by Eileen Roth
No matter where you do your laundry, you can save time and steps by keeping a hamper for dirty clothes in each bedroom, where clothes can be deposited as each person undresses. Look for vented hampers that let clothes breathe, and if there’s a lot of ground to cover between the closet and the washing machine, why not get one with wheels on the bottom so you can roll instead of carrying? Figure 11-1 shows this easy-handling hamper.
Hallway facilities
Hallway washer-dryer setups usually accommodate just the machines and a few cabinets or shelves above. Forget about spreading out a bunch of laundry baskets. At best you can stow baskets on top of the machines while the laundry is inside; at worst — if the machines themselves are stacked — the baskets must be stored in the bedroom at all times. You also have limited space for storing supplies, sorting, and air-drying — but read on for tips about facilitating each of these tasks.
If you can, enclosing hallway laundry facilities behind doors is best. Keep them closed so you don’t have to look at the machines and think about your dirty laundry every time you walk by.
Figure 11-1: Lighten your load with a rolling laun-dry hamper.
Photo courtesy of Get Organized!.
The laundry room
A dedicated laundry room provides the space you need to get the job done with ease, if you arrange the room well and refrain from filling it up with other stuff.
To give everyone easy access to supplies and key areas for doing laundry, divide the laundry area into the following centers:
Sorting center for dirty and clean clothes
Drying center
Ironing center
If you have a laundry chute, put an 18-gallon garbage can underneath to catch clothes easily and prevent having to pick up the overflows and misses that shallow baskets can cause. You can use a low shelf or table to position the can as close to the chute as possible.
A well-stocked laundry room can conquer many a stain and ensure you always have the right product for the job. But a box of detergent you can’t find has zero cleaning power, and shuffling through bottles when you have a big pile of dirty clothes staring you down can raise your irritation quotient fast. The right storage systems can help you whip your supplies into place and lose the laundry blues. The following can make laundry simple:
Built-in shelves above the machines: A couple of midlevel shelves above your washer and dryer can contain your detergent and fabric softener at closest possible use. Solid shelving is better than wire racks because the smooth surface provides better balance to small containers and prevents any drips or leaks from oozing down behind the machines. The disadvantage of shelving is that you have to look at everything, which isn’t as aesthetic as hiding things away.
If you store cleaning or dusting rags on shelves, place them in a container so they don’t ruin your view or fall through wire racks.
Built-in cabinets above the machines: These offer the same ease of access as shelves. You do lose a little time opening the doors to locate and reach for an item or take inventory, but you have the added advantage of concealing the contents.
Freestanding shelves or cabinets above or next to the machines: If you don’t have built-ins and would rather not install cabinets yourself, you can purchase freestanding units that rise above the machines or stand along the wall.
Caddies next to or between machines: From rolling wire rack shelves to slim towers that slip between the washer and dryer, there’s a laundry caddy to suit every need. Look for one that works with your layout and can hold all your supplies in one place. Figure 11-2 presents a possibility.
Group supplies by type, so that all the detergents and bleaches go together close by the washing machine with stain treatments alongside. If you treat stains in a sink or on a worktable, then put your antistain products near there. The fabric softener can sit near the dryer, so everything has its own slot and retrieving and putting away is easy.
Apartment laundry rooms and public Laundromats
Organizing your laundry is all the more important if your residence has no laundry facilities. Designate a spot — under the kitchen or bathroom sink, in the linen closet, utility closet, or pantry, or in a back hall — to store all your supplies and a stash of quarters. Use a rolling hamper and portable supply caddy to ease transport.
Figure 11-2: If you’re short on space, this skinny caddy helps keep laundry supplies in place between the machines.
Keep at least enough quarters on hand to wash and dry all the loads you typically do in a session. Whether you buy a roll of quarters at the bank or accumulate change in a jar, you can cut out hustling for coins from your chore.
Use your time at the Laundromat to catch up on reading by taking along your To Read File (see Chapter 16). This multitasking strategy has the added benefit of enabling you to remove loads as soon as they’re done and keep other customers from acing you out of your machine.
The laundry list
The chemistry of cleaning is more advanced than ever, so stock up to bust stains and brighten clothes with laundry supply basics.
All-purpose detergent. Liquids are less likely to leave residue on your clothes and can double as a quick spot treatment for food and greasy stains. Powdered detergent mixed to a paste with water and applied directly to clothes can get out ground-in dirt.
Enzyme products for tough jobs. Really dirty clothes and protein stains such as blood, grass, and chocolate require the power of enzymes, which you can find in presoak products and certain laundry detergents. Check the label and choose products with enzymes for soaking, spot treating, or washing stubborn spots.
Spot stain removers. Oily stains respond best to spot removers, which you can buy in stick, spray, or liquid form.
Fels Naphtha for stains is a remedy handed down to me from my mother, who got it from hers. A bar of this strong soap from the personal bar soap section or the cleaning products shelf of supermarkets can work miracles. I’ve used this strong and inexpensive bar soap to take out spaghetti sauce, even blood.
Chlorine bleach for whites and bleach-safe colors. Always dilute bleach with water and add it five minutes after the cycle begins to give detergent enzymes a head start and protect your clothes from bleach spots.
Nonchlorine bleach to boost cleaning power for colored loads. You can add this right along with the detergent; in fact, “brightening” detergents already contain all-fabric bleach.
Fabric softener to reduce static and wrinkling as well as soften and fluff your stuff.
If you use liquid laundry detergent, buy a small measuring cup so you don’t have to put a messy cap back on the bottle. The first time, fill the cap to the line with water and pour it into the measuring cup to read how much you need. If you always use the same brand, use a permanent marker to indicate the level directly on the measuring cup. (An alternative is to save a cap from a previous bottle.) If you switch brands, you’ll need to remeasure with each new bottle, and then write the cup measure amount on the current bottle.
Sorting Systems
Sorting, the first step to laundry success, can be as simple or as complicated as your clothes collection requires.
A well-organized sorting system can help you rise above those piles on the floor and keep each load neat and contained. Sorting solutions on the market include a set of canvas bags hanging from a frame with a hinge-top table above for folding (see Figure 11-3), sliding baskets set into a standing frame to maximize your vertical space, and the old-fashioned method of baskets set on a table.
To sort clothes the savvy way, do the following:
1.The dry and the wet: First filter out garments bound for the dry cleaners before garments go anywhere, preferably in the bedroom. Designate a separate hamper or hanging spot in the closet for items to take to the cleaners.
The chemicals used in dry cleaning are tough on fabric, so the less often you take clothes to the cleaners, the longer they last. Once or twice a season is probably enough for al
l but the most-frequently worn items.
2.The basic three: Color is the key criterion for sorting laundry loads, and the basic three groups are whites, darks, and mixed. Separate along these color lines and you have an excellent chance of pulling clothes from the washer representing the same spot on the spectrum as they did when they went in. Cross the lines and all bets are off.
Red, black, and other dark colors can bleed, especially in hot water — so unless you’re trying to dye your entire wardrobe pink or gray, sort these into a separate load and use cold water. If something does run, don’t put the affected garments in the dryer, which will set the color. Rewash them, perhaps with a blast of bleach for whites or nonchlorine bleach for colors.
3.The not-so-basic 11: While the basic three categories can take care of singles, couples, and small young families, larger families and active kids can call for advanced sorting calculus that accounts for both volume — how much can fit in the machine at one time — and temperature. Leotards, shorts, and sport tops for gymnastics, cheerleading, and the health club need cold water, but all those plain white T-shirts can go gray if they don’t get washed hot. If you’re really down in the laundry trenches, your categories may look more like
Here’s a place where a little organization can pay off in spades: Treat stains right away. Your chances of saving the garment are higher the sooner you mount your counterattack. Keep a second set of stain-removal products in the master bathroom if the trip to the laundry room tends to delay your treatment efforts. Contain lingerie in mesh bags before washing, nylons in one and bras in another. Close up bra hooks to keep them from catching other clothes. Separate bags for each person make sorting easier when the wash is done. Finally, zip up all the zippers and turn printed T-shirts inside out to protect the design.
Figure 11-3: A laundry sorter with star performance.
Photo courtesy of Get Organized!.
Take oversized items such as comforters and bedspreads to a coin laundry with large-capacity machines. Large-sized washables can get cleaner and better rinsed, and won’t test the limits of your own machines.
Loadsful of laundry
I added it up: When both my girls were teenagers, I did 12 loads of laundry a week. That’s nearly 50 loads each month! Most of us go through five outfits a week for work or school, maybe another five if you change when you get home, weekend clothes, workout gear, and something a little spiffier for going out in the evening. Add sheets, towels, and pj’s, and it’s no wonder we keep the machines and the long- suffering soul who runs them busy. Here are a few ways to handle laundry overload:
Teach the rest of the family to do laundry and assign a weekly load to each person. Sheets and towels are an easy place to start. Type up a list of each load and the right dial settings for both washer and dryer, and then post it on the wall for easy reference. You may turn to the reference list yourself when your mind is taking the day off.
Tackle the problem at the source: your closets. Pare your wardrobe down to your favorites and most-frequently worn, and I promise you’ll see the flow of laundry ease. (See Chapter 6 on the bedroom for wardrobe purging tips.)
Check for stains and dirty collars and cuffs as you sort loads, and give them a dose of the right product (see “The laundry list”) before washing in the hottest water indicated for the garment. Check again before drying and rewash anything that hasn’t come clean; the heat of the dry cycle can set stains for life.
Drying without Crying
Just ask my kids: I can shrink anything. I’m afraid to say that even after two decades, operator error is probably to blame for all the wardrobe downsizing I’ve done. Shrinking clothes by mistake wastes the money you spent in the store and the time lost in the laundry room, so direct from the school of hard knocks I present these do’s and don’ts for drying without crying:
Remove dryer lint each time to optimize the machine’s efficiency and prevent setting your clothes on fire. This, of course, will save you lots of time and trouble.
Match the cycle setting to the load so that the temperature and timing are at least in the right ballpark. The rule of thumb is that the lighter the fabric, the lower the temperature should be. That puts delicates and permanent press at low, jeans and towels on high — get the picture?
Don’t count on the automatic setting to shut the machine off before your clothes have lost a size or two.
Set the dryer’s timer with a conservative eye. Most loads are done in 40 minutes or so (less for delicates). Schedule your trip back to the dryer accordingly and plan to pull shrink-sensitive items such as 100 percent cotton garments out while they’re still slightly damp and then hang them up to air dry. Finish off the rest with an additional 10 to 15 minutes.
Don’t leave clothes sitting in the dryer after the cycle is done. Cooling in a heap can wrinkle clothes, while hanging or folding them hot will leave them smooth to save you ironing time.
Whether you’re trying to outwit a wily dryer or air drying delicates straight from the washer, you need drying systems more advanced than. chair backs and doorknobs. Check out Figure 11-4 for a dandy drying idea.
The quickest way to get clean laundry back to where it belongs is to sort as you pull washing from the machines. Hanging is generally easier than folding, as anything that comes out damp has a chance to air dry, and you can easily sort by owner as you hang things on a clothes rod or rack or a wall-mounted wire shelf. Whether you’re hanging items or folding them into piles, sort by person first; then, depending upon your space and the number of people you’re dealing with, you can subsort by garment type — shirts, pants, socks and underwear, and so forth.
Figure 11-4: A telescoping wire rack for draping small items does a lot of drying in little bit of space.
Do you find yourself trying to squeeze a dozen different piles of folded laundry onto the tops of two small machines? Simplify your life with a sorting table with space for all your piles. See Figure 11-3 for a double-duty model with sorting bags below.
Getting It Straight: Ironing
I hate to iron. Maybe it’s genetic. My mother couldn’t tackle the pile of wrinkly things without our weekly cleaning lady and me by her side. Against my will, I discovered that at least things went faster if you iron right.
Before you even start ironing, equip yourself with a reliable iron, ironing board, and cover. Using the kitchen table instead of a board only makes the job harder and puts you and your clothes at risk. If you’re short on space, look for a board that hangs from a door that can be pulled down for use. Occasional ironers can also opt for a mini-board with folding legs that fits in a drawer. Though patterned ironing board covers might be pretty, solids make it easier to see the item you’re ironing and get all the wrinkles the first time around.
An iron with automatic shut-off can prevent a safety hazard if you should go to answer the phone or stir the tomato sauce midjob.
Okay, here is your basic, no-frills, quick-and-efficient ironing strategy:
1.Start with garments that need the lowest heat setting, and then work your way up the dial. Otherwise, you’re sitting around waiting for the iron to cool down between settings, or burning or melting something with your impatience.
2.Do the fussy parts first — collars, yokes, cuffs, and waistbands.
3.Once the small stuff is out of the way, do the sleeves. Then work from one end of the garment to the other without skipping around.
Never leave a hot iron with the plate flat. After use, pour out any water and stand it on its heel on top of the washer or dryer with the cord well away from the hot side. Don’t return the iron to a plastic organizing caddy until it’s completely cool, or you’ll have a meltdown on your hands.
My favorite ironing tactic is preventive: permanent press. Why buy 100 percent cotton when there are so many great fabrics out there that come out of the dryer ready to wear?
Scheduling Your Laundry Day
Accustomed to doing laundry when you r
un out of clothes? There is a better way. There are two basic theories about how to schedule your wash: all on one day, or split into two. If you work every day, you may want to leave weekends free for errands, outings, and fun, in which case splitting up the job into one weeknight for linens and another for clothes would be best. On the other hand, if you have a young family, you may prefer to get the whole thing out of the way on Saturday or Sunday, when your spouse or a babysitter can take the kids or a play date can be arranged. Either way, if you find yourself frequently staring at an empty closet, your schedule needs refining.
Utility or Mudroom
The laundry room often doubles as a mudroom off the back or basement door, where everything from sandy beach towels to crusty boots can congregate. Your utility room may serve as an extra storage spot, or a place to do anything messy. The more hats your laundry room wears, the more you need to organize.
The mess-free mudroom
Though you may not think of the mudroom as wearing a public face, this is a primary point of entry to the house, and family and guests alike may troop through after swimming, picnicking, or playing. Make it nice and easy:
Add a closed cabinet for beach towels, and bath towels and supplies if you have a shower and/or bathroom here. See Chapter 7 for more on setting up a beautiful and functional bath area.