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We all have those chores that we loathe, that we put off until the last minute because we just hate to do them. For many people, laundry is one of those chores. Fortunately, I don’t mind it so much (don’t worry—I make up for it by hating to wash dishes). Here are a few tips from my own experiences that might help ease your laundering pain.

1) Wash all different colors together. I sort by type (towels with towels, jeans with jeans, bedding with bedding, etc.) rather than by color. Do keep in mind that this won’t work if you’re washing a brand new pair of jeans (they should probably be washed separately a few times) or anything else that might dye other clothing. But in all my years of doing laundry, I’ve always washed everything together (at least since the days of college and having to be very thrifty with my quarters) and have never ever had a color bleeding debacle.

2) Use cold water for everything. I know your mom told you that warm or hot water gets your clothes cleaner, but she was mistaken. Unless you have some serious stains to tackle, just use the cold/cold setting. You’ll save money by not using the extra electricity to heat the water, and you won’t have to worry about running the shower or the dishwasher while the laundry is on.

3) If you use liquid detergent, measure it out into your handy measuring cap and then throw the cap into the washing machine. This way you’re sure to get all the measured detergent into the wash, and you won’t have a sticky cap to deal with afterward. And even if you accidentally throw the cap into the dryer when you transfer the clothes, it should come out unscathed.

4) Don’t use fabric softener or dryer sheets on towels. I know we all hate the static, but we also hate those towels that are all smooth and don’t absorb liquid! Especially when you buy a new set of towels and they don’t seem to dry well, wash them the first few times without any fabric softener…the same substance that takes away the static also coats the towels in a film that makes it difficult for them to absorb.

5) Easily de-wrinkle a load of dry clothes with a damp washcloth. If you’re like me, every once in a while you’ll forget you have dry clothes in the dryer and you’ll leave them there overnight. The result is a load of extremely wrinkled clothes when you finally remember them. Well, who has time to iron an entire load of clothing? (Not me!) Dampen a clean washcloth, throw it into the dryer with your clean clothes, and set it on a short cycle (10-20 minutes). The washcloth kind of steams your clothing and they come out de-wrinkled!

I hope these tips help you in your future laundry endeavors. Do you have any laundry tips to share?