Laundry is a never-ending, ever-growing, soul-sucking chore. If your family’s dirty clothes seem to multiply faster than you can manage, you’re not alone, and I’ve got a solution for you.
As a professional organizer working with busy families, I’ve seen firsthand how laundry can go from manageable to mountain in a matter of days. But here’s the good news: a few simple changes can save you hours, arguments, and a whole lot of stress.
Here are four of my favourite laundry hacks to help you with doing laundry smarter and easier.
1. Save Time with a Triple-Sort Hamper
One of my favourite laundry hacks is a hamper with three built-in sections—one for whites, one for colours, and one for darks. Get one of these for each member of the house. This way sorting is done the moment clothes hit the hamper. It’s a tiny shift that saves a huge amount of time later.
2. A Solution to a Missing Sock
I don’t know where they disappear, buy every house has a pile of unmatched socks. Solution to this is simple, buy a bulk pack of identical socks. No more sorting socks or looking for a match. As a bonus, if one sock starts to form a hole, you don’t have to throw out a pair.
3. Hang More, Fold Less
I hang almost everything, even jeans. Hanging is faster than folding, keeps clothes from wrinkling, and helps you actually see what you have. You can skip folding entirely for socks, underwear, PJs, and swimwear—those get tossed straight into labeled drawers or bins. Less folding, more time.
4. Stop Washing After Just One Wear
Not everything needs a wash after a single wear. Undergarments, yes. But jeans, t-shirts, dresses, no. You can wear them multiple times. If you wear something twice before washing, you just cut your laundry load in half. I once was helping out a friend by looking after her 8 year old daughter. The girl put on a clean pair of jeans to go out, changed her mind, took them off and threw in a hamper. It’s time to break the habit of washing clothes just after one use.
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