A Laundry Routine That Really Works

This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #CollectiveBias #PersilLaundry

I am not sure if I was born loving homemaking or if it is just a trait passed on, and learned from my mom. All I know is that ever since I was a little girl, I have had a type of love and a high dedication for homemaking that it’s almost unexplainable.

Not every woman will tell you that she enjoys doing laundry, cooking, or organizing a closet. I am a homebody for sure and a very predictable one. Those who know me, know that on a Saturday morning, they will find me standing in the laundry room, sorting, folding, and hanging clothes.

Since my vision is to create a generation of women passionate about their homes and homemaking chores -such as laundry- I am always on the lookout for a great product that can save me time but still yield the best results.

Enter, my partnership with Persil® ProClean® Laundry Detergent. A premium and powerful laundry detergent that you can see, smell, and feel, formulated for those with the highest standards for cleanliness, like me.

Cleanliness is a word that very well describes me and the lifestyle we pursue in our household. And yes, I admit I am a little bit of a sergeant when my son comes through the door covered in mud from head to toes.

Persil laundry detergent is formulated with Pro10 Technology, which delivers 10 Dimensions of Clean to stand up to those messy moments. So mom can be more relaxed and less of a sergeant!

A Laundry Routine that Works for Everyone

I am a fan of creating routines and habits that can help put many tasks on auto-pilot. This post will guide you through 6 habits that will make laundry day a breeze in your book of housework.

These are the things I do and the steps I take from the moment my son takes his sweaty and muddy clothes off, until the final step of putting dry and folded clothes away.

This laundry routine is particularly helpful for those who need a step-by-step guide in order to get laundry done without overwhelm. All you need is an established system, schedule, and direction on how to tackle everything that laundry day involves.

I have been implementing this routine for the last 8 years. Basically, since our son was born and the laundry pile started growing exponentially. It’s all about creating simple habits for the biggest impact and less overwhelm. Let’s get to it.

Habit #1: Immediate Stain Removal

As annoying as it sounds, this is the first and foremost habit of all. Fabric stains need to be addressed as soon as possible and treated before they are set following the cleaning instructions as described on the garment’s label. A pre-treated stain saves you time and can save your garment.

Here’s what you can do to pre-treat stains and avoid losing a nice garment:

1. Treat the stain as soon as it happens. Letting it sit just makes it harder to remove.
2. Scoop up solids, and blot liquids with a clean white cloth.
3. Place a thick fabric or old white towel in between the garment to avoid transferring the stain to the other side of the fabric.
4. Pour enough laundry detergent to cover the stain and treat it from the outside-in to avoid spreading.
5. Rub Persil laundry detergent on the stain and let it sit for 5 minutes.
6. Check the fabric care label and – whenever possible- wash in the warmest water setting safe for the garment with a dose of Persil detergent.(*)
7. Check results before drying.

Persil laundry detergent is formulated with Pro10 Technology, a powerful stain-fighting combination that helps remove tough stains for an exceptional clean.

Whenever I see that boy coming through the door with a very visible stain that I know (because mama knows!) will be a total nuisance to remove, I make him change into clean clothes so I can pre-treat it immediately. Just last week he cut his finger playing outside and there were tiny specs of blood in his white shirt. The sergeant in me came out to save the shirt.

Pro Tip: to save water and energy, check laundry baskets for similar color garments so you can throw a small or medium-size load of laundry along with the pre-treated garment.

Habit #2: No More Inside-Out Clothes

When clothes are inside out, there’s a chance to miss stains on garments that could be set aside and pre-treated before throwing them in the wash.

Only a few garments require to be washed inside-out. So, as a rule of thumb, all garments should always be right side out before they hit the laundry basket.

This is a ‘work-in-progress’ habit, for all of us in the family. At the end of the day, we are all exhausted and the last thing we want to do is pay close attention to how we throw our clothes in the laundry basket. However, this small effort makes a big difference on laundry day.

It’s easier for each family member to unfurl their socks, unroll jeans, turn shirts, and pants, one at a time each night, than for me to have to do it all on laundry day.

Sooner or later it has to be done, better to do it sooner. As soon as the clothes come out of the dryer they’re ready to be hung or folded.

Habit #3: Scheduling Laundry Day

Homemaking success is based on one word: scheduling. There are far too many chores we homemakers have to do, to leave them to chance or opportunity.

I like scheduling big tasks, laundry day included. And, as a matter of fact, I am an advocate of doing clothes laundry once a week only! While I do not expect this schedule to work for everyone, I do think that laundry every day is a little too much.

Scheduling laundry day -or days- allows you to have enough garments and pieces to justify a full load. It not only saves you time and effort but also water and energy, which means saving money in the long run.

When laundry is scheduled and done in larger batches, there are enough garments to sort (see habits 4 and 5), and the best advantage is that the mind is solely focused on the task, which helps you work faster and more efficiently.

Bedding, table linens, and towels are a big load each on their own, so they should have a separate laundry day in your schedule too. And even if it’s not a big load, e.g.: 5 towels, or 1 tablecloth and 4 kitchen towels, it’s OK to throw them by themselves. Nobody wants to find socks or underwear mixed in with their table linens. I know I don’t.

A scheduled laundry day brings order to your home and to your mind.

Habit #4: Use Separate Laundry Baskets or Hampers

One of the reasons why I think that my laundry routine is particularly efficient and stress-free is due to my system of grouping laundry by family member.

In our household, each family member has his/her own laundry basket. This makes it easy to control how much laundry needs to be done per person (or per room), and who needs to be given priority.

Getting into the habit (#3) of scheduling a ‘laundry day’, or at least committing to doing it a couple of times per week only, allows you to have enough garments to group them by person.

Instead of throwing a load of laundry every day with a random group of clothes (from mom, dad, and kids all mixed together), focus on getting one person’s laundry done at a given time.

By doing this you will be able to:

• Have more control over your time. Kids’ clothing tends to be more soiled, it usually involves pre-treating stains and a longer wash cycle. However, kids’ clothing is also the easiest to launder in the sense that there are not special fabric care instructions to follow, and most garments can be mixed together in the same load.
• Sorting, folding, hanging, and putting away gets done faster since there’s no reason to question what belongs to who, and you don’t have to sort through the folded laundry making separate piles to store in separate rooms, dressers or closets.

• Have more control over what’s clean and what isn’t. If on a given day you only got around to do your children’s laundry, then you know that your favorite pair of jeans is still in the hamper.
• Along the same lines, scheduling laundry, and scheduling laundry by family member helps you have the right clothes clean when needed. School and sports uniforms, and work clothes, are always clean and ready to go when needed. Sheets and yoga pants can wait a little longer.

If your children share a room or their clothes even, by all means, mix their laundry. I wouldn’t recommend mixing adults’ and kids’ clothing unless it is absolutely necessary. There’s no reason to mix 2 and 3 different members’ garments, socks, and underwear in the same pile to have to sort through them again to store them in different closets and dressers.

Once a grouping system and a schedule have been implemented into a laundry routine, the task can be refined even more down to color sorting and/or fabric care.

Habit #5: Go Deeper Sorting by Color Depth and/or Fabric

Color and fabric care are two important aspects that should always be kept in mind during the laundry routine, otherwise, a perfect garment can be ruined.

Having the right product at hand to take care of it all is a major plus. In this case, Persil laundry detergent exceeded my expectations. One thing I learned to love about Persil, is the fact that it delivers 10 Dimensions of Clean. These are:

1. Stain fighting
2. Whitening
3. Brightening
4. Anti-graying
5. Clean rinsing
6. Long-lasting freshness
7. Odor-fighting
8. Cold water cleaning
9. Clean fresh scent, and
10. Fiber care

These features allow me to use the same detergent I love for all of my laundry needs, and I get in return a premium clean you can see, smell, and feel. Nothing makes me happier than laundry that smells so fresh, and Persil did not disappoint!

As an added bonus, all Persil laundry detergents can be used in all machines, including HE. One less thing I have to worry about, in my book!

When it comes to color sorting and fabric care, these are my general rules:

• Aim for 3 color groups: darks, lights, and whites. Light colors are usually pastels, grays, and patterned. Basically, anything that is not black, navy, or very dark blue, purple, green, etc. falls in the lights category.
• If there are no major stains to take care of on white garments, these can be washed along with cotton light-colored clothing that you are positive won’t bleed. This is especially useful when washing kids clothing.
• If there is enough amount of whites (khakis and beige included) to justify one separate load of laundry, go for it. If not, you can either combine all the white garments in the family (exception of my rule!) or simply combine them with other very light colors.
• Delicate clothing such as women’s blouses, sweaters, linen shirts or pants, should always be washed separated from jeans, shorts, and jackets with zippers and buckles that can damage and pull on delicate fabric fibers. Even if they fall in the same color category.
• At all times, avoid mixing blue jeans with light colored clothing. No matter how many times a pair of jeans has been washed, there is always some bleeding of residual dye.

Everyday clothing is easy to care for, especially if you have owned it for a while, but if you are unsure of how to properly wash certain garments, turn to the fabric care instructions label.

Habit #6: Hang and Fold ASAP

Last but not least, the dreaded hanging and folding. Many people tend to leave the load inside the dryer long after the cycle has stopped, mostly because they dread the process of folding and putting away.

When clothes are still warm, wrinkles are virtually non-existent, especially in t-shirts, polo shirts, cotton pants and shorts, jeans, and even some fancy work clothes. Nowadays, there are many fabric blends that don’t require ironing.

Here are my tips to encourage you to hang and fold in a timely manner:

• If possible have a designated area where to fold comfortably. Any counter space or any table works. If your machines are front loaders, use the top as a counter.
• Start by hanging and folding the clothes you care the most about its presentation. To me, that’s work clothes and school uniforms and anything else that can wrinkle easily. I usually leave socks, underwear, and pajamas for last.
• Always keep a set of hangers in the laundry room. You can either bring the ones that are available in your closets or have an extra set in the laundry room. The important thing is to be able to hang the clothes while they are still warm.

• Aim to develop a system to fold each type of clothing (t-shirts, shorts, tank tops, underwear, etc.) so you have a uniform stack for each. It might sound picky, but it makes storing so much easier.
• Keep an empty basket by your side to start stacking the clothes. Within the same basket, make different stacks for different garments. This will help you scoop the stack all at once, and put it away in one swoop.

While yes, it can be annoying, especially if you are in the middle of doing something else, I can not stress enough about getting into the habit of folding and hanging garments as soon as possible. Leaving the load inside the dryer for later -a.k.a the next day- will leave you only with a pile of wrinkles.

Find Persil® ProClean® Laundry Detergent Near You

I am not only passionate about homemaking but also committed to spreading the word about a product that works. In all the years I have been fighting stains on my son’s clothes, I feel that Persil laundry detergent works best to help remove those tough stains and odor!

Having a laundry detergent that can help ease and reduce all the tasks involved in our laundry routine is such an important part of life. For those of us who are fortunate enough to have a home, and clothes to launder, it is important that we take the chore with heart, and use a product that yields good results in all the areas!

I picked up Persil® ProClean® Laundry Detergent at my local Walmart , in the laundry detergents aisle.

Also available in Persil® ProClean® Power-Caps®, a very convenient, pre-measured, single-use detergent capsule.

While some of these habits and tips may sound a little too uptight for some people, these are the little details that make a big difference. With this system, we are aiming for a stress-free laundry routine, and Persil can help you do just that!

And your clothes and laundry room will smell amazing!

I am curious to know… What is the one chore in your laundry routine that you dread the most? Let me know in the comments below!