25+ Most Clever Laundry Hacks You Need for Your Next Load

Laundry hacks mean that you can save time and money doing laundry next time! We have collected our favorite laundry tips and tricks to get your entire family’s clothes clean without a lot of fuss. Keep reading for some really cleaver laundry hacks…

Laundry Hacks for Real Life LAundry Problems

Laundry can be super overwhelming. With six kids, it feels like we are drowning in the clothes! BUT these laundry hacks will help you simplify your next load. Laundry does not need to be a dreaded chore.

Related: Check out these DIY Laundry Recipes

Here are 25 of the most simple, clever, unconventional ideas to make your laundry load easier. 

We love the creative washer and dryer solutions that will have you washing faster and drying in a flash.  These squeaky-clean ideas will iron out the trouble spots in your laundry routine.

This post contains affiliate links. 

Tips for Washing & Drying Clothes Faster

1. Laundry Salad Spinner

Get excess liquid out of items you can’t throw in the dryer using a salad spinner.

Don’t have a spinner? We love this one!

It couldn’t be more simple.

2. Wool Dryer Balls

Use dryer wool balls, they help cut down on dry time on your next load.

Don’t have any? These Alpaca Dryer Balls are all natural, hypoallergenic and save money as they cut down on dry time and can be used for months.

3. How to Clean Your Washing Machine

Your clothes can’t get fully clean if your washer is gross and gunky.

Keep the build-up at bay by learning how to clean a washing machine the right way.

Add this chore to your calendar for best results.

Tips for Better Laundry Products

4. Make Laundry Detergent at Home

A recipe we have just begun to love is homemade Laundry Paste.

The stuff is thick, creamy, great for stain treatment… and we have only done a few loads with it so we will need to let you know in a few months if it leaves a residue in the washer.  The ingredients include:

• Fels Naptha
• 20 Mule Team Borax
• Arm & Hammer Washing Soda
• Hot Water

Another great homemade laundry detergent recipe uses Ivory and has only 3 ingredients as well (no one ever counts water as an ingredient).  This DIY laundry soap ingredients include:

• Borax
• Arm & Hammer Washing Soap
• Ivory Soap
• Water

There are so many great detergents to make to get your clothes clean!

5. DIY Linen Spray Refreshes Clothes

Looking for a fresher scent without all the chemical additives in fabric softener and additives?? Try this Lavender Linen spray.

6. DIY Wrinkle Release Spray

Say goodbye to wrinkles without pulling out the ironing board and iron.

Use this homemade wrinkle release spray.  This simple ironing alternative has three ingredients:

1. Hair conditioner
2. Vinegar
3. Water

OK, that is just two!  I love it. Fritz, shake, wear. So easy!

7. Homemade Bleach Alternative

When your whites aren’t as bright, you can use bleach, sun dry them, OR make your house smell super fresh by boiling them with a sliced lemon.

And doesn’t lemon smell WAY better than bleach anyway?  This is a laundry room win-win. Did you know soaking your clothes is another great alternative to bleach?

8. Musty Towel Smell Solution

Are your towels musty smelling?

We add two cups of white vinegar to our towel load every other month to keep them fresh.  It helps you get your towels the cleanest you can get.

Add a reminder to your calendar so you don’t forget.

9. Decrease Dryer Time

Here is one of my favorite tricks to shorten the time a load of clothes take to dry in the dryer…

Add a dry fluffy towel to a load before you put it in the dryer.

Your clothes will dry faster…much faster!

Recycling Ideas for the Laundry Area

10. Detergent Container Recycle Idea

Don’t throw away the old laundry detergent containers.

Re-purpose them and create watering cans from them to feed and fill your garden.

The slight soap residue will help keep the bugs away too.  What a simple solution!

What to Do with all Those Lost Socks from Laundry

11. Lost Sock Ideas

If your laundry room is anything like mine, lost socks are a BIG problem.  I love these ideas to make lemonade out of lost socks…

• Make a sock puppet. All you need are buttons and some scraps of yarn.
• Re-purpose your old socks to become swifter covers. Genius!
• Got a laundry basket? Check out all these fun things you can do with a laundry basket.
• Socks are the worst! We are constantly finding mate-less socks. Put a bin up on your wall to collect socks while they wait for their pair.
• Here is a solution for all the orphaned socks we discover when washing the kids clothes. Have a series of sock monster clothespins for them on your wall. Put the solo socks until their mate appears.
• Still have socks you can’t match? Your kids can either wear them mismatched… or you can create cute sock puppets. All you need are buttons and bits of yarn.

How to Keep Doing those Laundry Loads

12. Stretch Your Fabric Softener

Use a brightly colored sponge and a big bottle of fabric softener to create reuseable dryer tabs.

Cut a sponge into strips, soak them in fabric softener, wring them out and drop one into the wash. Store them in a bin next to the dryer and reuse.

You will use a fraction of the softener load after load…and your clothes will still smell fresh.

13. Laundry Reminder Hack

Don’t forget what items you can’t put in the dryer.

Use a dry erase marker and write reminders to yourself on the lid of your machine. Add a magnet to your marker and keep it on the machine.

It is really that simple.

Genius Laundry Hacks I Won’t have Thought Of

14. Quiet Washing Shoes

No more banging! This is brilliant.  I hate the sound of banging shoes.

You can tie a knot in the laces and hang them outside the door as this tutorial explains to limit the ruckus.

If you prefer a mesh bag, try that as well.  The dryer bumping will be muffled a bit.  If that doesn’t work, get one of these handy dryer door bags.

15. Cut Down Static Cling

You can also eliminate the need for dryer sheets with balls.

You can buy some dryer balls or make your own using bunched up aluminum foil.  Yes, a wad of tin foil can help you keep static away.

They cut down on the static electricity AND help your clothes dry faster.

Genius Ways to Organize the Laundry

16. Laundry Room Organization with Baskets

Organize your laundry room with a basket system. It’s brilliant, especially for families.

Fill each basket with a type of clothes – then wash and you have the clean clothes already sorted!

17. Add a Shelf to Your Laundry Room

Move it up.

Add a shelf near your washer and dryer for the baskets of clothes waiting to be washed.

18. DIY Laundry Room Closet

Put it in a closet.

Alternatively, you can also use a curtain to hide some of the clutter that laundry rooms tend to accumulate.

19. Spice Up Your Washer & Dryer Decor

This is super cool… washing machines are so drab and when they work there is no reason to buy a new one, just for style.

Love it. Paint and stencil them to liven up your decor!

20. Drying Racks That Will Fit In YOUR Laundry Room

Maybe you have a crib spring sitting unused in your garage too! Free up space on your surfaces and make an overhead drying rack. You can also create a drying wrack for items you can’t put in the dryer with a hanging ladder.

If you have extra wall space, this option of a drying rack might work well. Create a fold-down wall unit. You can store it against the wall when you don’t need it.

21. More Drying Racks that Work

Air drying your laundry is such a great way to conserve energy.  It is one of the reasons we are obsessed with drying racks that work in REAL houses and REAL laundry rooms.

• These three drying racks  are pretty cool.
• This decorative shelf with according drying rack is a favorite laundry accessory that also makes for a pretty decor accent.

22. The Perfect Clothes Line

This clothes line attaches to a wall and can  be removed at any time so you can hang your clothes, dry them and then put the clothes line  away quickly. The folding drying rack is a simple solution that works wonders! Just unfold it, lay the clothes out to dry and when you’re finished, fold the rack back up and stash it away easily.

How to Get Rid of Stains Easily

23. Eliminate Grease Stains in Clothes

Super simple laundry trick that really works!

Use chalk next time you spill butter or grease on your clothes.

24. Keep Colors from Bleeding in the Wash

Pepper to the rescue.

The spice in the back of your cupboard can help keep your wash bright. Add a tablespoon of the spice to your wash and the colors won’t bleed.

Dry Clean at Home

25. DIY Dry Cleaning Laundry Hacks

Save money and do the dry cleaning at home.

Here are a couple of ways that you can clean your clothes without a trip out.

Clothes Folding Hacks That are Life Changing

26. Fold Clothing Easily

Folding clothes can be a drag.

Honestly, I have mostly given up on the concept… but this technique has given me hope.  You can fold shirts in mere seconds beautifully, every time.

Genius!

More Ways to Save Time Cleaning at Home from Kids Activities Blog

• Kitchen Cleaning Hacks
• Time-Saving Cleaning Tips
• Deep Cleaning Hacks
• 11 Car Cleaning Hacks
• Organize your baby closets and baby nurseries!

Which of these laundry hacks do you plan on trying first?