Your Summer Laundry Strategy in 8 Easy Steps
Make this chore a breeze so you can enjoy leisurely days with family and friends
It’s summer — the birds are singing, the pool is calling, and there’s a tall iced tea with your name on it. The last place you probably want to be is stuck in the laundry room with a mountain of sandy towels and grass-stained shorts. Read on for eight ways to make your laundry load a bit lighter so you can get back out there and enjoy your summer.
1. Minimize clothes, minimize laundry. If you want to avoid the dreaded mountain of dirty laundry, the first order of business should be paring down. For each member of the household, consider:
- Do all clothes fit easily within the available drawers or closet space? If not, make that the goal as you figure out what clothes to give away or throw away.
- Are there enough basics (socks, T-shirts) to last a week without doing laundry? Having too few clothes can be just as annoying as having too many.
2. Stop wet, sandy beach towels before they enter the house. When damp and sandy towels are dropped indoors, they tend to either a) sit around until they smell of mildew, or b) get tossed into the wash, sand and all, which can wreak havoc on your machine. Solve this problem by designating a spot to hang beach towels outdoors until they are dry enough to shake sand off (a row of sturdy hooks would do the trick). Then they can either be used again or be taken in to the house to be laundered.
Browse wall hooks
Browse wall hooks
3. Encourage laundry room self-help. All but the youngest family members can learn to run a load of laundry. Make it easy for everyone to do their share by assigning a color-coded bin to each person in the house. Even if the parents do the kid laundry, keeping loads separated by person helps speed things up when it comes time to sort and fold. Better yet: Dump the fresh clothes back in the color-coded bin and send it back to the appropriate room for folding.
4. Dedicate a spot to hand-wash. Swimsuits and other delicate items will last far longer if they are treated gently. If you have a sink in the laundry room to wash delicates, great; if not, no worries. Collect hand-wash items in a plastic dish pan or tub and tote it to the nearest sink when you’re ready to wash. With either setup, be sure to store mild laundry soap and a drying rack nearby.
5. Make an easy-grab spot for beach towels. It’s summer, and with trips to the ocean, pool and lake, those beach towels are sure to be in heavy rotation. Aim to find a spot to stash your beach towel collection that’s close to the laundry room (quicker to put away) or door (quicker to grab on the way out). Whatever you do, don’t stow them in the way-back of the linen closet — at least not until fall.
6. Keep zippered items separate from lightweight summer pieces. Zippers and other hardware can cause abrasions and tears in more delicate fabrics. Extend the life of your lightest summer clothes by washing these items separately. Sorting clothes this way can take the place of sorting the traditional lights and darks, with the exception of items with dyes that may bleed (wash these on their own).
7. Set out jars to collect pocket contents. Of course, this is a tip to keep in mind all year, but summer is prime time for finding all manner of strange items in pockets, especially when there are little ones in the house. Keep some pretty jars near the washer and dryer for sorting the spare change from the seashells, and a waste bin on the floor for catching everything else.
8. Buy wash-and-wear. If you’re planning to do some shopping for new summer clothes, look for pieces that are easy to care for. Avoiding clothes that have fussy care requirements means you can toss everything in together without worry. A summer win, to be sure!
Tell us: What are your secrets for handling summer laundry? Share your ideas in the Comments.
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Tell us: What are your secrets for handling summer laundry? Share your ideas in the Comments.
More
Your Home Can Help You Recharge
7-Day Plan: Get a Spotless, Beautifully Organized Laundry Room
Browse housekeeping and laundry products