5 Laundry Hacks For Busy Parents

Jack de Montaignac is the Chief Commercial Officer at dry cleaning and laundry service Laundrapp. Here, he shares five of his top laundry hacks for busy parents.

It’s easy to get caught up in the daily life of being a parent, and with so many chores and tasks to get through, it can seem like you’re forever cleaning, washing and cooking. But, it doesn’t have to be this way. I’ve rounded up my top five laundry hacks so you can spend less time with the washing machine, and more time with your kids. Read on to find out more.

Have Separate Laundry Baskets

Scouring through baskets of laundry to separate the clothing into colours can take up the most time when you’re trying to do your washing, and, if you’re wanting to slot a quick wash in before you go out, you just might not have the time.

Remove the need to sift through all of the laundry baskets in the house by designating a basket for each colour. For example, having one basket for whites, one for colours and one for handwashing will save you from having to sort through and organise endless piles of fabrics. Plus, you won’t have to worry about turning your favourite white shirt pink anymore!

Just be sure you brief everybody about the new system, so there aren’t any rogue socks left on the kids’ bedroom floors when the wash goes on.

Use Sock Clips

We’ve all experienced the annoyance of losing a sock when doing loads of washing. And, as well as just being irritating, it can become costly over time. Sock clips are handy accessories that are not only a great way of keeping socks together in the wash, but they can also withstand a tumble dry as well. So, you won’t have to be conscious about your odd socks anymore.

You can even use these to keep socks paired together in drawers, which can then be clipped back together when they’re put into the wash. It’s time for the missing sock hunt to end, so you can get on with the important stuff.

Add A Towel For Quicker Drying

When you’re in a rush, the dryer can be your worst enemy. But, I have the perfect solution for this. Adding a fluffy bath towel into the dryer with wet clothes will help them dry faster, as it will absorb the moisture from your freshly laundered load. This means you can reduce the drying time and save on bills along the way.

For best results, you should take the dry towel out about 15-20 minutes into the cycle. Past this point, it’ll just be contributing to the moisture in the dryer, making it harder for your clothes to dry quickly.

Prolong Your Cotton Clothes

As a busy parent, it can be easy to just bowl your laundry into the washer but being limited on time doesn’t mean you have to be careless. When dealing with bobble-prone fabrics, like cotton and synthetic fibres, it’s a good idea to turn them inside out when you put them into the wash. Not only will this reduce the presence of bobbles, but it’ll also prevent the general wear and tear of the fabric.

Although 100% cotton items should generally be handwashed, you can also put them on a cold delicate wash cycle to resist shrinkage and prolong their life. But, if your cotton clothes have turned bobbly already, using a lint roller after washing can refresh their appearance.

Ditch Your Iron

If you want to reduce the amount of ironing you have to do, putting some ice cubes into the dryer with the clothes will knock any wrinkles or creases out. The dryer should be on a high heat with a light load to create plenty of steam, which will smooth out your clothes in a few minutes.

Alternatively, some fabrics, such as crêpe, don’t need much ironing, so putting them on hangers when they’re fresh out of the washer will help them to dry crease-free. This is usually more effective when in a steamy room, like the bathroom, so you can wash your hair and get your clothes straightened out at the same time!

When you’re busy, the last thing you’ll want to be fussing over is the laundry. Whether you need to reduce time spent ironing or sifting through baskets to separate colours, there’s a hack for it. So, follow my top five tips and you’ll find yourself getting through those laundry loads in no time!