Ugh! The dreaded laundry basket. Most college students who don’t get their laundry done by their parents know what the dread is about. They have been washing clothes for 48 hours and counting, and now they’re too tired to even organize socks without shedding a tear in frustration.
The kicker of it all is, the entire washing process was sped up x3 because they had no color system, no jean pile or separated whites. Everything was just thrown in the washer indiscriminately to mingle with each other for about 30 minutes to an hour in a tub of water.
This is done so much now it is almost becoming the norm, perhaps it already is.
Contrary to popular belief separating clothes into different loads depending on the type of clothing is still more effective than making a fabric jambalaya.
Our clothes usually have instructions on how to wash them on the tags. Do we actually read the information on these tags besides the size? No need to think about it, it’s a rhetorical question.
After asking students around campus and hearing about how much students hate doing laundry, it is possible that the proper most efficient way to do laundry has been lost among the younger population.
This article is to refresh those who do not remember or were never taught how to wash their clothes correctly. This is not an article on how to dry your clothes, that pretty much speaks for itself. Just look at the tag and act accordingly.
The main problem for students when doing laundry is that people simply do not have enough time or resources – such as having a washer and dryer at home. TAMUK senior and business major Jacorey Bingley knows the struggle.
“I do that now to save money…if I got the choice I’m going to separate them, that’s always how I’ve been….even then I’ll still separate my pants because I don’t like having my pants with my other stuff,” Bingley said.
Still, others don’t see a problem with not separating their laundry.
“I do colors, I just throw them in. I’ve never noticed it mess my clothes up,” said Jase Aley, a junior and Pre-Physical therapy major at TAMUK.
Ileana Aleman, a doctoral student here at TAMUK majoring in educational leadership, is busy enough as it is. The last thing any student wants to worry about is laundry.
“I just throw them all in together….it’s definitely a time thing as an undergrad I never had time to wait on my laundry all the time,” Aleman said.
As tedious as it may sound there is still value in separating clothing when washing. So, here are some instructions on the proper way to wash your clothes.
First of all, every article of clothing must be separated into piles based on similar colors and materials.
For example, colors go with colors, whites with whites, jeans go with jeans, etc. Secondly, towels, blankets and jeans do not go with the T-shirts and button-ups you are trying to keep fresh, period. Do that at your own risk. Also, those nasty, sweaty, dirty workout clothes that you wear every week don’t belong in the pile of clothes you’re trying to keep fresh either.
Dirty underwear and socks should not be washed with other clothing either since you risk spreading that athlete’s foot to other parts of your body.
Last, but certainly not least, a little trick to save on your soap and clean your clothes a little more efficiently, use less soap and add a little baking soda in your clothing pile, dry or watered down; putting it in at any time of the cycle will work.
You will be surprised how effective that really is. After a few practice runs you should be able to do your laundry like a professional mom in no time.