Learning how to take care of your garments is an important aspect in minimalism.
Since we own less- and love what we own, we want to take better care of each item.
I will outline the 8 basic steps for proper laundering :
1. read labels and follow the manufacture instructions. Below is a chart with laundry icons and what they mean.
2. sort the laundry first by color and then by fabric type.
Although it’s really important to sort clothing by color, its equally important to sort by fabric too. separate heavy materials from the lighter ones- so pants and denim should be in its own category and not together with dresses and t-shirts. Think about it - Heavy fabric takes up the bulk of the water and detergent – they are water and soap hogger’s, so if you mixed it with light soft fabrics- those would get neglected in the wash.
TIP: LINT-GIVERS VS LINT-RECIEVERS Don’t mix lint-givers like towel, with lint-receivers like knit and corduroy
*Lights – like pink, baby blue, and beige
*Cream- cream-colored items should be in its own load as it can easily loose its color
*Darks- which include deep colors like black, purple, red, navy and brown
*Heavily soiled- like kitchen rags, floor mats etc. need really hot water
*Whites- separate white shirts from white towels. Towels are a lint-giver and water-hogger’s
*Brights like yellow, orange, green
TIP- NEUTRAL COLOR CLOTHING- many minimalists wear clothing in the same color palate.
3. precheck and prepare the clothing. make sure clothing is right side out pretreat all stains. make sure all pockets are empty. Make use of mesh laundry bags - put delicate items in mesh laundry bags to protect them
4. loosely load the washer. Do not overstuff as this can prevent clothing from getting properly cleaned, and it can even break your machine
5. stick to only one kind of detergent. Research has proven that you don’t need different detergent for different types of fabrics, and different soil levels. So just find your favorite, and stick to it.
6. adjust the settings and temperatures. I recommend washing at a cold temperature
The exemption is cotton underwear, undershirts, linens and towels- these items must be washed in hot water
Cold temperatures keep the shape and color of your clothing.
7. dry and put away the clothing - once the wash is finished, hang dry everything besides linens, towels, socks, cotton underwear and undershirts, and noniron shirts.
Dryers really do damage and fade out your clothing so be very selective about what you put it. As soon as the clothing is dry, immediately put items away.
8. Maintain your machines. Leave the washer door and drawer slightly ajar between loads to prevent mold buildup. Empty out the lint after each use.
If you have a condenser dryer, empty the water drawer too.
Dry your washer often too, to prevent mold.
clean your washer and dryer regularly – inside and out.
Find out how to drain your washer filter, and drain it every month.
don’t forget rinsing the filter of your condenser dryer every 3 months.
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