Three Simple Tricks to Doing Less Laundry!

If I can share a trade secret or two (or three) about doing less laundry, you know I’m gonna do it. I’ve already shared with you my laundry routine and how to optimize your routine. However, below you’ll find little sneaky cheats and FYIs that will help you understand laundry better and actually be able to do fewer loads. You, my friends, are most welcome.

Are You Washing Enough in One Load?

Your machine doesn’t wash clothing as well in a light load as it would a fuller load; more clothing equals more agitation resulting in a better clean.  If I don’t have enough to substantiate a full load, I leave the pile until I do.  Now don’t go overstuffing that machine on my account, I’d say a good load uses about 75% of the machine’s size capacity.  So save up your load until you’ve got that covered.

Have More Undergarments

This is your carte blanche to buy out Victoria’s Secret! I have a lot of underwear and socks which allows me to get away with doing less laundry. Where you wear your clothing on your body determines how frequently you should be washing it (we’ll cover that in a second).  The more socks, underwear, and sportswear you have, the less often you need to run through a load because you have more garments to cycle through.  So yes, an excuse for shopping.

Wash Clothing Only as Often as Absolutely Necessary

The more you wash your clothing, the more wear you put on them–wash cycles, detergent, heat from dryers, yeah…your clothes get stressed!  Here are some general guidelines as to how frequently you need to wash each garment type.

• One wear – socks, underwear, undershirts, gym gear
• 2-3 wears –  t-shirts and tanks, long sleeve shirts, blouses, dress shirts, and pajamas
• 3-5 wears – lounge pants and leggings, sweaters, sweatshirts, bras (exception to the undergarment rule – but let a bra air out for a day before wearing or storing)
• 5-10 wears – dress pants, skirts, jeans, blazers

The idea is, the further away something is from your body, the less frequently you need to wash it.  Now of course, if you spill something on a garment or sweat profusely in it, by all means, wash it.  But if you just wore something throughout the course of a regular day, use this guideline.  Want to keep your garments fresh between uses? Try a fabric refresher.

I hope you give these tips a try and of course, do less laundry!  Let me know your laundry-reducing tips below!