“I participated in an Influencer Activation on behalf of Influence Central for P&G. I received product samples to facilitate my review as well as a promotional item to thank me for my participation. All opinions and reviews are my own.”
Summer is in full swing here at our home and the kids are flying through towels and clothing like they are going out of style. I don’t know about your kids, but mine go through a few outfits a day in the summer. Mainly because they are outside playing and getting dirty, running through sprinklers (yes with their clothes on) and getting sprayed by their friends squirt guns. I find wet clothes all over the floor, all day long. And of course wet towels too. We go to the pool a few times a week and the towel laundry really piles up.
So here are a few tips I have for you to stay on top of Summer laundry. Maybe it’ll help you save a few cents on your electricity bill too!
1. Wait to do the laundry until Morning or Evening. I know this might drive some of you crazy. But doing the laundry in the morning when it’s cool outside helps the power company keep from exploding! Everyone will be running their AC in the afternoon, which really overloads the power company. We have “brown outs” here which means too many people are using the electricity at once. Not only will you be helping the power company, but you’ll be keeping your house cooler during the hottest time of day.
2. Hang those pool towels out to dry. Pool towels, in my opinion, do not need to be washed after every use. Unless your child laid the towel on the grass and it got muddy, it doesn’t really need to be washed every time you take it to the pool. Just be sure to hang them to dry right away when you get home so they don’t sit all wet and hot in the car. Then you would need to wash them cause they are growing mildew. Yuck! We live in a condo and don’t have our own yard to hang a clothes line, so we hang the towels on our railing outside and it works like a charm. Be sure to bring the towels in and fold them and put them right back in your pool/beach bag so they don’t get wet all over again when the sprinklers turn on.
3. Assign a day to each person for laundry. In my home, everyone does their own laundry, with the exception of the 4 year old and my husband who is always at work. It makes life so much more simple when everyone knows what day they will be doing their own laundry. Sometimes we can combine days if there isn’t much laundry for a certain person. That way the laundry gets done and doesn’t keep piling up in the kids rooms. Summer is really busy at our house so we have to stay on a schedule or no housework will ever get done.
4. Use a detergent that really works and is right for your family. I love to use P&G Free & Gentle products for my family’s laundry. Not only does it get rid of all the stains my kids bring home from soccer, softball and cheer, but it really helps my son who has eczema. We use the Tide Free & Gentle detergent, Downy Free & Gentle and Bounce Free & Gentle Dryer Sheets.
I also have psoriasis and my skin is really sensitive to heavy scented detergents. These P&G Free & Gentle products really make it so my clothing doesn’t irritate my skin. I use the products to wash my family’s sheets too so the kids can sleep comfortably. And especially, I use them to wash all the towels my family uses. I consider detergents a “second skin care” because what’s rubbing up against our skin all day long? Our clothing.
Half of U.S. adults report having sensitive skin and a lot of them try to use different types of facial and body care products that are designed for sensitive skin. Most people don’t realize that it could be their clothing and the way they care for their fabrics that could be irritating their skin. So it’s just as important to treat our fabrics with Free and Clear products. The P&G Free & Gentle products are made up of dye and perfume free products that help people with sensitive skin choose a hypoallergenic routine that is gentle on skin. It’s important to make sure that all of the products used on clothing are Free & Gentle. Detergent, fabric softener and dryer sheets. Free & Gentle products are dermatologist recommended.
The Tide Free & Gentle Detergent includes Tide Stain Release Free In-Wash Booster so my kids dirty soiled clothing comes out super clean! And look at how easy they are for kids to use. They just grab one and toss it in the washing machine. No measuring. Easy!
The Downy Free & Gentle Fabric Softener provides comfort and freshness through its softening formula while at the same time staying mild on the skin.
And the Bounce Free & Gentle Dryer Sheets keep my laundry soft and static free while repelling pet hair and maintaining a mild formula for sensitive skin.
If you have people in your family with sensitive skin, please be sure to try out these P&G Free & Gentle products. You will be really glad you did. You can also read more about how we treat my son’s eczema HERE.
5. Use sorting laundry baskets. Make your life easier by sorting your laundry as you go. We love to use laundry baskets that have 3 compartments. One for whites, one for darks and one for lights. It makes your job so much easier. (affiliate link: )
6. Get rid of the mildew smell.
7. Fold the laundry in a room where you won’t forget about it. If you’re like me, you don’t have a gloriously huge laundry room with an amazing island to fold all your family’s laundry on. So I pull the clothes out of the dryer and plop them right on the couch. That way I will actually fold the laundry and it won’t sit on my bed all day long.
8. Listen or watch something while folding laundry. Folding laundry is so boring! Be sure to engage your mind by listening to music, and audio book or hey! how about my Podcast? Why not, right? This is why I fold my laundry in the living room so I can turn on a show on Netflix or Hulu.
9. Save time and money with these laundry tips: Always wash and dry full loads. Washing one large load takes less energy than two small or medium loads. If you wash smaller loads, be sure to change the water level setting appropriately. Wash clothes in cold water whenever possible. Dry loads back-to-back to take advantage of the heated drum. Dry towels and heavier cottons in a separate load from lighter-weight clothes. Don’t over-dry clothes. Over-drying uses more energy, which costs you more and causes static cling. Clean the lint filter in the dryer after every load. A clogged filter restricts air flow and reduces dryer performance.
10. Put the winter clothes and socks away. I always put our winter clothes in boxes and store them downstairs. That way the kids have more room for their summer clothes and the winter clothes aren’t mysteriously making their way into the laundry baskets. We also hate sorting socks, so during the summer, they are also put away and only taken out when we go on hikes or camping.
Be sure to follow the P&G family on Facebook and try the Free & Gentle products for your family members with sensitive skin.
Tide Facebook
Downy Facebook
Bounce Facebook
I hope some of these tips help you out this summer with laundry. What are some things you do that make laundry an easy task at your home?
It is amazing how much laundry can stack up during the summer with having 2 children. With them playing in the yard getting dirty, going swimming 3 time a day (using 3 new bathing suits and 3 new towels), getting food condiments and other gunk on their shirts, etc., it is hard to keep up. These tips listed here should really help me in chipping away at the mountain of laundry and reducing that mountain in the future. Thanks for sharing this excellent resource!