WASHING
** Add detergent to your washer and let it dissolve in the running water before adding your clothes. Pouring powdered detergent directly onto your clothes can mess them up, but dissolving detergent into the water ensures that all of your clothes get an equal amount of soap.
** Add some old-fashioned blueing to the rinse water when washing whites, or black or navy blue clothes. Use according to package instructions. It keeps your whites looking white without weakening the fabric like bleach does, and keeps your dark blues and blacks nice and dark. Look for blueing in the laundry aisle at the supermarket. It comes in small bottles, usually near the liquid fabric softener.
** If you do your washing at a laundromat, take along some refrigerator magnets. Put magnets on the machines that have your clothes in them, so you don't get mixed up.
DRYING
** Flip clothes inside out when you hang them outside to dry, so they don't fade.
** Before putting heavy clothes (jeans, towels, etc.) in the dryer, run them through the spin cycle only of your washer for a second time. The spinner will spin out more water, saving electricity and time when drying.
** Partially dry sweaters by putting into a clean dry towel. Fold the towel around until you can no longer see the sweater, and twist as far as the towel will twist in one direction. Then twist in the other direction as far as it will go. You'll get a wet, but clean, towel that you can hang up to dry, and your sweater will be halfway dry, and ready to lay out for the final drying.
** Whenever possible, air dry socks and underwear, swimsuits, or anything else with elastic. The elastic can break down in the dryer, shortening the life of your clothes.
** If you live in an apartment, or some place where you can't have a clothesline, use a spring-tension shower curtain rod inside of your bathtub, over the tub. Hang wet clothes on plastic hangers on the rod.
IRONING
** To press a satin ribbon without getting out the iron and ironing board, take the shade off of a lamp and gently run the ribbon across the hot lightbulb.
** When ironing a load of shirts, skirts and pants, lay a broom across two chairs, and use the broom handle as a temporary rod for hanging pressed clothes until you are finished.
** When ironing pants, pull the pockets inside out, so the imprint of the pocket doesn't show on the outside of the pants.
