For many of us, it’s not often we get a peaceful moment to ourselves. So we are all too familiar with that feeling of dread when the cleaning to-do list piles up. However, with the rise of Instagram home accounts like Mrs Hinch and Marie Kondo’s decluttering methods to “find the joy”, cleaning has become a craze — who would have thought it? Across the UK, retailers have noticed a dramatic increase in cleaning product sales and typically mundane tasks are now fun!
Laundry has to be up there as being one of the dullest household chores, so any tips to turn up the excitement are greatly received. Here are some of our favourites:
1. Create a Welcoming Laundry Space
If you’re lucky enough to have a laundry room or even a section of the kitchen dedicated to the washing machine, it’s time to make this a laundry haven. Gone are the days of this area being cold and clinical — today, it can become your cleaning Narnia.
The trick is to make the space welcoming and practical, so any time spent here is a joy. Add shelves to store everything neatly and in plain-sight, as well as a cosy rug under your feet — even a comfy stool to kneel on as you work. You could also make this your personal space to enjoy with a few candles and a speaker dock nearby to play music. Bonus — kids will not want to enter a chore zone! View laundry room ideas here.
2. Plan Ahead
Now you have the perfect laundry space, it’s time to take away that feeling of dread. Chaos and too much to do are often reasons for not wanting to sort out the dirty clothes. But if you have a system in place, it becomes far more enjoyable.
A great method is to set exact days to wash and dry certain loads. For example, on Wednesdays, you know you come straight home from work and usually have a quiet night in — so that evening is for your weekly white wash load. Sunday mornings often start quite slow so that could be the time to fold and put away all of the dry clothes from the previous week of washes. Do what works well for you and your household. You can even add the laundry to the family calendar so everyone is aware and can help out.
3. Laundry Baskets
Large laundry baskets are a fantastic aid to changing your laundry mindset, as with a little organisation, you’ll become quicker and more efficient. To keep it simple, it’s a good idea to have a basket for white clothing and a basket for colour clothing. However, if you do catch the laundry craze, you can even take this one step further with a basket for workwear and school uniforms, as well as a basket for dirty sportswear. You could even have a laundry basket for each member of the family. Don’t forget a little basket for those inevitable lost socks too.
Not only does this break your wash loads up for you, but you’ll also know exactly where every item is. Need that football shirt for tomorrow morning? You know where to find it. We especially love the ARPAN range of baskets as they’re stylish, highly-dependable and lightweight which are the magic ingredients for the ultimate laundry basket.
4. Washing Products
We know this sounds a little ridiculous, but changing your laundry detergent can make a world of difference. Do you use washing powder or capsules? What about fabric softener? And those lovely smelling washing beads? The choices and combinations are endless — play around! You could even change the scent of your clothing each season such as lavender or chamomile in spring and tropical lily and ylang-ylang in summer. You’ll appreciate it every time you pull on a fresh top.
5. Multi-Task Folding Laundry
After washing and drying your laundry, the last stage is to fold it and put it away. We’ve all been there when it has piled up high and you end up choosing what to wear from the freshly washed pile because you haven’t kept on top of putting it away.
It doesn’t have to be this way! The quickest way is to divide the laundry into individual piles for each household member and then enjoy some “me” time while folding. Put on a movie or your favourite album, pour yourself a drink and get to it. Your folding doesn’t have to be completed with military precision. But if everything is put neatly away in its rightful place, you’ll feel content and organised — which is exactly the kind of excitement you can expect to gain from the laundry.
