How do you sort laundry?

[oobiecoo]

I''m wondering if my method is normal or overkill.

I have one of those 3 section laundry sorters that I fill with blues/greens/yellows, red/orange, and then whites/neutrals. I also have a seperate basket for towels.

 

[JSM]

You are way more dedicated than I am! I separate by whites (washed in hot water) and everything else (cold water).

A few things have special instructions, but otherwise that''s pretty much it!

 

[Tuckins1]

Sort?

 

[NewEnglandLady]

Date: 1/12/2009 4:26:26 PM
Author: Tuckins1
Sort?

Ditto. When sorting the only question I ask is "Is it dirty?"

 

[Miranda]

I do it the same way as you depending on what is in the baskets. Or sometimes for clothes darks, lights, and whites (so I can use my beloved bleach). Towels are sorted the same way.

 

[fieryred33143]

Date: 1/12/2009 4:16:22 PM
Author:oobiecoo
I''m wondering if my method is normal or overkill.

I have one of those 3 section laundry sorters that I fill with blues/greens/yellows, red/orange, and then whites/neutrals. I also have a seperate basket for towels.

LOL...my laundry escapades usually end up in a huge mess. This is how I sort:

Jeans with jeans
Whites-socks
Whites everything else
Beige
Red/Black shirts
Work pants
Work shirts other than silk/soft material
Work shirts silk/soft material
Sweaters
Towels
Sheets
Hanging out shirts (can be any color except red/black/beige)
Undies/Pjs

If the load isn''t big enough I''ll combine the work pants with the red/black shirts and sometimes combine the work shirts with the sweaters if the material doesn''t shed.

When I do laundry, it takes me all day

 

[neatfreak]

I do whites and colors unless I have a ton of laundry to do then I do whites, darks, and lights.

 

[Tacori E-ring]

Haha, I don''t! Everything except whites get washed in cold and I have never had a problem. Whites separate b/c I am slightly obsessed with bleach.

 

[tlh]

I DONT! My hubby does the laundry!

(Before I met my DH, I''ve always done just 2 loads of lights and darks. To keep it simple! If I had a LOT Of dirty clothes built up, I''d go, lights, whites and darks.)

I hate laundry though.

 

[hoofbeats95]

I sort by outfit. Yup - so those kahki pants that get worn with that polo shirt go together. That kind of thing

Jeans do NOT get washed with any navy blue or black article. They do get washed with riding breeches.

Whites get washed with . . . well anything sometimes! My whites are probably not all that "white".

Where do you wash white t-shirts with a colored design? I have never figured that one out.

But I really hate sorting clothes.

 

[oobiecoo]

So pretty much no one washes towls all by themselves other than fiery? Don''t you get fuzzies all over your clothes?

fiery- you are dedicated!!!!

 

[oobiecoo]

Date: 1/12/2009 5:18:14 PM
Author: hoofbeats95
I sort by outfit. Yup - so those kahki pants that get worn with that polo shirt go together. That kind of thing

Jeans do NOT get washed with any navy blue or black article. They do get washed with riding breeches.

Whites get washed with . . . well anything sometimes! My whites are probably not all that ''white''.

Where do you wash white t-shirts with a colored design? I have never figured that one out.

But I really hate sorting clothes.

I usually wash my white and gray tshirts with colored designs along with the whites/neutrals...

How do ya''ll get your whites to actually be WHITE? I don''t like using bleach because I always end up tie-dyeing something with it. Is bleach the best bet though?

 

[Tacori E-ring]

I do wash towels separately...sorry should have mentioned. Sheets are separate too (white so they go with the bleach pile).

 

[fieryred33143]

Date: 1/12/2009 5:38:10 PM
Author: oobiecoo

I usually wash my white and gray tshirts with colored designs along with the whites/neutrals...

How do ya''ll get your whites to actually be WHITE? I don''t like using bleach because I always end up tie-dyeing something with it. Is bleach the best bet though?

I use bleach all the time and leave it soaking for a little while before letting it wash. But if you don''t want to use bleach then you can try really hot water. Or maybe color safe bleach so that if you throw in something colored with it, it won''t ruin the whites.

As for my dedication...some call it dedication, others crazy

I like doing laundry though, it relaxes me. Especially folding. I''ll start to fold and zone out watching TV.

 

[Kaleigh]

Date: 1/12/2009 5:41:14 PM
Author: Tacori E-ring
I do wash towels separately...sorry should have mentioned. Sheets are separate too (white so they go with the bleach pile).

I do that too.

 

[Porridge]

Whites, lights, darks, towels

 

[Bliss]

A basket for whites and a basket for darks.

My own laundry that I care about, I HIDE from FI or he''ll wash it! Once he did my laundry and my clothes came out Barbie sized!

FI washes his gym stuff separate from everything else because he gets sweaty!

 

[somethingshiny]

I have several separates

towels (I don''t like fuzzies on my sweaters)

sweaters (sometimes sorted into colors depending how many and washed according to instructions, then all are laid to dry--no dryer)

whites (underclothes, t-shirts, bed linens)

jeans

darks (DH''s shirts are mostly blue or black)

brights (reds and purples)

khaki things (like capris and stuff in the summer time)

little guy clothes (I still wash them separately because our clothes seem to beat his up so badly)

I think I sort so much because when I was a kid I did lots of laundry for a family of 6. Obviously there was enough that there had to be a sorting.

I usually do laundry every other day and usually 2 loads at a time.

 

[Linda W]

Date: 1/12/2009 5:56:48 PM
Author: Kaleigh

Date: 1/12/2009 5:41:14 PM

Author: Tacori E-ring

I do wash towels separately...sorry should have mentioned. Sheets are separate too (white so they go with the bleach pile).

I do that too.

Ditto, me too.

 

[Elmorton]

A friend of mine gave me and DH a canvas laundry sorter as a housewarming gift. It says Lights on one side and Darks on the other, and we stick to that - though it took some time convincing DH that laundry needed to be separated in the first place.

I will say though that with lights, usually sheets and towels end up in their own load because they''re so big.

 

[Haven]

Warm lights
Warm darks
Cold lights
Cold darks
Whites (wash with bleach and hot water)
Towels

 

[ladypirate]

I do darks, lights and reds/oranges/purples. Sheets and towels usually get done seperately, but that''s more because of the space they take up than because I consciously separate them. Also, I occasionally do a white/bleach load.

 

[princesss]

Dirty -------------------------- Clean

 

[AmberGretchen]

Haha - you guys are better than I am. My sorting consists of "delicates" and "non-delicates" and that''s it, and everything goes through the washer and the dryer both...

 

[cellentani]

Yea!! I''m glad to know I''m not the only one who''s anal about sorting laundry and water temps. I have 3 baskets: whites, darks, lights. However, on laundry day (which, with our family of 6, is practically every day), each of those baskets gets sorted according to what''s in them.

towels: separate load, too linty to get washed with anything else
delicates: lingerie, thin tissue t-shirts, shirts with embellishments that should be washed inside-out
dark-wash jeans that need to be washed inside-out
oranges/pinks/reds: I''ll wash these separately if I have a whole load''s worth
whites: always washed separately with a little extra detergent and bleach, and always rinsed more than once (absolutely necessary to get all the soap and bleach out, otherwise they''ll turn yellow in the dryer.)

I''ve tried lots of stuff for whitening dingy whites: extra bleach, boiling with lemons, etc. but the best trick is: fill a large sink or heat-proof container with at least 2 gallons boiling water - I have to use at least a couple of stock pots for this. Let stand 5 minutes, then add 1 cup powdered oxygen bleach (oxy-clean)/every 2 gal. water. Be careful when adding this as the water sometimes bubbles up. Add the clothes but don''t overstuff - there should be enough room for them to move freely. Stir gently and let sit until the water is cool enough to handle - this will take at least an hour, but I let mine sit longer. Stir the clothes periodically while it''s cooling. Once cool enough, rinse in fresh water and launder as usual. This is a little time consuming, but it really works the best, and I''ve done it several times. I found this in a Martha Stewart mag and have used it ever since.

Now that I''ve written this, I find it hard to believe that someone might be interested in my laundry habits, but then again, I guess I''ve read everyone elses.

 

[strmrdr]

smells to bad to wear again ------ smells ok

 

[princesss]

Hahaha, strm, that''s exactly how things go in my apartment.

*sniff* Sure, I can wear that.
*sniff* Nope.

 

[HollyS]

Darks that will be hung to dry.
Darks that will go in the dryer.
Nightwear/lingerie in one load together.
White or very light colors in their own load if there is enough for a load.
Towels in their own load.
Sheets in their own load.

DH washes his clothing himself. We both have enough for our own loads. We only do our clothing laundry once a week. We have enough towels and linens that we do them probably only every 2-3 weeks.

 

[musey]

I separate into:

Blue/Green/Light Grey

Red/Orange/Yellow

Black/Dark Grey

Whites/Ivories

Towels

Delicates


Brown is a swing color that can go into the Blue/etc. cycle or the Red/etc. cycle. I almost always wash in cold water as it saves energy.

 

[sammyj]

I separate my loads into lights, darks and towels/sheets. I''ve learned my lesson (several times!) to separate my towels!!!