Overwhelmed by Laundry? 17 Tricks to Shrink Your Laundry Pile Faster
Are you feeling overwhelmed by your laundry? Learn how to manage the never-ending piles and do your laundry faster!
How do you deal with overwhelming laundry? Ya know, the piles of clothes that just stack up over and over?
Maybe you procrastinate…and then the piles turn into mountains.
You chant “I hate laundry” over and over, hoping it will go away.
But actually, there are ways to simplify the whole process!
I want to share some easy tips to keep up with the piles (before they start). Plus, smart laundry hacks to get it done faster.
So if you feel like your laundry is never done (or takes all day), get ready to learn:
- How to deal with overwhelming laundry
- Tips for getting caught up and staying ahead of the piles
- How to organize your laundry so the process goes faster
- Tricks for getting motivated to tackle it
You May Also Like:
- How to Make Your Laundry Smell Good (a ton of easy tricks!)
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- How to Clean Your House Really Fast (step by step!)
This post may contain affiliate links. You can view my full disclosure policy here.
Overwhelmed by Laundry? 17 Tricks to Shrink Your Laundry Pile Faster
1. Use laundry products you like
Cleaning with good-smelling products makes it more enjoyable. Laundry is the same!
Even if it’s a bit of a splurge, buy laundry detergent, scent boosters, and fabric softener with scents you really love.
When all your laundry comes out smelling fabulous (and you’re excited to put your clothes on), you’ll feel extra motivated to get it done.
I actually wrote a whole post on tricks to make your laundry smell good.
Here are a few of the best-smelling laundry products:
- Gain Flings with Aroma Burst
- Method Fresh Air (naturally derived and cruelty free!)
- Tide PureClean Honey Lavender
- Snuggle Plus Super Fresh (has the added benefit of helping remove bad odors)
- Gain Fireworks Scent Crystals
- Snuggle Scent Boosters
2. Distract yourself
When it comes time to fold laundry, make it more fun by watching or listening to something you like.
Sit down in front of an episode of your favorite show, movie, or YouTuber. Or listen to a podcast or audiobook to help pass the time.
(Want to try audiobooks for FREE? Check out Amazon’s 30 day Audible Free Trial. It comes with 2 free audiobooks of your choice – that you get to keep!)
3. Enlist others’ help
If there are other people in your house who wear clothes, there’s no reason they can’t help with the laundry.
Even kids as young as 3 can help match socks, or put away their clothes.
Tweens and teens can easily learn how to do their own laundry.
If you’re feeling bitter because no one is jumping up to help you, it’s time to start assigning laundry jobs!
4. Establish a routine
If the word ‘routine’ bores you to tears, embrace it when it comes to doing laundry.
There’s no hard and fast template for everyone. It depends on the number of people in your home, your schedule, etc.
You could do one load each day (that’s what I prefer), or devote one day to doing all the loads.
If you choose to do one load per day, it’s wise to do it around the same time so it becomes habit.
If you’re a morning person, you could throw a load in the washer when you get up, then move it to the dryer after your shower, and fold and put it away before you leave for work.
The point is just to customize it however works best for you.
When you get your laundry routine down, it’ll start to feel like it runs on autopilot!
5. Wash your clothes less often
Many of your garments don’t need to be washed after every wear.
Not only does this save you time and money on your energy bill, but it makes your clothes last longer.
In fact, some people think that jeans should almost never be washed. You can put them in the freezer instead! No joke.
6. Buy low maintenance fabrics
Before buying new clothing, check the care instructions on the label.
Choose garments that are less likely to wrinkle, aren’t in unusual colors, and don’t need special care.
7. Train your family to sort their own laundry
If you can make sure your household laundry is pre-sorted, you will save SO MUCH time!
Get each of your family members one of these laundry sorter hampers.
Teach them to separate their clothes into whatever categories you prefer.
Some laundry category sorting ideas are whites, darks, and workout clothes, or pants, shirts, socks and underwear, for example.
You can also give each person a mesh laundry bag to put all their socks in. You can wash the socks right in the bag!
Pairing them back up after they’re washed and dried is much easier when they’re not hiding in pant legs (or disappearing to Lost Sock Land).
💡Pro-tip: Train your family to check their pockets before putting clothes in their hamper. Another time-saver!
8. Or don’t sort at all
Confession: Aside from washing my workout clothes separately from my regular clothes, I really don’t sort laundry.
And it works just fine!
You can use one of these color catcher sheets if you’re worried about colors bleeding. They’re one of the best laundry hacks I know of!
So if you’re trying to tackle a LOT of laundry, don’t even worry about sorting it!
9. Treat stains immediately
Have you ever tried to get a stain out that’s been there a while? No bueno.
The sooner you attack the stain, the more likely it is to come out.
Plus it saves you time when you’re throwing the laundry into the washing machine.
The best stain-removing products are:
10. Keep your laundry room organized
As with any task, keeping all the tools needed for the job together and organized will make the process easier.
If your laundry room is a hot mess, spend an hour tidying it. Put all your laundry products together in a bin.
That way, when it’s time to run a load, just reach for the bin.
11. Commit to removing your laundry from the washer and dryer right away
I used to put a load of clothes in the washer and then forget about it.
I’d remember it a day or two later, and move it to the dryer…where it would stay until I felt like dealing with it.
By then, the clothes that were supposed to be freshly washed were instead wrinkled and smelling musty.
Don’t be like the old me!
Procrastination seems to breed more procrastination. Often, it’s just a matter of committing to seeing the task through.
Remove your clothes as soon as the load is done. Save yourself the anguish of procrastination.
12. Set a timer
One of the best ways to get those piles of laundry done faster is to set a timer.
I know our washing machine takes about 40 minutes to complete. So as soon as I have the load started, I set the oven timer for 40 minutes.
When the timer goes off, I rush to move it to the dryer so I can turn the awful beeping timer off.
Then I set the timer for 40 minutes again, so as not to forget to empty the dryer in a timely fashion.
You can use your phone timer, or any kind you like. Just be sure not to turn it off until you’re actually in the laundry room so you don’t get distracted and forget about it.
💡Pro-tip: Don’t start a load that you don’t have time to finish!
13. Put your laundry away asap
The sooner you get your folded laundry out of the basket and into your drawer, the happier you’ll be.
The annoyance of seeing that laundry basket niggles at the soul. Even if you hate putting laundry away, it’s best to just get it over with.
Time yourself one time – I bet it only takes a few minutes.
No sense delaying something that only takes 3 minutes!
14. Don’t overcrowd your drawers or closet
When it comes to putting laundry away, it’s so much easier if everything has a designated place.
If your drawers and closet are disorganized (and you have to cram and smush your clothes to fit it all), it’s going to take extra time.
And be a total hassle!
Make sure there’s the appropriate amount of room available.
That might mean getting rid of some stuff, which leads me to…
15. Downsize your wardrobe
The less clothing you have, the less overwhelming laundry will be.
If you have no idea where to start, check out my post on how to declutter your clothing in 5 quick steps.
16. Consider going to a laundromat
Even if a laundromat isn’t your idea of fun, hear me out.
The beauty of the laundromat is that you can do all your loads at one time.
Talk about a time-saver!
Grab a coffee and a good book, or bring your laptop or tablet and watch a couple shows. You could even go with a friend to make it more fun!
In about 2 hours, you could have ALL your laundry washed, dried, folded, and ready to be put away.
17. Plan a treat
If you really, super HATE doing laundry, plan a special treat for yourself when you finish it.
Having a reward to look forward to can help add that extra motivation you need to get through those piles!
Go forth, and keep up with your laundry
As you can see, there are a variety of ways to reduce feeling overwhelmed by laundry.
With these easy tips and tricks, you can finish it faster and stay ahead of the piles.
Managing your laundry is really just a matter of creating a little organized system, and committing to seeing the task through.
You got this!
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