'I probably do more than 10 washing loads a week. Here are the 9 hacks that save me time and effort.'

Laundry is my life.

Okay, that’s a slight exaggeration... but I’m not kidding when I say I wash clothes daily. Sometimes multiple times a day. 

It might sound like an obsession, but without this daily commitment, I fear being drowned by the never ending dirty-washing piles – from my three messy kids, a hard-working husband (think work uniforms and running gear), oh and my own contribution to the load. 

But with this much washing comes some learning. Some key tricks and hacks. They say you need to spend 10,000 hours at something to become an expert… Surely I’m getting close?

Here are the 9 hacks that save me time and effort, every single day.

"Does it really need a wash?" 

First up: does it really need a wash? Seems an obvious one. With my kids’ clothes it’s generally a yes, I can tell by looking at them and wouldn’t dare try sniffing. But for me, working from home, sometimes I can wear something a few times. If it doesn’t need washing, hanging it up by an open window for a bit of a freshen is often a good compromise. 

Go for all-in-one 

I used to be a slave to that ol' chestnut: laundry detergent. 

Somehow I always spilled it while transferring from the box to the powder tray of my washing machine, leaving me with a mess in my laundry cupboard, on the floor. You get me. But having swapped to Ka Pod laundry capsules (just from Woolies) that act as an all-in-one, it’s making laundry life so much more simple. 

It's literally four products in one: washing detergent, colour protectant, fabric softener and anti-dust mite agent – so my laundry process (and space in the cupboard) is much more streamlined. The laundry capsules are free from added phosphates and optical brighteners too (bonus). But, most importantly, our clothes are so clean and they smell AMAZING and fresh. 

Image: Supplied.

A laundry load a day 

Think along the lines of that 30 day challenge doing the TikTok rounds, but for washing. By doing a bit daily, it never feels like it gets out of control and is always much less... daunting. I can fold and put away a single basket of washing in under 10 minutes, but multiply that by two, three, more – it becomes ~a journey~ to laundry mountain and suddenly hours of my life disappear. 

Dry towel trick 

Is there anything better than sun-warmed clothes that have been dried in the Aussie sun all day? I can’t help but bury my head into them as they come off the line. Bliss. My clothes line is well-used, but let’s face it. Thanks to La Niña our ‘good drying days’ were numbered last summer, and I finally gave in and bought a clothes dryer. Immediately I wondered how on earth we’d survived without it? 

One of my favourite drying hacks is to stick a clean, dry towel in with a load of wet clothes – it helps them dry more quickly. Don’t ask me how, it just does. Magic.

Podcast and laundry

The times I do have a pile of laundry to conquer, I make it my downtime. It might sound sad, but I’ve found no one bothers you when you’re folding and putting washing away. My kids tend to keep clear, unless they get roped into helping. So with my earpods in and my comfy clothes on, I sit on the floor in a moving meditation – folding and making piles, while listening to my favourite podcast (usually Mamamia Outloud, let’s be honest). A combo of 'me' time and laundry. 

Sock it to me

Where do socks disappear to? Another dimension? A magical faraway land? Eaten by a strange house monster? Wherever they go, finding a matching pair can be the bane of my existence. So now I wash socks in a mesh bag together so that they can’t disappear in the wash, and then I hang them out in pairs. As I bring the washing in, I fold each pair of socks together – some socks still manage to disappear (how?!), but it happens a lot less often with this method.

Outsource to the kids 

Image: Supplied.

As my kids are getting older now – aged 4, 6 and 8 – I’m encouraging them to contribute to specific things around home to help out. They know where each of their piles go, so usually I’ll make a pile of folded clothes, and then they’ll put them away. If the pile ends up a hot mess by the time it reaches their wardrobe, so be it. Done is better than perfect. 

My youngest boy also loves ‘helping’ by handing me pegs as I stand by the washing line. It’s not the biggest labour saver, but it sure is cute and we have some great chats. 

Coat hangers for the win

My kids have a cotton school uniform which needs ironing. Unless. I can get away without ironing those crisp shirts and pants if I shake out the creases as I hang them on the line, then take them straight from the line onto a coat hanger. Sometimes I even hang them straight onto a coat hanger on the line to dry. They come up really well – no ironing required. 

Shake that sand out 

Beach season is almost upon us, and in our house my kids love nothing more than to bring home half the beach with them. Don’t ask me how they do it, but somehow they’re swimmers, towels, clothes and hats are thick with the stuff. A word of warning though: don’t throw sandy swimmers, towels and clothes straight into your washing machine. 

A build-up of sand in there can ruin your machine, clogging up pipes and causing damage. And we need to be treating our machines right (not to mention, let’s avoid the expensive appliance repair we all really don’t need in our lives right now). My tip: let your sandy clothes dry outside, once dry give them a really good shake and then wash them. Your machine will thank you for it. 

So there you have it. Nine of the laundry tips that save my sanity, time and effort.

Shop Ka Pod 4 in 1 Laundry Capsules from your local Woolworths.

Feature Image: Getty.