science, they will certainly make a huge difference to your laundry time. After all, who really wants to spend all day doing laundry?
So if you want to tackle those loads quickly, these three hacks can speed up laundry day, making the chores a breeze.
You might also want to check out how to keep your towels looking new and fresh and how to make your washing machine last longer if you rely on it daily, and why you really shouldn’t use your washing machine as a hamper.
While you're doing that, find out how often should you wash your towels, according to the experts. And if you want to save money on laundry day, check out how to make your own laundry detergent and how to dry clothes without a clothes dryer.
1. Button up duvet covers before washing
We all know what it’s like when you've thrown a duvet cover into the load, only to take it out full of other laundry inside it. No matter how flat you make the cover, a rogue item always finds its way inside.
The solution is really simple. Just do up the buttons or poppers of the duvet cover before washing to prevent any rogue items being sucked inside it. You don’t have to do up every single button — that's too time consuming — but every other button will do the trick. This will save you so much time from emptying out the cover before hanging it to dry.
While you’re deep cleaning your bedding, you might also want to know how to wash a pillow or how to wash a weighted blanket to keep them in top condition. What’s more, if you want a more organized linen cupboard, here's how to fold a fitted sheet in less than one minute to save time.
2. Laundry bags will help you find rogue items
Another common laundry woe is when small items like socks or matching underwear go "missing" amongst the sea of laundry. To prevent those smaller items going rogue, invest in mesh laundry bags like these CCidea 5 Pack Mesh Laundry Bag for Delicates ($10, Amazon).
Just place your socks, underwear or any delicate items in these zipped bags before putting them in the washing machine. Not only will it protect delicates from being damaged but will ensure matching items are not separated in the wash. Best of all, you can easily find what you’re looking for when you’re unloading the laundry.
3. Hang up clothes straight away to prevent creases
If, like me, you’re not a big fan of ironing, this hack will save you precious time and effort. Hanging your clothes up as soon as they come out of the machine can help prevent most garments from getting wrinkled.
Give clothes a good shake to remove creases from the spin cycle before you hang up on a coat hanger. This will air it out before the creases "set-in" during the drying process. Best of all, this will reduce your wrinkled, ironing pile, and make organizing your wardrobe a breeze.
Bear in mind, while this method works on most quick-drying fabrics, stiff cotton shirts, linen garments or denim might still need a quick iron, but at least the creases will be minimal.
Other handy laundry tips
— Select the right water temperature for each load to get the best washing results out of the cycle. This will also avoid shrinkage or other damage to clothing.
— Pre-treat stubborn stains on clothes before throwing them into the washing machine. For more top tips, check out how to remove oil stains from clothes or how to remove blood stains quickly if you’ve had an accident.
— Turn dark-colored clothing inside out before washing to avoid fading and wear-and-tear to the fabric. The same applies to jeans, and remember to do up zippers to avoid snagging on other clothes.
— Always leave your washing machine door open after a cycle to eliminate bad smells. Don’t forget, even washing machines need cleaning which is why you should know how to clean a washing machine.
If you fancy an upgrade check out the best washing machines right now, and whether you should buy a front loader vs top loader machine to suit your needs. Or here's what to do if you've noticed your washing machine shaking violently as it tries to spin.
