Laundry Hacks to Make the Job Easier

These laundry hacks are tips I’ve accumulated over the years. Back when I still lived with my parents, my mother taught me some of them.

Then in college, I learned a few more from friends. And after I graduated, I figured a lot of things out on my own.

You probably have some of these items on hand. However, there are some you may need to order. So I included links to the items on Amazon so you can pick up whatever you need.

Some of these items are also available at Walmart and Target. But I find it easier to order online.

Mesh Laundry Bag for Stray Socks

If you’re anything like me and almost everyone else I know, your dryer eats socks. Either that or it hides them really well.

I’m not one who likes to hunt through sleeves and pants legs for socks that have decided to hide. So I decided to use one of my mesh laundry bags to keep them from wandering off.

You might already have some, or you can order a set of these mesh bags from Amazon. It’s nice when each person in the family has a bag or two to keep everything straight.

Cold Water Laundry Hack for Protein and Blood Stains

If you just happen to get blood on a white shirt, don’t panic. Pretreat it with your favorite stain remover and wash it as soon as possible in cold water. Hot water sets stains, while cold water allows the fabric to release them.

Check to make sure the stain is gone before putting it in the dryer. If not, see the next laundry hack.

Fels Naptha for Stains

Check out this Fels Naptha laundry bar from Amazon. It is now my favorite product for getting stains out of clothes.

If the stain is fresh, the stain comes right out with a gentle rub with the bar. However, for stains that have set, you can probably still get it out.

Conventional thinking is that once a garment has been through the dryer, any stains will be there for life.

My husband is a golfer who likes to wear white pants. I typically check the hemline for grass stains. But somehow, I missed the dirt stain, and it wound up going into the dryer.

Since the stain was “set,” I only tried using one of my spray stain removers a couple of times. It didn’t come out, and I basically started to give up.

Then I remembered something my mother used, but I couldn’t remember the full name. I knew it was “Fels something-or-other.”

I looked it up, and the image of the Fels Naptha laundry bar popped onto the screen. So I figured there was no harm in trying it.

As soon as I wet the pants and rubbed them against the bar, I saw something strange happening. The stain became smudged.

So I worked it in a little more, and it faded. Then I dropped the pants in with the other light color items.

To my delight (and screeching with joy), the stain was gone. Yes, gone. As in not even a trace of it was left.

These bars last a very long time (as in years), so keep that in mind when you’re ordering. I got three—one to keep and one for each of my two daughters.

Baby Powder or Chalk Laundry Hacks for Grease Stains

Grease is one of the most difficult things to remove from clothes. That is, it was for me until I discovered the magic of baby powder.

Someone suggested using it to soak up the grease, so I figured why not. And it worked.

As soon as you discover the grease stain, sprinkle a little baby powder on it. Next, rub it in.

After a few minutes, launder it as you normally would. The stain should be gone. Chalk also does a good job of removing grease.

Shout Color Catchers for Color Bleeding

Have you ever accidentally tossed a red shirt in with the whites? As soon as you open the dryer, you discover a bunch of pinks. Yikes!

Sometimes you can bleach everything back to the original white, but it doesn’t always turn out.

For that reason, I keep a pack of these Shout Color Catchers with my laundry products. They really do work, although I admit I don’t typically put them into every load.

Most of the time, I’m really careful to sort. But when I have a new item, I toss a color catcher sheet into the load for prevention.

There are other laundry hacks for prevention of colors transferring. But for me, this is the one that works the best.

Aluminum Foil for Softening

If you’re like me and use dryer sheets for everything BUT laundry, you’ll appreciate this hack.

Rip off a section of aluminum foil and loosely wad it into a ball. Next, toss that into the dryer, and you’ll be amazed by how soft your clothes are.

This is an easy and cheap hack. After all, almost everyone has a roll of aluminum foil in the kitchen.

Towel to Speed Up Drying

If you’re in a hurry for your laundry load to dry, add the thickest dry towel you have. It helps absorb some of the moisture from the clothes, so they dry faster.

However, you should also be cautious about doing this with dark clothes. You might wind up with a bunch of towel lint on them. For that reason, it’s a good idea to have a dark town and a light towel for different loads.

Dryel for At-Home Dry Cleaning

Although I haven’t dry-cleaned anything in a very long time, I still recommend this Dryel system. When I worked in an office, I did my best to purchase machine washable items.

However, my suits needed to go to the cleaners. That is, until I discovered the Dryel system. Even though I still brought clothes to the dry cleaners, I used this system a couple of times in between visits.

It’s super easy to use Dryel. You basically just put everything into the bag and add the wet Dryel sheet.

Pop it into the dryer, follow the directions for time and settings. When you pull out the garment, it’ll be fresh smelling and wrinkle-free.

Make sure you follow the directions, or you might wind up with bad results. This is one of those laundry hacks that requires some caution.

Flip-Folder Laundry Hacks for Shirts

Another handy laundry item is this flip folder for T-shirts and other hard to fold items. All you have to do is place the shirt on the folder and flip the sections of the device.

When you open it, you have a surprisingly neat shirt that’s ready to be put away in the drawer.

More Than Laundry Hacks to Make Life Easier

I’m a big believer in finding shortcuts to make life easier. After all, who has time to do things the hard way?

Pool Noodle Hacks – Pick up a couple of pool noodles at the end of the summer so you can solve some household issues.

Clothespin Hacks – You can always find something that needs to be clamped shut.

Rubber Band Hacks – Rubber bands are flexible for a variety of things.

Toothpaste Hacks – Toothpaste is good for a surprisingly large number of things around the house.

Kitchen Gadgets – The right kitchen gadget will certainly make cooking a lot easier and more fun.

Life Hacks – These super easy life hacks will undeniably make a difference in your life.

Coconut Oil Hacks – You’ll be amazed by how many things coconut oil can do. For example, it’s good for your skin as well as your skillet.

Aluminum Foil Hacks – Keep an extra roll of aluminum foil for all the things it does around the house.

More Tips

If you’re looking for more tips and some great recipes, check out the Pin Junkie’s Pin Party.

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