Set up an efficient laundry room!

Continuing in our series of tips to make your laundry easier in 2013, today’s post is about how to set up an efficient laundry room/station at home. If done properly, this can really save you hours and hours.

First, put a laundry hamper in your room or bathroom to make transporting your dirty washing to the laundry area easier. Next to your washing machine, have three different hampers or baskets to sort your laundry (see our previous blog post). Separate white garments from reds and other bright colours, and put garments that need special treatment in the third bin. Consider using a fourth one to separate towels and avoid getting fluff on the rest of the load.

Gather all your cleaning products in an easy-to-access location near the washing machine and dryer (ideally on a shelf or in a cabinet). Arrange them in the order you use them: stain removers first, followed by bleach and detergent, then fabric softener and distilled water for ironing at the end. You can also keep space on the shelf for clothing-care items like sewing supplies, lint remover, or shoe polish.

Keep the ironing board within reach and have a drying rack on hand for air drying non-tumble dry items and for hanging items immediately as they come out of the dryer to minimise wrinkling.

Of course, the most efficient way to do your laundry is to give it to our skilled team! We’ll collect it, and then wash, dry and neatly fold your laundry into a wrapped parcel, which we’ll deliver back to your home. For more info visit our website http://www.laundryrepublic.com/ or give us a call on 020 7193 3130.

Alternative methods to get rid of the fluff on your clothes

In a previous post we talked about using a disposable razor to get rid of piling on your clothes. Here’s an alternative method, courtesy of our friends at Lifehacker, using another item you might find in your bathroom – a pumice stone!

Lightly run the pumice stone along the outside of the fabric of a jumper or cardigan – the bobbles should gradually come off the surface of the garment, leaving it nice and smooth.

This method is very effective, but less suitable for finer materials like cashmere. For these you can use a velcro hair roller! They might not look very sexy when you’re wearing them, but they’re great for peeling off the bobbles that accumulate on the underarms of your clothes (not very sexy either!). Lay the garment on a flat surface, pull it taut and slowly move the roller in upwards movements along the fabric until all the fluff is gone.

Simplify your laundry!

One of our resolutions for 2013 is to give our customers and followers the best tips to make your laundry easier and more effective. If you’re still one of those people who loves to do your laundry at home (really?) here’s some straightforward advice to help you save time and energy – by sorting your clothes correctly before washing.

First, check the care labels. Put any garments that need special treatment (hand washing, no tumble dry, delicate fabric, etc) in their own pile. For the rest of the laundry, sort it by colour. Make sure that you separate white garments (if you want to keep them white!) from reds and bright colours, as these can leak into the rest of your clothing. In addition, to avoid getting fluff on your garments consider washing towels in a separate load.

Turn all the clothing right side out, unless the label instructs otherwise. Do up all the buttons to avoid damaging other garments and check the pockets – to avoid nasty surprises (like pens), and you may even find some extra cash!

Check each item for stains – to pre-treat them before laundering or clean them further before drying. If not, you risk setting the stain forever. If you find any rips or loose threads, it’s better to fix them before cleaning as it could get worse in the washing machine.

Of course, the LR team is more than happy to help make your laundry easier, simpler and greener – so if all this sounds like a chore, let us take care of it for you!

Say goodbye to the fuzz on your clothes!

How many times have you pulled a sweater you loved out from the last season and it’s full of fluff and bobbles? Especially underneath your arms! Not nice, is it?

One effective method of getting rid of fabric pilling quickly is to use a disposable razor. Simply lay out your garment flat on a table, extend the sleeves and hold the fabric taut. Then, carefully shave off the fuzz on the garment – moving the razor in the same direction as the weave. Remove the accumulated pill from the shaver as you go. Just one important tip: never press down on the fabric and shave very carefully, especially around buttons and seams, as you could accidentally cut into the fabric.