As a busy mom, you need to find as many shortcuts and hacks as possible to make your life easier, especially when it comes to laundry!
For busy moms, the days can feel like they never end, so you want to be able to get everything done without feeling like you’re constantly running out of time. Being a mother also means stress and too often means that personal life, time for oneself and energy can be lost. Sometimes it even goes so far that burnout can follow.
Luckily, with some smart laundry hacks, you can spend less time doing laundry and still come out looking great.
Keep reading to learn 10 easy laundry hacks every busy mom needs in her life.
Wash clothes in cold water
Coldwater is gentler on clothes and works just as well to get them clean. The difference in energy costs will add up over time, especially if you wash clothes every day. If you don’t like how your clothes come out after washing them in cold water, try adding 1/2 cup of vinegar to your rinse cycle; it will make colors brighter and fabrics softer.
Make sure you aren’t using too much detergent—using too much can damage colors and cause more wear and tear on your clothing over time. Don’t overload your washer: Overloading your washer causes unnecessary wear and tear on both your machine and clothes.
It also uses more water than necessary, which wastes money and contributes to excess laundry pileup. Use less detergent: Using too much detergent means that not all of it gets used by the end of a load (that’s why there’s always some left at the bottom).
When that happens, soap residue builds up in your machine and eventually makes its way into other loads, leaving behind an unpleasant odor or even damaging other clothes.
Use vinegar
Did you know that vinegar can be used for more than just salad dressing? Did you also know that it’s an excellent stain remover? Mix it with baking soda, dab it on stains and watch them disappear before your eyes. Don’t have time to mix up a solution?
Fill your washer with warm water, add 1/4 cup of vinegar, then soak clothes in it for about 20 minutes. If your clothes don’t come out 100 percent clean (depending on how bad they were stained), use white distilled vinegar and follow up with a regular wash cycle.
The smell should disappear after you dry them (if not, let them air out). This works especially well on whites! Use Downy Wrinkle Releaser: Not sure what to do when wrinkles appear while your clothes are still wet? This hack is perfect for busy moms who are always on the go!
Grab some Downy Wrinkle Releaser spray from your closet and spritz away! It won’t remove creases entirely, but it will help make ironing much easier. Plus, you can grab some Tide pens or powder as well—it helps freshen clothes between washes so they don’t end up smelling musty or dirty.
Line-dry whenever possible: You might think hanging laundry outside takes too long—but guess what?
Skip the dryer
If you’re looking to quickly reduce your energy bill, skip drying your clothes in the dryer. Yes, it’s that simple. Instead of tumbling those socks and pajamas, hang them on a rack or lay them out to dry on an old towel (this will prevent mildew).
Not only will you save yourself time by avoiding another load of laundry, but you’ll also get some exercise by hanging clothes to dry and avoid using more electricity than necessary. The best part is that once you go through your current stack of clean clothing (it’s ok if it takes a while), all those items can go straight into storage. Simply pull out what you need when you need it.
It doesn’t get much easier than that! And, no special racks are required—you can even use wire hangers. Just be sure to turn your clothes right side out before hanging them up so they don’t get damaged during drying.
We all know laundry isn’t fun—especially as a busy mom who has better things to do with her day. By taking advantage of these 10 easy hacks, you’ll have more time for things that matter most and less stress about keeping up with dirty clothing piles around your home.
And if nothing else, you’ll be able to take pride in knowing that by reducing how often you do laundry, you are helping keep water resources safe for future generations.
Use detergent tabs
Instead of pouring out powder or liquid detergent, make your laundry go further by using gel-based detergent tabs. Rather than relying on measuring cups to get enough detergent into your washing machine, use any old container (or even just your hand) to drop in a tablet.
The whole process is simple and easy to do, saving you time and money in return. If you find you’re having issues with staining or odor coming from your clothing, look for specialized detergents formulated for tough stains and odors.
There are many types available, so be sure to read product descriptions carefully before making a purchase.
Store your laundry basket correctly
If you’re like most moms, you’re juggling countless tasks at once. With busy mornings, afternoons filled with activities, and cooking dinner, you probably spend your evenings on all things important—especially keeping up with laundry.
If laundry becomes too much to handle as your busy schedule continues to grow, you may need some new strategies for organizing it so it doesn’t end up piling up behind closed doors. One way to keep up with laundry is by storing your dirty clothes in an organized way that makes sense for your family.
For example, instead of tossing everything into one basket, separate whites from colors and delicates from towels. Storing clothes correctly will make folding easier when you do have time to tackle that pile of dirty laundry. And don’t forget about those stains!
Storing stained clothing separately will help them stand out (and remind you) when it comes time to wash them again.
Clean your washing machine
To clean your washing machine and to keep it in good condition, get some lemon juice and pour it into your washer. Then fill it with water and put it on the hot wash cycle. The citric acid helps loosen limescale and dirt while brightening your clothes at the same time.
This process should be repeated every four months or so to ensure that you always have a clean washing machine. Hang-dry clothes: Hang-drying clothing can save you hundreds of dollars per year, according to energystar.gov.
When using an electric dryer for just 10 minutes each day for 365 days a year, your dryer will use 1,825-kilowatt-hours (kWh) of electricity annually—or about $170 worth of electricity costs each year!
If hanging laundry is more convenient for you than doing laundry by hand, consider installing drying racks in strategic locations around your home (in bedrooms and living rooms) where you are likely to need dry clothing often. Not only will you save money but also reduce your carbon footprint as well!
Fix stains by hand
Sure, you can buy stain removers in many forms—including liquids, powders, and sprays. But if you want to make sure your clothing is spotless (without using harsh chemicals), you should take care of stains by hand.
To get rid of pen marks on your favorite shirt, dissolve salt into the water and rub it onto the affected areas before throwing it in with the laundry. If a wine stain has seeped into your carpeting, use baking soda to absorb moisture and blot any remaining liquid away with white vinegar.
Just don’t forget to treat stains as soon as possible—the longer they’re allowed to sit there, the harder they are to get out! And never mix different types of fabric when washing—it could cause discoloration or even tearing.
Make sure that all clothes are washed separately from towels and bedding, too. All those microfibers will cause lint to cling to other garments, which can damage them over time.
Get rid of static cling
Static cling sucks, especially if you don’t want to start your wash day with a basket full of smelly clothes. If you often deal with clothing covered in static, try using fabric softener (in addition to your detergent and dryer sheets).
