How to Do Laundry

For all those who fret at the unimaginable thought of doing their laundry, here's some good news. Doing laundry is not as difficult as it seems, plus, it is a simultaneous activity, so you can get other work done while the washing machine does its own work. Read below for some tips on how you can do your laundry fast, and without causing any damage to your clothes.

Sort 'Em
The first step when it comes to doing your laundry, is to separate all your clothing according to color and fabric. It is common sense that you should wash your light and dark clothes separately. So, from the pile, take out all the whites. Whites, as in, clothes which are of any light color like white, gray, cream, or other light pastel shades. The dark colors like black, blue, dark gray, and bright shades of red, pink, orange, green, etc. should be kept separate. Mix up all the colors, and your clothes will resemble the rainbow for sure! Once you've sorted them by color, it's time to sort them by fabric. Keep the cottons and linens separate, and the delicate fabrics like silk, knit, etc. separate. Denims and wool separately, again.

Clean 'Em
Sometimes, you may have some really stubborn stains on your clothes, which stand no chance in the washing machine. For this, you need to do it by hand. Yes, removing stubborn stains by hand is the most effective in such cases. Keep a stain remover close at hand, or you can try natural remedies for removing stains from clothes by hand. Give the clothes at least 24 hours with the remover before they are washed.

Wash 'Em
Now that the stubborn stains are ready to be removed, you can begin the washing cycle. Things to keep in mind before starting the washing cycle:

• Labels: Check the labels of the clothes to judge what temperature of water is suitable for them.
• Pockets: Cannot be stressed enough. Check ALL the pockets of ALL the clothes, before you throw them into the washer. Coins, cosmetics, electronic gadgets, etc. can get damaged and also cause washing machine problems, and spoil your clothes as well. If they have zippers, close them.
• Coins: If it is a public laundry room, then ensure you have enough change to fill the machines so that you don't have a pile of half done laundry!
• Detergent: Stock up on detergent, at least a day in advance. Don't keep it for the last minute, you might not get the one you need and want. Choose one that is suitable for the clothes and has a pleasant fragrance as well, provided you're not allergic to fragrances.

Once, these things have been taken care of, load the washer (don't overload) with the whites. Add enough detergent, use the appropriate temperature setting (according to fabric label), and you have a good 45 minutes to do something else. Lesser clothes may take lesser time, so make sure you set the time accordingly too. After the whites are done, in go the colors, with detergent, and the appropriate settings for temperature of water.

Dry 'Em
Once you've removed the clothes from the washer, you have two options. You can dry them out in the sun, on a clothes line, or you can put them in clothes dryer for drying. Sun drying is the best option, but if you do not have enough space or sunlight, then a dryer is the only option. Take care when you use the dryer, to set the temperature, according to the fabric. You don't want to end up scorching your clothes and setting them on fire. Stop the dryer mid-cycle, to check that all the clothes are getting dried, and not getting balled up instead. Lesser clothes, and heavier clothes like jeans, upholstery, woolens, etc. take longer to dry. So take care about that as well. You have another 35-45 minutes in hand. Finish off your other chores till then.

Fold 'Em
Once your clothes are ready to be removed from the dryer, there's only one step left! Folding laundry! As you remove the clothes from the dryer, fold them immediately, and place them neatly in the hamper. This will save you both, time, and space. Voila! You have a whole stack of freshly laundered, neatly folded clothes ready to be ironed!

Now do you believe me? That doing laundry is really easy! I hope you're confident enough to do your laundry yourself now! If not then, shame on you! It does NOT get easier than this.