There seems to be a couple of camps when it comes to sorting laundry.

1. Don’t sort at all and just get it washed.
2. Sort by type/color of laundry – colors, whites, denim, towels, bedding, etc.

Which are you?

At my house, my husband is in one camp and I’m in another.  Can you guess which is which?  I’ll give you a hint – I prefer to do laundry because I sort the “right way”.  LOL

This ongoing debate led me to do some research on the subject. 

Here is what I found –

The general consensus is that sorting your laundry accomplishes 3 things –

1. Prolonging the life of your clothes – washing garments according to the laundry instructions keeps your items from aging prematurely.  Temperature, gentle/regular, etc all have an effect on the life of your clothing. 
2. May prevent your clothes from getting a “dingy” look – Washing dark colors separately from light colors, keeps the clothing from having a “dingy” look.  This leads directly into the 3^rd thing-
3. Avoids transfer of dyes – the reason that clothes can look “dingy” is because of dye transfer.  If you wash a light colored t-shirt with jeans, the dye from the jeans may bleed and cause your light colored shirt to not be as bright and clean looking as before.  Over time, this will dye transfer will accumulate and your clothes aren’t going to look like they did before.  Washing whites with colors can cause the same thing (anyone else ever have pink bras or panties?).

Having this information then begs the question “How should you sort laundry?”

1.  Read the label – garment labels usually have instructions on how to sort/launder.  You label may say “wash with like colors”, “wash in cool/cold water”, “gentle cycle”, “Dry Clean Only”.  This is all guidance on how to launder this garment to get the best out of your clothes.
2. Sort by color – Remember those pink panties?  Some guidance on sorting by color (this is how I sort my laundry)
   • Whites
   • Dark colors
   • Light colors
   • Jeans? (sometimes these can be washed with dark colors)
   • Heavily soil (work clothes, etc)
   • Towels
   • Bedding
3. Sort by care instructions – within each “color type” there may be different care instructions.  As an example, white t-shirts and panties may be in the same pile but you may not want to wash them in the same way.  You may want to wash your bras and panties on a gentle cycle while t-shirts and socks can be washed together.

Using these basic guidelines for sorting your laundry can prolong the quality and use of your items.

So how do you sort your laundry? Let us know in the comments!

Blessings,

Heidi

P.S.  Would you like to know what’s going on at Old Fashioned Homemaking?  Sign up for our email and always have the newest in your inbox.

First Name

Last Name

Email address:

Leave this field empty if you’re human: