Effortless Laundry Tips

Hi there, I'm Fionna, the Brand Partner for Soapnut Republic in Singapore.

I have 2 young schooling children and those who are mums will know that means loads of used clothing on a daily basis.

So, how do maintain laundry order effortlessly amidst the chaos?

Here's how ...

It might seem counter intuitive, but piling up laundry for the weekend makes it a chore. Smaller batch laundry on a daily basis makes the machine wash quicker (~30 mins) and the hanging up faster too. I use a natural laundry liquid detergent to ensure there are no chemical residues on my clothing and I am not breathing in chemical fumes from the laundry. I do not recommend softeners, as they are chemical laden.

A good stain remover is essential in the laundry repertoire in not only removing stains and smell, but also to prevent stains.

For example, men's shirts tend to yellow around the collar. To prevent the yellowing, I would spray on a natural stain remover on the collar before I throw the shirt into a laundry bag for machine wash.

For children's clothing that has marker stains or food stains, I would spray on the natural stain remover on affected areas, gently rub the stain to remove any surface stains, and then throw into the machine for washing.

For undergarments, including soiled children's clothing, spraying on a natural stain remover before machine wash helps to prevent odour lingering on the clothing after the wash.

This simple spray, rub and throw into washing machine takes an extra 5 minutes each time, but it goes a long way in post wash laundry trauma. :)

I don't use a dryer, but if you do, ensure that you have the anti-wrinkle setting on, so your dried clothes don't set in the wrinkle state in the dryer.

While you hang your clothes out to air dry, take an extra half a second to flip out your clothes, so crinkles are undone before they dry out. If clothes dry out with the crinkles, it will dry out wrinkled and you would have iron them straight.

Only take down your clothes when you are ready to fold them. If you place dried clothing in a pile, creases might set in. Hence, start folding the clothes immediately when you take them down.

If you have children, engaging them to help with the laundry is always a good thing. It helps you speed things up, and allows them to have some fun while helping you. Get younger children to help with simpler clothing, such as handkerchief, small towels. They can progress to pants, socks, undergarments, shirts as they become more skilful.

In the beginning, it might seem like it is taking up even more time, but over time, they can be great help.

• Throw away clothing that runs colour (and don't buy those again; seriously, don't be a slave to your clothes)
• Where possible, get anti-wrinkle clothing, so you safe time on ironing
• Choose a natural, plant-based laundry product that not only protects your clothing in the long run, but also keeps you safe.
• For delicate materials, i.e. wool, merino, cashmere, silk, refer to our article on delicate washing (link)

Don't forget about this ...