Laundry—whether, you work full time outside the home or stay-at-home, laundry is a part of necessary chores. How you launder your clothes makes a difference in how long the clothes last, how nice they look when we wear them, and how well you enjoy your home.

Laundry Collection

 Collect soiled clothes in a bathroom or bedroom hamper. Don’t throw damp towels and washcloths in with the other laundry. Hang them to dry in the bathroom until you are ready to begin washing them to prevent mold and mildew that can ruin clothes. Separate delicates and fine dress clothes from work clothes and soiled athletic clothing. Rinse chlorine from swimsuits in a sink or bathtub and hang to dry. Don’t wash swimsuits with other laundry.

 

Sorting the Laundry

• Type.  Start sorting clothes by the type of care needed.  Read clothing labels and sort into groups by necessary water temperature-those that must be machine-washed in hot, warm, or cold water. Set aside those to be dry-cleaned or hand washed.

• Color.  Next, sort the clothes and items by color. Even though jeans may be past fading, you should not wash them with linens or whites. Divide the laundry into all white, mostly white, medium and then dark colors.
  
• Degree.  Further sort clothes by the degree of dirtiness. Separate out any items that are extra-dirty, like soiled socks that were worn in a muddy place, work clothes with grease, and dishcloths that might also be greasy. Washing your child’s dirty crusted jeans with other pairs may spread the stains and soiling leaving a whole load of dingy clothes. Stains may travel from one article to another that is more receptive a fabric and less forgiving. In addition, dirtier clothes require detergents that are more stringent and often need bleaching which causes unnecessary wear and possible fading to less dirty items.
  
• Features. Sort the laundry again for potential fraying, linting, damage-causing buckles, sequins, bead and embroidery work or lace. Be certain that you wash items that might cause damage to other articles separately.