The Art of Doing Laundry

Tips to Make This Chore More Fun

By Sydni Ellis

Wash, dry, fold, and leave in the basket until you want to wear it again, then repeat. It’s the endless laundry cycle. Whether you immediately fold and put away your clothes (do these people actually exist?) or wait until your laundry pile could rival Mt. Everest, we can all agree on one thing — this chore may be exhausting, but it’s so necessary.

Lighten your load and make it more fun with these tips and tricks highlighting the art of doing laundry. You still may not love doing laundry, but it could help the process go smoother or maybe even help convince the kids to take over!

Use Clear Dish Soap for Stains It fights grease on dishes, so why not stains on clothes? Dish soap makes an excellent spot treatment. I prefer a clear product, like Palmolive Ultra Pure + Clear Liquid Dish Soap. Just pour directly on the stain, scrub it with a laundry brush, and throw it in the wash. It’s effective and works double duty in the kitchen.

Switch to Wool Dryer Balls

Save money — and avoid that dryer sheet residue by switching to wool dryer balls like the Eco Dryer balls from Friendsheep. Made with 100% New Zealand wool, they help dry clothes more evenly, keep laundry soft and fluffy, and naturally reduce drying time by up to 40%. $22, FriendsheepWool.com

Upgrade Your Laundry Hamper

A new laundry basket might be precisely what you need to find joy in folding clothes. The Brightroom Laundry Station features a medium-sized metal basket on the bottom, a small metal basket in the middle, and a bar at the top for hanging clothes to dry. The whole thing is on wheels, making it easy to roll it from your room to the washer and dryer and vice versa.

$40, Target.com

Brighten Whites Outside the Laundry Room

Instead of using bleach, keep your sheets, shirts, and socks extra white with a special tip by Martha Stewart. Boil water with a few lemon slices in a pot on the stove, then turn off the heat and soak your clothes for an hour. Afterward, wash them and hang them to dry in the sun.

Learn What Those Tiny Symbols on the Tags Mean

Delicates, outerwear, and linens all have different washing recommendations, as revealed in the tiny symbol on the tag. Keep a handy guide to these symbols and their meanings with the Hearth & Hand with Magnolia Laundry Sign. Hang it up in the laundry room for quick reference. $25, Target.com

Fold Laundry — or Not

It’s perfectly fine if you’d rather skip this last step. Hang up your shirts and pants instead of folding them and put underwear in a drawer as is, although undershirts may be an exception. And kid clothes? Don’t even worry about it. They’ll ruffle through the drawers anyway, so save yourself some time. Remember, done is better than perfect, so find the system that works for you and embrace it.