Laundry day checklist
The wash itself is the easy part. This is built around the bit that usually doesn't happen: everything ending up put away rather than in a pile on a chair.
17 items
Makes your own editable copy. No account needed.
The items
- Laundry sorted by colour and fabric type
- Whites separated from colours
- Delicates kept out of a normal cycle
- Pockets checked before anything goes inA tissue through a whole load, or worse, a pen, costs more time than the checking would have.
- Stains treated before washing, not afterA stain set by hot water or a tumble dryer is far harder to shift the second time round.
- Wash loaded without overfilling the drumAn overfull drum washes and rinses badly, however good the detergent is.
- Correct temperature and cycle chosen for the fabric60°C for towels, bedding and underwear where it's about hygiene rather than just cleaning.
- Detergent and any conditioner measured rather than guessed
- Washing removed promptly once the cycle endsLeft damp in the drum, it picks up a smell within a few hours that a rewash is the only fix for.
- Items shaken out before drying or hangingCuts down on creasing and helps things actually dry evenly.
- Tumble dryer filter cleared before every loadA blocked filter is both a fire risk and the reason drying takes twice as long as it should.
- Washing hung or laid out with enough space to actually dryOvercrowded drying is why clothes come off the rack still damp and starting to smell.
- Ironing done while things are still slightly damp, if it's neededBone dry fabric is harder work and takes more heat to get creases out of.
- Everything folded or hung as it comes off the rack, not piled for later
- Put away into the right drawer or wardrobe the same dayThe chair it lands on instead becomes a permanent fixture if this step gets skipped once.
- Bedding changed and the old set straight in the wash
- Empty basket checked before starting the next load
Makes your own editable copy. No account needed.
Questions people ask
- Does sorting by colour actually matter for a normal wash?
- Yes for anything new or brightly dyed, which can bleed for the first several washes. Once established, colours matter less than washing temperature and fabric type.
- What temperature actually kills germs in a wash?
- 60°C for most fabrics that can take it — towels, bedding and underwear especially. Cooler washes clean well enough day to day but don't do the same job.
- Why does laundry still smell after washing?
- Usually a machine that needs its own clean, or washing left damp in the drum too long after the cycle ends. Both are more common causes than the detergent being at fault.