i agree, wash all clothes in cold water. another thing: i have never separated laundry, ever.

and i have never noticed anything wrong/discolored/anything.

Add a capful of vinegar to your wash load to get the sour smells out of wash rags, keep your clothes bright and to remove tough laundry stains.

You haven't noticed discoloring precisely because you always wash in cold water. Here's a tip for you:

If you go home, don't let your mom wash your laundry! I went home and my mom washed my laundry in hot water for no good reason, she dyed everything blue! When I asked her how she managed that she accused me of giving her new towels, but I had always just washed them in cold water!

I add 1/2 cup baking soda to each load and wash in cold water.

As a full time grad student, I can use that laundry gift set:)
My laundry tip is: every time you have a food stain that has oil in it, prior to washing it, put some salt, let it wait for an hour or two then wash it. You will see that the oily stain will be removed completely. So you will save on time and utilities because you didn't need to wash it one more time to remove the stain, plus you will save on any stain remover products you would have bought.

If possible, try hanging up your clothes to dry. The laundry clothes dryer is one of the most expensive devices to run in a house. Hanging up your clothes to air dry not only saves you money, but greatly extends the life of your clothes.

Buy a drying rack to hang dry your clothes. This will save you oodles of quarters by not having to use a dryer, save electricity, and the racks fold up small enough that you can stash it behind a door or under your bed when not in use.

I use cheap white vinegar instead of fabric softener. On a washer with a fabric softener dispenser, I fill the dispenser with half water and half vinegar, or I use a Downy ball. I've never had a problem with my clothes smelling like vinegar - I think washing in cold water helps to prevent that. The clothes feel just as soft as with fabric softener.

I found the "soak" option on our washer to be wonderful. It really helps to get out tough stains by letting the detergent do its work a little longer.

If you use fabric softener dryer sheets, cut them in half, or thirds or maybe even quarters. You don't need to use a full sheet with every load. You'll still get all the benefits of the dryer sheet, but you'll save money by using much less. Most dryer sheets rip just fine, so you don't need to cut them with scissors (or cut the box on a band saw as I used to do in the college theater).

i just moved in with two other roomates this year. i FINALLY have a washing machine where i live and no longer need to go to the laundry mat. thank GOD! i've had a million bloopers... (including one that just cost us a new washing machine. one of my roomies left her lighter in her pocket and it broke the machine) anyhow, here is my ultimate blooper. i wrote about it this past winter...

***

okay - so it has been in the single digits and below here this past week or so and i have needed to wash my jacket. (it was mingin - bad - to the point i was hiding a stain on the front from coffee with a scarf!) my dilemma is that it has been too cold to drop it off and get washed and go without. i have to go to the laundry mat right next to me because at my new apartment - we dont have a hook up, and i havent had time to do it. but today, i decided that i would drop it off right after work, before i even got home... my car would be warm and the ride home wouldnt be too bad... so i threw it in the washing machine and followed the instructions... front loader - cold water - some detergent - i was ready to go...

so i figured id put it in the dryer with enough time to let it dry before i go to rehearsal and on my way id pick it up and be toasty... my dreams were quickly dashed just a few moments ago.

i just walked into the laundry mat - looking hap-hazard btw in my sweatpants and sweatshirt - i go to the machine that i put my jacket in... and, well, my jacket isnt in the machine... it is in a trash bag on the floor and covered with soap suds and SOAKING WET!

i was NOT pleased to say the least...

but the machine was still running with NOTHING in it. just water and soap! at this point, i am thinking that some cruel and selfish person has done this to me. i am going to go and speak to the attendant and demand to know what is going on. when i get out back, i see someone in the office. i walk in and she looks at me as i start right in, "excuse me, i was washing my jacket.." she cuts me off. "the green one?" it startled me.. "yeah." she shakes her head at me and proceeds to tell me that I put WAY TOO MUCH soap in the machine. i guess after i had left, she walked out into the front of the store and there and not only was my machine filled to the brim with soap - but the two machines next to me had also been filled up from my soap suds.. as well as spilling out all over the floor. she had to use a rubbish barrel to scoop all of the suds out of the washing machine. (she showed me - there was a trash barrel FULL of suds)

i sheepishly stood there and apologized. she told me to re-wash my jacket in another washing machine, because that one was running empty to get the suds out of it... she couldnt scoop enough out. she emphasized quite a lot to NOT put ANYMORE soap in the second wash. then, she asked how much soap i used? i only put in a full caps worth of tide. :) she said that is way too much for one jacket... but like i said, it was mingin', and i like to be clean - and SMELL clean. anyway...

i had to re-pay to wash my jacket.

i dont know what is wrong with me... i am usually smarter than that. i felt like an idiot... i was standing there wondering HOW MANY people in there had watched what she had done. how many knew who i was when i walked in and picked up the trash bag on the ground with my jacket in it. i hung my head in laundry mat shame.

yeah... and the guy sitting next to my first machine smiled at me when i looked at the bag with my jacket... at first, i thought, hmm. but now, i know, HE knew what had happened. it wasnt a smile, it was a smirk.

I turned my whole family's laundry pink while washing clothes in Italy. I couldn't figure out how the washer worked, and put in a pair of red panties with the lights (it had been washed many times, but I still don't know why I thought that mattered.) On top of that, it turned out that what I thought was cold was actually hot. Thus, all our other stuff turned pink or dingy. The family was not pleased.

One rental townhouse I lived in had an attic with a wonderful full staircase built into the house that made it easy to go up & down from the attic. I didn't have a washer or dryer at the time, so I would wash my clothes at the laundromat & bring them back sopping wet to hang on a clothesline that I strung between the rafters in the attic. The clothesline wasn't an eyesore by being in the yard of the rental property & the clothes were drying really fast by being in the attic!

In recent years, due to budget constraints, I always use Dryel or Drycleaner's Secret instead of the dry cleaner for my dry-clean clothes. It works great & smells nice and fresh.

Also, for any clothes labeled "hand wash", I just put them in cold water on gentle cycle and then follow the drying instructions. Never had a problem. I don't have the time or patience to actually hand wash anything!

For ladies' bras, never, never, NEVER put these in the dryer! The dryer will deform and wear out your bras quicker than anything else.

Ladies, NEVER put your bras and panties into the dryer. The heat destroys the elastic, and they'll get all stretchy in no time. You can make them last much, much longer by always hanging them to dry (a couple of doorknobs make great drying racks for me).

Watch out for newly tie-dyed clothes! I dyed a shirt and let it set in vinagar, but without thinking later that month when I washed it, I tossed it into the wash. You can guess my dismay when I pulled out the clothes... I rewashed everything on hot, without the tie-dye shirt and all the stains came out.

Just for fun, I loved this as a kid, Borax slime- heres the recipe

From the 20 Mule team Borax site:
1 quart jar with lid.

1/3 cup regular Elmer's Glue (not school glue)
1/3 cup of water

Shake together in the jar.

Then:

Make a saturated solution of Borax in 1/3 cup of water. Just keep adding borax until no more will mix in.

Then:
Pour off borax water into quart jar with pre-mixed glue stuff. Add food color. Shake until blended...

ah what fun

Line dry the clothes. It has immensely helped us keep our laundry budget in check.

I wish I had a great tip, but all I can offer is this blooper from my early days out on my own...

I was laying in bed reading a book when I decided to wash the laundry. I bundled all the dirty clothes into a big duffel bag and, at the last moment, decided to add the sheets. Then off to the laundromat I went.

I shoved the sheets in the washer and only after they'd completed their cycle did I realize that, yeah, I had managed to wash the book as well. Paperbacks, when washed, disintegrate into piles of lint and pulp bits, many of them with still visible single letters on them. I shook the sheets out, rewashed them three times, and dried them twice. I even tried vacuuming the dried sheets, but they were never the same and I ended up having to toss them.

Why buy detergent when you can make your own? Use half a cup of washing or baking soda, half a cup of 20 mule team borax, and a cup of grated soap -- a laundry bar or a deodorant/antibacterial body soap work great. Mix. You only need a tablespoon per load! This recipe makes about 32 loads and it's about 90 cents to make.

When I first moved off-campus into a house, it took awhile for real costs to get across to me, and as a result I was ridiculously broke, supplementing my budget wherever I saw a shortcut. I did a load of laundry that hadn't been sorted very well and when I folded them I found a couple of pantiliners that had been through the wash process. They were clean, and I was out of tampons, so I re-used them.

Since many colleges charge for laundry, my roomies and I combine loads of things like towels and sweatshirts or jeans.

And I have found that having maybe an extra load to do because you wash it on delicate is worth it because your clothes really do last longer.

I swear by the Greased Lightning spray product. If it's a fresh stain, it will get rid of ANYTHING, and it also is effective at removing a lot of set in stains. A bottle is under $10, but it lasts a long time if you just use it for spot treatments.

To save on weight of laundry & detergent I always measured out my liquid detergent in the cap then stuffed a sock/washcloth in it and put it on top of my clothes. I then just dumped the whole load, cap and all, into the washer.

I also, after losing 2 really nice and new shirts, stayed with my laundry. Amazing how many people stopped in to say 'Hi!' when they heard the machines running - and I never knew any of them.

teach your kids how to do laundry. then make them do it! it is so easy to do laundry that way!

I've learned to never wash delicates with my husband's walking shorts that have velcro pockets. They stick to the velcro and are ruined when you pull them off!

I agree with the prvious comments, use COLD water. You will save a ton by just flipping the dial over a couple settings.

Being the only girl in a house full of guys, I have had more tops shrink to doll size than I can count. In an effort to save energy and my sanity I have gotten in the habit of drying all our clothes on the lowest setting at the energy preferred level. That ensures Barbie wont be wearing my clothes and we use only the bare minimum to dry our clothes.

We have also started cutting dryer sheets in half and using less detergent. Has really cut down on the costs of washing our clothes and they still smell just as fresh!

The only time I've ever turned my laundry pink was when it wasn't my laundry, and I wasn't supposed to be washing it.

It was my second year of university, back when I was doing my undergrad, and I was dating Dave. I liked Dave. I liked staying over at Dave's flat, instead of my own, which was way out in suburbia and a long way from my classes.

I didn't like Dave's infrequent laundry schedule.

Y'see, Dave was (is) a very tall man, and therefore had a very long bed. And because he had an unusually long bed, he only had one set of pale blue sheets. Which I couldn't ever remember him washing.

So, one weekend, when Dave was at his parent's house, I took the opportunity to take his sheets to my apartment and wash them. Because I was thrifty then, like now, I threw in my like-coloured dirty laundry... including a pair of jeans that had a MAC Forever Glam lipstick in a pocket.

This incident taught me two things: 1) if you can't talk to the person you're dating about the state of their sheets, you should stop dating them and 2) my mom was right when she told me to check the pockets of stuff I threw in the wash. If I had, I could've saved myself a frantic search all over town for another set of extra-long sheets (it turned out blue wasn't to be had, so instead I bought cranberry), a really awkward conversation (in front of his roommate, natch) and a possibly for-the-best break-up.

Incidentally, that's the last time I've ever accidentally dyed my laundry. Dave's sheets were good for something.

(I'm starting school again next week -- second degree, lots of panicking, have stocked up on ramen -- and would love to win this contest! Thanks for hosting it.)

I went on a trip with some friends to the beach one summer...and it poured down rain one afternoon. When we all got changed into fresh clothes we put the wet ones in to wash....and then the dryer...imagine our surprise when everything...even tennis shoes had strikes of pink on them....I apologized alot when I realized it had been a small tube of pink lipgloss that had been in one of my pockets.

The other is that when my husband and I first married, I lost all of his short sleave work shirts. They turned up in a bag in another closet a month or so later...but it was funny at the time.

Tip for laundry, don't wash more at one time then you can fold. Gettting that huge laundry pile done is important...but not if you can't fold it and put it up and have a huge put away pile. With just my husband and I, I wash a load at night, place it in the dryer in the morning before work, and fold and put away at night. I also cut dyer sheets in half...works just as well and more for your money. You can also use laundry fabric softner (liquid) diluted with water in a squirt bottle as a cheap "Fabreeze"...and if you use Seventh Generation's it's even better :)

I'm a huge fan of SG products. I've never used their laundry products though so I'm pretty pumped about that.

The best thing I've found to get out stains is actually microfiber cloths. Instead of paper towels and sponges, in our home we've switched to reusable microfiber sponges and towels.

A special bonus to these cloths is that they knock out stains! Whatever the substance--spaghetti sauce, dirt, wine, etc.--if I wipe it quickly with a microfiber cloth, the stain vanishes without a trace, rather than simply being smeared around and rubbed in with normal towels.

Oh but never put your microfiber towels in the dryer.

The best way to save on laundry is to cut down on the frequency and amount of the laundry load, in the first place.

Reuse pieces of clothing once, twice, or more, depending on the manner of use and lifestyle. First of all, let's use some common sense here, people. I wouldn't pick 'underwear' as my first choice here. In fact, I would continue to change that on a daily basis.

I'm talking about jeans and sweaters (for the cold season), which are also one of the bulkier pieces of clothing. Depending on lifestyle, jeans and sweaters rarely get that dirty, especially when the day is spent indoors (classrooms).

Likewise, shirts that I just wore for an hour on a weekend (because I had to do a quick store run) are candidates for reuse

You save on laundry and your clothes will last longer as they won't get tortured in the washer as often as before.

I use white vinegar instead of fabric softener, and always wash with cold water. I also hang dry whatever I can, and then throw in the dryer for 5 minutes or so with a couple of the spiked dryer balls to soften up the fabric

I thought I knew how, until I read all these comments. All I can add is, Mom was right, don't walk around in sock feet. It wears them out fast.

Another reason to air-dry your clothes: the dryer is destroying your clothes! All those little pieces of lint are little pieces of FABRIC...AKA your clothing. If the line-dried crunchiness is not for you, toss them in the dryer for a few minutes, then hang them up to dry. Your clothes will last much longer, especially your darks.

My daughter came home from college to wash clothes for the first time a couple of months ago. She put everything in the washer at the same time. She happened to have some new KU shirts (red and blue). Well the red faded and now everything she has is a shade of pink.

Wash in cold water...

Sometimes your cell phone needs to be cleaned, but preferably not in the washer.

Although if you're looking for a phone that can survive a washer/dryer cycle, look no further than Nokia brand phones!

Two separate phones went through the entire washer and dryer cycle and both survived. Now we both check the laundry multiple times to make sure there is nothing left in pockets, no need to push our luck!

Add 1/2 cup of white vinegar to the rinse cycle for fresh-smelling clothes - it also helps to stop static cling. Add 1/4 cup of white vinegar to the wash cycle, and it will help whiten whites.

The worst laundry blooper I made was when I didn't check pockets, and washed a "blue raspberry" lip balm with a full load of laundry. The empty tube was all that was left when I took the clothes out of the dryer. Blue raspberry does NOT get along well with khaki pants.

Ladies, invest in a small mesh laundry bag for your unmentionables; you can throw them in with other (mentionable) laundry and avoid having to do a separate delicates load AND, when you're ready to throw the other clothes in the dryer, your delicates (which should NOT go into the dryer as they will be warped) are already sorted out. Also, hook your bra clasps together before throwing them into the washer to avoid snagging your clothes on the clasps.

Last winter, I washed a white duvet and light blue sheet set with a fleece that was also white and light blue. Except....I forgot to take out the uni-ball ink pen from the pocket of the fleece jacket. My sheets and duvet came out with small black splotches of ink. Whenever anyone asks what happened to my sheets, I say they're "faux ermine" like the fur collars of royal ceremonial robe. (You'd think after four years in college and during my third year of grad school, I'd have learned to always check the pockets!)

If you live in a smaller dorm like I did, it is usually ok to leave your clothes, just make sure you get back to them before they are done! Otherwise, it is fair game for someone to put them on the floor.
(Small note, none of my clothes were that expensive or nice, so theft wasn't much of a concern)

Ever since I started safety-pinning my my socks together before I put them in the wash, I haven't lost one yet. Also, that makes it much easier to find a matching pair in the morning. I know some people put their socks in a ball before going in the wash to keep them together, but really how clean can they get . . . the go in one way, and come out looking exactly the same. The safety pin takes just a few second when I take my socks off, and then another few seconds when I put them on, with countless hours saved searching for or having to buy new socks.

I used to take my laundry to a place that washes it for $0.75/lb. Eventually though, this started to become a little pricey for me and I decided to start doing my own laundry. This was a couple months ago, actually.

I went to the store, carefully inspecting the detergents for something that didn't have smells, and bought some (man, that stuff is expensive!). Then I bundled up my laundry and homework, and went to the laundromat. There was one older lady there who looked up at me with an amused smirk. Apparently my lack of knowledge was readily apparent.

I stuffed my laundry into the largest washer I saw (separate? What's that mean?) and carefully inspected the washer for instructions. Eventually I saw there was a little flap at the top, and I studied the flap to figure out what to do next. I didn't have bleach or softener, so I figured I just had to put some in the large slot, and that's what I did. Then I went to put my change in the machine.

Oh. This machine is broken. Coin slot has black tape covering it. Neat.

I moved my now-sticky-with-detergent clothes to another washer, and put more soap in (by now the lady was clearly trying not to laugh, but was also not offering to help) and closed the door. Then I put in my coins, and I pushed some buttons. The washer didn't start.

I pushed more buttons. The washer still didn't start. You'd think a math major could figure this out, but clearly not. Finally the lady told me to push the door knob down to lock it. I locked the door. The washer started. Neat.

Then I sat down to do my homework and realised my calculator was in my car still. I reached in my pocket to get my keys. Not there. Not in my backpack. Not in my laundry basket. Not on top of either washer. No. Where.

I started to panic, and I asked the lady if she'd seen my keys. She said, "Did you put them in the washer?" I hoped not. Then I peered in through the washer door, and I saw them banging against the glass. Uh-oh.

I tried to open the washer. Did you know they don't open until they're done? I didn't. But the lady told me.

I was scared my keys wouldn't work again, because of the remote thingie to the car. When the laundry was done washing (23 minutes!), I pulled out my keys. Amazingly, the remote worked. So now I know that keys wash well.

I was getting ready to move, and before packing the last load of clothes to wear for my job the next day (yeah, this move & then go to work in less than 24 hrs. is becoming a habit), I threw everything in the washing machine.

Everything.

Everything, including my designer-dry-clean-only-chocolate-brown-slacks that had an original price of $351, but were magically marked down to $15--can we say deal of the century?!?

I lifted the lid of the washer when done and almost threw up--the pants were made of some material that smelled like dog/baby diarrhea/vomit when wet.

And all of my other clothes smelled that way as well. Lovely for a first day on the job impression!

Hi,
Our house is over 50 ears old and was built by my father. We do not have, and have never had, a dryer. :) We have always hung clothes on the line and now we hang clothes on a drying rack inside (birds). :)
I also use a little vinegar in the wash & wash in cold water.
Thanks! Bobbi

When i was in high school (a couple months ago) I was doing a show with the theatre company. It was a west coast premier of an interesting little redux of The Emperor's New Clothes set in Kansas in the 1930's. So, it is one of our last shows; the one we have a camera crew to document so we can never forget it. We are just about to reach the finale, when I, as the salesman pulling one over on the quiet little town and in my rush to get out before they realize my misdeeds, knock over a glass jar of buttons we have on the set. In my infinite wisdom I decide to clean up a little of my mess on my way out...with my bare hands. Broken glass and flesh don't mix well. My pinky finger now has a deep gash in it, and proceeds to bleed profusely, for the ten minutes remaining in the show (all of which i am onstage), all over my grandfather's old suit which i volunteered to use as my costume.

Finally, the show ends and backstage everyone is worried about my bleeding hand while I'm worried about this family heirloom I have just used as gauze. I am told that cold water will take it out. I run the affected areas under a cold faucet in the bathroom and, sure enough, it worked like a charm. So all of you are right, it's all about the cold water. You will be surprised what it can do.

Too bad it couldn't do anything for the makeup someone had gotten on the shoulder.

I use cold water and dish soap! Sounds crazy, but it has worked like a charm everytime. You have to use the cold water though; not warm and not hot. Get the stain wet with cold water then put a little bit of your dish soap on it and rub it out. For tougher stains use your finger nail to scratch it out!