College life is not conducive to getting things done beyond labs, lectures, and studies–not to mention the walking time between all of those! So when the heck do you do your laundry? Well, most savvy students know to take advantage of the free wifi and do research or relax with Netflix while machines wobble and clean your clothes. But here are some hacks to keep your wardrobe stocked so you never have to go commando involuntarily.
1. Keep a Jar for Coins
A coin jar is not a novel idea but have you given yours a specific purpose? If it’s savings for coffee or the vending machine, that’s smart, but it’s even smarter to dedicate a jar to quarters to be used only for laundry. Buy or create one that will remind you to grab the dollars worth you need to get all those clothes clean!
2. Choose the Right Detergent
Nowadays, the laundry supply aisle is overwhelming to the point where most of us make our selections based on insignificant factors (color of bottle, median price, etc.). Imagine if you knew what you were doing when you went to stock up on supplies. Many companies offer concentrated detergents that require much less liquid per load than traditional mixes. You may have seen the bottles that claim they can “clean up to 85 loads!” It’s not a sham; it’s science! The bottles are more expensive but the math supports their purchase.
LEVEL UP with laundry pods. Tide makes the most popular. Instead of guessing how much liquid to pour in the machine, you simply pop in one for a regular load, two for a large load, and three for an extra large load. Pods come in a smaller container and are much lighter than detergent bottles.
3. Rock the Dyer
Apartment Therapy, a popular blog for making a better home, recommends putting a dry towel in with a large load of wet clothes. They say, “Adding a dry towel to the dryer with your clothes can significantly cut back on drying time…[but] you’ll need to remove the dry towel after twenty minutes of drying or it will help contribute extra moisture, possibly even lengthening drying time.”
4. Skip the Dryer
Another technique to ameliorate your drying experience is to actually remove the clothes that don’t need to be dried. Look at the labels. If you put these in the first load, they’ll have some time to hang dry while you finish the rest of your laundry. And once you’re back to your living space, hang them strategically so they can finish drying without you having to think about them anymore.
5. Last-Minute De-wrinklers
Sometimes you do your best to have everything ready to go for class, a meeting, or an interview, but as soon as you go to head out the door, you realize your efforts were in vain because that shirt looks like you just un-balled it after you slept on it. Don’t fret. Put the shirt in the dryer with a damp cloth for 10 to 15 minutes. It should do the trick.
If you use a straight iron on your hair, you can also use it (as long as it’s clean and free of hair product) to smooth out the bottom and sleeves of a shirt, between buttons, and firming up the crease in the collar.
Now you have five tricks to make laundry a breeze. You should never have to wonder if you have time to do a few loads or need to run to the store to purchase a pack of “clean” undies. If you become expert enough at laundry, you can add it to your resume and CV.
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