Have you got twenty piles of laundry in you bathroom, several more piles of laundry scattered around the house? Do you spend a lot of money buying new clothes you don’t really need, just because the ones you have aren’t clean and you’ve got nothing to wear? If this is you, don’t give up. You too, can stay on top of your laundry, and I’ll show you how.

Sorting

Staying on top of your laundry starts with getting organized. Place one container for towels and underwear in the bathroom, one container for dark colours, and one for light colours. (Delicate underwear goes in one of the latter.)

Now that you’re organized, make a habit of putting your dirty laundry in the correct container immediately and train your husband and children to do the same. It will save you tons of work.

Washing

Put a load of laundry in the laundry machine every morning after you’ve taken your shower, and turn the laundry machine on. Be sure to check the labels on your clothes in advance – they are there for a reason – and choose the correct program to do your laundry. Always wash at the lowest possible temperature. It’s better for you clothes, better for your purse and better for the environment.

Cut down on laundry detergent by only using half the advised amount of it, unless your clothes are really dirty. Better still: forgo the detergent entirely and use eco washing balls or soap nuts.

Drying

Take your laundry out of the machine as soon as it’s done. There’s no use in leaving them in there for hours, allowing them to get smelly. Either place them in the dryer and get the dryer going, or — better — hang them out to dry. Nothing beats hanging them out to dry outside in the sun, but if the weather is foul, there no reason why you couldn’t hang them to dry on a clothesline inside the house. I’ve got clotheslines on the landing, where they don’t clutter up any of my rooms, and there’s usually a steady draft which makes the clothes dry faster.

Make sure to hang out your clothes very neatly. This does take up some extra time, but you’ll save lots of time later, as you won’t need to do any ironing before putting your clothes away.

Storing

Take your laundry off the line, or out of the dryer, as soon as it’s dry. Fold and store away in your wardrobe or linen closet. That’s all there is to it. Do this every day, and your laundry will never pile up again. You can do this, even if you weren’t born organized.