Laundry Tips for Busy Mums – Reach That Empty Washing Basket Goal!

Laundry Tips for Busy Mums – Reach That Empty Washing Basket Goal!

Laundry is a big part of life when you have young kids as they go through so many clothes spilling things and getting dirty or messy playing. They also tend to make a mess of other fabrics in the house including their parents’ clothes — thanks for wiping your snotty nose on my shoulder, dear child! Oh, and the amount of washing when you have a reflux baby…

The goal is to feel in control of the laundry situation and to sometimes, just every once in a while, reach the goal of having an empty washing basket. Though this will of course only last a couple of hours or maybe minutes. Definitely enjoy it while it lasts! I’ve currently got one child’s t-shirt in the laundry basket but that’s it for now and it feels good, especially during a rainy week and with a toddler in cloth nappies.

There are a few things that help me when it comes to dealing with the family laundry:

• Take Every Chance

If it’s a lovely sunny day — do some laundry! Get a load on as soon as you get up so that you can hang it up early in the morning for the best chance to dry. Sunny and warm is always great but windy and overcast will dry washing too. If you have to be out very early and will not have the time to do a load and hang it before you have to go, do it in the evening before and hang it out at night too if the weather is going to stay dry. I do this sometimes and it makes you feel on top of things! If you don’t take the chance when the weather is good, it will probably rain for days afterwards. You know how the world works!

• Wear the Same Colours

It’s annoying when you have a bunch of laundry to do but not the enough for a full load in any colour. I usually separate the laundry into whites/lights, black/darks, red and then delicate materials like wool or silk items. You might have a full laundry basket but only enough for half-loads which is a bit of a waste. To combat this, I often dress the kids and myself in similar colours! Then we’ll soon have full loads of the same colour clothes.

• Treat Stains Straight Away

If someone spills — happens a lot in our family, treat the stain as soon as possible. I’ve found that the Astonish Stain Remover Bar works better than any other stain removers that I’ve tried. I just checked my old review of it and realised I bought mine in 2014 and I still have loads left! I use it quite often too. It’s only a couple of pounds (and currently you actually pay less in total for two which is strange!) and obviously lasts years! It does a great job on all kinds of stains.

• Keep It Clean

Keeping the washing machine clean is important to ensure it does a good job cleaning your clothes. I use a Service-it Deep Clean Washing Machine Cleaner once or twice a year and also use vinegar in between. Vinegar is great to freshen up things like towels and if I’m just washing a load of towels, I pour in half a bottle of vinegar (the cheap white one from the supermarket). It works a treat and helps clean your washing machine too.

• Keep It Moving

A rotary airer outside helps keep the laundry moving which can help it dry more quickly. I also use hanging dryers with clothes pegs from IKEA to hang small things so that they’re quick and easy to get back inside again if it does start raining! Bigger items like sheets might need turning around or inside out to dry properly so remember to do that.

• Think Before You Buy

Choose clothes and other fabric items carefully and opt for things that are easy to wash at any temperature, that dries quickly and doesn’t crease easily. It will save you a lot of time and keep you sane! If it’s not quick drying, ensure it can go in the dryer for a bit to speed up drying. If it’s raining, I usually put the dryer on for a short cycle to get the bulk of water out before hanging the washing up to dry fully.

These are my laundry tips for today! I’m rubbish at putting laundry away though and usually wait until I have 3-4 bags full and then do it all in one go. That does save time though but the bags of laundry are unsightly!