Beginners Guide to Laundry (Calling all College Kids!)

Our tip #1: Head home every other weekend and take your laundry with you. No one does laundry like mom! JK….

Adulting is hard and new tasks, like laundry, don’t make adulting any easier. No one wants to add laundry to their tasks of new responsibilities at college but unless you have the luxury of sending your clothes away to a laundry service every week, it’s just something you’re going to have to learn. Hey… you may even enjoy it - who knows! Either way, it’s a good skill to know. Here are our tips to the basics… whether you’re a laundry pro or a laundry schmoo. 

CONSISTANCY

Just like any routine, consistency is key. Pick 1 day during the week (when you have at least 3 consecutive hours to commit) to do laundry

SEPARATE

If you have enough for multiple loads, separate them by color AND by fabric (you don’t use shampoo (meant for hair) as body wash (meant for skin) - why would you use the same detergent on cotton as you would synthetics - different fibers (and surfaces) require different care

• Colors: Think whites, brights and darks
• Fibers: Think cotton vs delicates vs everything else (read the label)

READ THE CARE TAG

Take a close look at the care tag! We always recommend following the instructions of the care tag - which usually includes water temp, cycle length and drying instructions

CHOOSE THE RIGHT DETERGENT

• Cotton: laundry is very nostalgic - carry a piece of home with you while you are away at school by choosing the same laundry detergent your mom uses - makes you miss her less

• Delicates - make sure you use a specialty laundry detergents for all your delicates

• Everything else - these are clothes made of fibers like polyester, spandex, nylon, rayon (also known as synthetic fibers) … think active wear, work out gear, jerseys, street wear or costumes… which you may find yourself having a lot of in college… just make sure you use a specialty detergent (like HEX) if you want to wear any of it again.

WASHING

• Add clothes and do not overload the washing machine so the clothes have room to move and get clean

• Pour your detergent into the designated tray - depending on the clothes you are washing, consider using a fabric softener like our fabric conditioner

• Follow and set to the recommended wash cycle on the care tag

• Follow and set to the water temperature recommended on the care tag

DRYING

• Make sure your clothes don’t sit too long in the washing machine once the cycle is finished
• Following the drying instructions on the care tag: machine dry or hang dry; if you are machine drying your clothes - do not overcrowd the dryer so the clothes come out completely dry! Consider investing in a dryer sheet, like our wet dryer sheets that remove static, soften and protect without the use of wax (which clogs your clothes!)

PUTTING AWAY CLOTHES

• Putting away your clothes: keep yourself and your closet/dresser organized by having designated drawers or sections for certain clothes; if you really want to master the art of laundry, try color coding your closet for ultimate organization