“We should all do what, in the long run, gives us joy, even if it is only picking grapes or sorting the laundry.”
-E. B. White
My attention to laundry first arose in high school after an embarrassing episode with pink socks in P.E. class. My mom, bless her heart, had neglected to extract one of my slew-foot brother’s red T-shirts from a load of whites, and I had to live with the humiliation for too long one semester. This experience prompted me to forever after do my own laundry. And I think this has been a good thing.
As a bachelor for many years, I continued this tradition, with the only questionable practice acquired being the habit of hanging my boxer shorts on doorknobs throughout the house (I refuse to shrink my underwear in the dryer). So, laundry has never been a problem for me (cleaning the bathroom is a different story). I actually enjoy doing laundry. And this love of laundry has carried over into married life. My wife, when she chooses, does not have to do laundry. I have sufficient laundry skills to handle our clothes with care.
Pondering the blessing of clean clothes this week, I thought laundry game might be a good topic to write about. For anyone needing to hone their laundry skills, consider these basics. Note – I will admit to sometimes being wrong about stuff. I could be washing wrong. If you know more and want to counter my instructions with a better way to wash, please do. I am just a regular guy drinking coffee at my typewriter as words spill from my twisted mind. You can probably do laundry better than me.
Step one is to sort. Drag your clothes from under your bed and all corners of your house and sort into organized piles as follows: Darks (all dark colors including black, red, dark blue) / Lights & Colors (all light colored clothes) / Whites (there are different classes of whites – wash kitchen towels and rags separately from sheets and bathroom towels – white shirts and blouses should also have their own pile). Check labels as necessary (you need to know what you are washing).
Consider fibers (don’t mix lint givers like towels and lint receivers like corduroy pants or sweaters) and fabric weights (heavies are separate from lights). Delicate articles go in a laundry bag (if cleaning items from your wife’s lingerie vault, be sure to use a bag).
Check pockets, zippers, and buttons. A stray Kleenex awash in your load will leave your clothes a mess, so always check pockets (sometimes you find money). Jackets and pants should be zipped and buttoned up. For shirts and blouses, make sure buttons are undone, otherwise they don’t hang right after washing. And dark clothing should be washed inside-out to preserve color. Special Tip – to set and preserve colors, especially new clothes with dark colors that tend to fade quickly, soak overnight in salt water (1/2 cup salt in tub of water or washer). The salt helps prevent color bleeding and will lock in the dye. You can also use white vinegar in rinse cycle to help keep colors vibrant.
Pre-treat any stains you find. Most of my shirts have beard oil residue on the collars, so I always use stain remover. Untreated stains will often remain after washing. If you do not have stain remover handy, a good substitute in a pinch is 7Up or club soda. Just scrub in well and you can fizz the stains out. Also, for bad stains on lights and whites you can use hydrogen peroxide along with a bit of dish soap. Apply with a Q-Tip, toothbrush, or boney finger.
Load your washer 2/3 or 3/4 full. Do not overload your washer.
Use a good quality laundry detergent (if High Efficiency HE washer, be sure to use HE detergent). Your clothes are valuable. If cleaned well, they will last longer and stay looking good. I like Persil liquid laundry detergent. It works great. And don’t use laundry pods. Pods are for lightweights and laundry losers (they sometimes don’t dissolve and psycho neighbor kids may try to eat them).
Be sure to use the correct amount of detergent – don’t overdose. Too much detergent leaves a soap buildup in your clothes. Use a laundry booster instead of more soap, if needed. Hot tip – for really clean and fresh clothes, add a fabric rinse to your load. This is not a fabric softener, but it does go in the softener cup. Downy Rinse & Refresh is a good one.
Set the appropriate cycle and temperature for your load. I prefer cold water for most laundry (exception – sheets and towels get hot water). Your clothes love cold water. They won’t shrink, and they will last longer and look better if you wash in cold water. Besides being gentler on your clothes, cold water will also keep colors from bleeding.
When load is finished take clothes out immediately and snap or shake out wrinkles. Do this even if your clothes are going straight into the dryer.
I don’t like to use the dryer for wearables. I prefer 100% cotton shirts for comfort and they will shrink. One trip through the dryer takes them from XL Tall to toddler size. I like to hang my clothes outside or indoors. For me, only towels, sheets, and sometimes socks, go in the dryer. When using your dryer, be sure to clean out your lint trap first. And once dryer is finished, again take clothes out immediately to prevent obnoxious wrinkle set.
One more tip – it is a good idea to clean your washer frequently (maybe once a month). This is simple to do – use 1/2 cup chlorine bleach and run a normal cycle with hot water. This will keep your washer sparkling clean and fresh. Happy cleaning – love your laundry!
© 2026 Jody Dyer
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