Uggh! I hate doing laundry only to lose clothes in the process.
Do you get tired of doing laundry only to realize you’ve lost socks or damaged pricey undergarments? It’s frustrating to have random socks stacked in your laundry room waiting for their match to return.
You can find creative ways to store these unmatched socks, or you can come up with a laundry hack and a way to stop losing them, to begin with.
We’re a family of five. That means – plenty of unmatched socks in my laundry room. One day, I got tired of the battle and decided to come up with this laundry hack to stop the madness.
I covered this topic briefly when sharing how you could use unused pillowcases, but it’s such a good tip, I decided it needed its own post.
Here is my laundry hack on how I stopped losing socks and stopped damaging delicate undergarments once and for all:
You’ll need:
- 1 unused pillowcase
- Washing machine
- Dirty duds
1. Sort the Laundry
If you have specific laundry days, collect the laundry on said days, and sort your items. You can separate them between whites, colors, and towels.
Since my family is larger, I used to break down my wash cycles to whites, brights, darks, and towels. Doing this allowed me to have only a few wash days throughout the week.
As my kids got older and their clothes larger, I’ve found it easier to wash a load a day. By then I began using a laundry sorter. It makes everyone sort their clothes as they go and saves me time in the process.
Now, when I have a load (which is usually every day), I toss it in the washing machine and stay on top of laundry which can quickly become overwhelming.
Whichever way you choose to sort your laundry, get it organized to make washing easier.
2. Separate Your Unmentionables
This is the ‘life hack’ part which will leave you wondering why you didn’t do this sooner. Some people will wash their socks and undergarments separately, assuming they won’t become lost.
If you don’t completely separate and contain them, they’ll still find a way to go missing. Don’t waste water and electricity washing one measly load of socks and undergarments.
Instead, separate them within the load. I’ll take any socks, underwear, bras, slips, or small tanks tops and place them inside a pillowcase.
I have a designated pillowcase meant for this specific purpose. If you’d like to kill two birds with one stone, you could do this while washing sheets.
Once all the items are placed in the pillowcase, tie a knot in the top of the pillowcase to close it. This will keep everything from falling out while going through the wash cycle.
If you have white garments which require bleaching, you can still put them in the ‘whites’ load, but be sure to use a white pillowcase in this instance.
3. Wash, Dry, and Enjoy the Ease
After you’ve loaded your washer, fill it with laundry detergent, fabric softener, and start the washer. When the wash is complete, unload everything and place it in the dryer.
There’s no need to take the items out of the pillowcase in the dryer. This will only increase the chances of the items becoming lost.
They’ll dry in the pillowcase the same way they would if they were loose and flying around your dryer. When the drying cycle is over, unload it, and fold your loose items.
From there, open the pillowcase and dump the items out on a flat surface. The pillowcase will keep clasps from being damaged on bras or slips.
It’ll help keep socks contained, making it easier to match them. Plus, it’ll make it easier to find your tank tops and underwear in a load of laundry.
Put the clothes away, and this hack has saved you both time and frustration.
4. Store Your Laundry Tools
As mentioned above, you can have a designated pillowcase meant specifically for this wash hack, or you can use this hack when washing sheets.
If you’re going with a designated pillowcase for this laundry hack, consider storing it in an easy to reach location.
This will ensure you don’t forget to put this hack into practice. I have cabinets over my washing machine. I fold up the pillowcase and store it there.
Find the best location for your laundry set-up.
5. Pillowcases Keep Things Clean
An added benefit of using a pillowcase to keep items together in your laundry is it keeps your washing machine clean.
When your shoes become dirty, it’s common to place them in the washer to make them clean again. The downside to doing this is they bump around inside your washer.
This knocks the dirt from them and leaves it in the bottom of your washing machine. You can avoid the bumping sound and the dirt by placing them in a pillowcase.
It will keep the shoes together, keep the dirt in one location, all while still cleaning your shoes. This is one more way the pillowcase laundry hack can save you time and effort.
6. A Few More Laundry Hack Tips
This is an extremely simple laundry hack, but there are a few ways you can expand upon it to make it function even better for you and your family.
I love using king-sized pillowcases. This allows me to place more items in the pillowcase for washing. It’s important to use a large enough pillowcase to where the items have room to move around.
If they can’t move, they won’t become clean. Therefore, a larger pillowcase is recommended.
Also, don’t forget to put other items in the pillowcase beyond socks. You can put pantyhose, ties, hats, stuffed animals, and even smaller decorative pillows.
This will protect them while they’re being washed and keep all the items together.
However, if you’re washing items which may shrink in the dryer, be sure to pull them out of the pillowcase before placing the rest of the items into the dryer to dry.
Hopefully, this laundry hack will offer you a little sanity in the laundry department. Running a household isn’t an easy task. Anything (large or small) we can do to simplify things is worth it.
Not searching for socks or having items being broken in the laundry will take one thing off your plate. Enjoy the simplicity of this hack and let it save you time during your laundry routine.
