Cleaning a laundry room is one of those tasks that most people put off for days, weeks, or perhaps even months longer than they should.  It’s not a room visitors often see, and it’s not a room that you think about when cleaning.  But, that doesn’t mean it shouldn’t be given a scrub down every once in awhile.

Here are some tips on how to achieve a tidy and clean laundry room:

Wash out the sink

If you are lucky enough to have a sink in your laundry room, that’s probably where most of the dust and dirt and grime in your life gets washed out.  It may also be where you would soak some dirty clothes, or handwash your delicate items.  So make sure to clean out the sink really well.  Try using a cup of vinegar, half a cup of baking soda and detergent.  Rub down the sink with the mixture and let it sit for 10 minutes.  Next, wipe it down with a sponge, and then block the drain, fill it back up with water and let it sit another 10 minutes.  Your sink will never look so clean.

Wash the floor

With all the dust, dirt, and lint that comes from doing laundry, make sure your floor is spic and span.   Especially because you probably drop clean clothes when taking clothes out of the dryer.

Declutter your laundry room

Usually the laundry room becomes a place to drop all your unwanted belongings.  Try instituting a declutter system with baskets and bins.  Once every week or two, go through the piles and get rid of what is unneeded and put away what is just laying about.

Clean the lint trap

Make sure to clean your lint trap after every load dried.  Not only will it help keep dust under control, but it will help your laundry dry faster as well.

We spend a lot of time in our laundry room, so make sure it is a place you don’t mind being by keeping it clean and tidy.

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I recently stumbled upon a blog post titled: Dear Laundry, I Hate You. The title made me laugh, but I knew this woman’s pain all too well. With four children including a newborn, the load of laundry weighing down this unfortunate blogger was large. She was doing 12 loads of laundry a week.

Keeping up with a large family’s laundry is not easy, but there are a few tips that can really help. These can be applied for a family of 6 or a family of 3. If you have any to add, leave them in the comments section!

1. Create a schedule and stick to it

It sounds so easy, yet I know it’s so hard to actually do. But just imagine doing 12 loads of laundry in a single day. That would be soul crushing. Which is why it’s important to make a commitment to doing a certain number of loads a day and stick to it.  Plus then you get to feel a sense of accomplishment when you’re done.

2. Don’t let fresh laundry sit around

When it comes to doing laundry, the time consuming part isn’t actually washing and drying the clothes, but folding them and putting them away. I know I’m guilty of leaving a load of laundry in the dryer for a few days, but I try not to.  By putting laundry away immediately it’s one less thing to weigh on your mind.

3. Don’t fold everything

If putting away laundry is a problem for you, try not folding everything. Maybe tee-shirts, pjs and socks can just go into a drawer rather than taking the time to fold them properly.

4. Enlist help

If you have older children or a helpful spouse, take some of the burden off yourself and put it on them. Make members of your family fold and put away their own clothing, or better yet, start teaching your older children how to do their own laundry.

5. Pre-sort your clothing

You knew this was coming, but it really is extremely helpful. By using a product such as sortasack, the sorting is done for you, taking away a lot of pre-laundry time.

What tips would you give the woman who has 12 loads of laundry to do a week? Did I miss any?

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Young adults across the country are packing up their rooms and heading to colleges across the country. What they need more than great study skills is to load up on dorm room friendly items to help making living in a small space easier.

At sort-a-sack we have always believed that our product is the perfect way to manage laundry. It helps students pre-sort their dirty clothes so they are less likely to ruin their favorite sweater the first time they do laundry on their own. It also has the washing instructions printed directly on the bag, so there’s no need to call mom at 2am when they finally get down to the laundry room. And, it is not only a laundry bag, but a laundry backpack, meaning students can strap it to their backs rather than drag a heavy bag behind them. Finally, it has a sturdy hook so it can hang on the back of a door and leave that precious floor space totally free from laundry.

To recap, sort-a-sack is the perfect dorm room accessory because it:

- Pre-sorts laundry

- Has washing instructions printed directly on the bag

- Has backpack straps for easy carrying

- Can hang on the back of a door, freeing up floor space

It turns out, we’re not the only ones who thing sort-a-sack is the real deal.

Here is a video from The Mal Pearson show featuring sort-a-sack.

Head to minute 4:50:

Sort-a-sack on Mal Pearson Show
What do your college bound kids use for their laundry?  Or do they wait and bring it home?

When I think about activities that may be bad for the environment, laundry is not the first thought that pops up. But the truth is that laundry can use a lot of energy and put a number of pollutants into the world. There is good news though — just a few changes can make a big difference.

• For those of us with older washing machines, consider using an environmentally friendly detergent. One of the most well-known ones is Ecover, which only uses plant based ingredients and is completely biodegradable. It can be found at Whole Foods. Click here for coupons.

• If you are in the market for a new washing machine, consider choosing one with the Energy Star label. It uses less energy and will save more than 7,000 gallons of water a year.

• Using warm water expends a lot more energy than running a cold wash, so try to choose cold water whenever possible. 90 percent of energy used to wash clothing is in heating the water. Plus, washing in cold water will prevent clothing from fading.

• Consider hanging clothes to dry, or not drying your entire load. This will lead to a shorter drying cycle, saving energy.

If you can’t get enough information on green laundry tips, TLC has 10 Green Laundry Tips on their website.

Have you taken any steps to “greenify” your laundry process? I’d love to hear.

When you look at beautiful catalogs from Container Store, Pottery Barn, or West Elm there’s a whole lot to be excited about. Schools is almost here, which means that it’s time to get your house, kids, and family organized. But have you lost your organizing mojo? That seems to be the case for many families who are struggling to get organized and get learning once again.

After reading a few articles about how to get and stay organized, I realized there was a tool that was cheap, pretty to look at, and truly effective. It was something I could find at almost every store. The big organizing secret? Baskets and storage containers.

I rounded up a few of my absolute favorite containers. Take a look…

1. Plastic Storage Bin from Target — $6.99

These bins are great for organizing a lot of things. At the end of a school year, I usually purchase one of two of these to house old projects and notebooks that I think my kids might want to go through one day. I also use these to store sweaters during the summer, and boots during the winter.

2. Magazine Files from Ikea — $1.99 for 5

If you’re like me and love looking at beautiful pictures of perfectly organized spaces then you get a lot of magazines. I keep mine organized using these extremely affordable magazine files from Ikea.

3. Pretty Storage Baskets from Amazon — $38.03 for 3

These are a bit on the smaller size, but they’re great for fitting in bookshelves as a way to wrangle the smaller things. I have one for cards, another for change, and so on. This way what used to sit around looking ugly now has a place to live unnoticed.

4. Galvanized Bins from Amazon — $99 for 6

If you’re into a more industrial look, and don’t mind a splurge, these galvanized bins from Amazon are great.  They hold a ton, but they also look super cool so you won’t mind having them sitting around your home.

5. Leather Storage Bench from Overstock.co — $111.99

If you’ve got more to hide than just piles here and there, a piece of furniture that doubles as storage is always a good answer.  Use it to keep office supplies or board games.  Not only will it provide extra seating, but it will help keep your home clutter free.

What types of containers do you like to use for storage?  Did I hit on any of your favorites?

Dryer sheets are one of the quintessential ingredients for a successful laundry day. Besides dirty laundry and detergent, it comes third on the list of necessary components for a positive laundry experience. But why do we spend our money on these fuzzy white sheets? What do they actually do for our clothing? Keep reading to find out what dryer sheets’ purpose is, and also some extra uses around the house.

Stop the Shock

The main purpose of a dryer sheet is to stop static cling. When clothes are in a tumbling dryer, they have an inclination to become stuck by way of static electricity. Every woman has experienced the sensation of a skirt clinging to the back of her legs as she walked. The culprit? Static electricity.

Fabric softeners, and particularly dryer sheets, are designed to help prevent static electricity from overtaking your laundry. Many people think fabric softener’s main purpose is to make clothing softer to the touch (probably because of the name), but actually the main purpose is to eliminate the static cling. For the most part, dryer sheets (no matter what the brand) are able to accomplish this task with no problem at all.

Living Large Outside the Dryer

While doing some research for this blog post on the uses for dryer sheets, I came across a great article in Real Simple magazine that gave 10 new uses for dryer sheets. Suddenly the square white sheets were more than just a static de-clinger. They could help accomplish so much more.

My two favorites from the list of ten:

Replace a satchet. Keep a dresser drawer smelling fresh and clean by placing a dryer sheet at the bottom of it.

and…

Dust venetian blinds. Close the blinds, then wipe up and down with a dryer sheet.

To read the rest of Real Simple’s great ideas, click here.

Do you use dryer sheets for anything other than drying? I tend to do a quick wipe of my bedroom furniture after I’m done folding laundry and have a couple piled on my bed. They truly do pick up a lot of dust, and make dusting easier when the time comes.

Additionally, if a member of my family has a particularly stinky pair of shoes, I may just throw a dryer sheet in there as well (and gym bags). It removes odor, and if I’m really lucky, leaves a fresh odor in its place.

I’d love to hear your dryer sheet ideas! Leave them in the comments below.

p.s. Check out my Facebook page for some extra dryer sheet ideas!

If you own clothes , which I am certain you do, you’ll know that laundry is a part of daily life. Which is why I am a big fan of making, and using, a laundry schedule.

Schedules Lead to Less Stress

Using a schedule, for many household chores in addition to laundry, is a way to ensure we know what needs to be done, and don’t let important household chores fall through the cracks. When we get behind in our usual cleaning chores, our home lives immediately become more stressful as all we need to accomplish begins to weigh on us.

Laundry is an especially important chore because if you put it off, eventually you will run out of clean clothes, most likely at the most inconvenient time.

Let’s face it — when you have a family and a home, there are always going to be household tasks, like paying the bills, cleaning, cooking, and laundry that have to get done. Therefore, I believe keeping a schedule is a way to keep life in order and keep stress at bay.

Finding An Ideal Schedule

Each person’s circumstances are different, so each person’s schedule is going to be different. If you only have one or two people’s laundry to tackle, your laundry schedule is going to be much different than a family of six’s schedule.

First, keep track of how many loads of laundry you typically do in a week. Then, you’ll know how many loads you’ll need to schedule throughout the week.

Once you know this figure you can think about your weekly schedule. Are you incredibly busy on weekends but tend to spend weeknights at home? Or vice versa? Take your life into account when planning a laundry schedule.

Ask yourself some hard-hitting laundry questions: Would your weekends feel less stressful if you knew you had a closet full of clean clothes to choose from? Do you enjoy lazy Sunday afternoons with a washing machine churning in the background? Would you prefer to go into your work week knowing you do not have to worry about running out of underwear on Thursday?

I suggest devoting one or two time slots a week to laundry. That way you’ll know how much of your time needs to be devoted to cleaning your clothes and de-stressing your life.  You’ll be amazed to find that knowing when and how your laundry is getting done truly does make a difference in your life.

When I started this business, there were a lot of difficult decisions I needed to make to ensure that I put out the best product possible. One of the easiest decisions I made was to have Sortasack produced in the United States.

There were three main reasons why this decision was important to the company:

I wanted to be responsible for creating jobs, not taking them away.

I understand that it’s cheaper to mass produce in China or an emerging economy, however it was important to me to create jobs here, in America. With the unemployment rate already dangerously high, it seemed imprudent to send jobs oversees that could easily be completed in our own country.

I wanted to boost the economy.

By keeping the product in America, and creating more American jobs, there is more money in the US economy to spend. Buying products that are made outside the US results in money going outside of the country and not coming back in.

I believe in America’s manufacturing capabilities.

America was built up by the manufacturing industries, and while many have moved overseas, I want our factories to flourish, not shrink. I want to know that our factories will be up and running for years to come.

I have recently seen a few television shows such as 20/20, The View, and The Ellen DeGeneres show doing segments on Made in America products. It seems to be a growing trend that Americans are doing their best to buy American products.

I am proud to be able to offer such a high-quality product to my customers and I hope the simple tag, Made in the USA, brings you as much satisfaction as it does me.

Let’s face it — doing laundry is a chore.  What can make laundry worse than normal? Trying to get out stains from your favorite articles of clothing. Learning a few stain-busting techniques will help make laundry time a normal chore rather than a depressing chore.

Here are 5 techniques for removing stains from clothing:

Fast Action with Emergency Spot Remover

If you’re out to dinner or at work and you spill your meal on your pants, don’t panic. Keeping a bottle of club soda nearby will do the trick. Straight from the bottle, apply it to the stain with a clean cloth, and watch it disappear.

Grass Stains and Toothpaste

While adults may not see grass stains on a regular basis, anyone with children who play sports are quite friendly with the green monster. One quick way to get rid of a grass stain is to use toothpaste and a toothbrush. Simply put a small ball of toothpaste on the stain and use the toothbrush to rub it away. Then rinse the area and throw it in the wash as usual.

Food Stains

If your household is known for making donuts and eating fried chicken without putting a napkin in you lap, then learning how to get rid of grease stains will be like Christmas for you. One trick is to sprinkle the grease spot with cornstarch, leave it for a few minutes, and then sweep it off. The spot should go away immediately.

Ink Stains

Unless you wear a pocket protector, most shirts and pants will experience an ink explosion at one time or another. One solution to the inky problem is to soak the stain with rubbing alcohol. Sometimes it may be beyond repair, but it may be worth a try.

Red, Red Wine

While this isn’t technically a laundry tip, who hasn’t had a glass of red wine spilled during a party? If you’re lucky, it landed on wood floors, or a surface that is easy to mop up. But if you have carpet or upholstered furniture, red wine can be your worst enemy. Next time your guests leave behind a stain, try sprinkling it with baking soda or pouring salt on the spill.

You can also try mixing 1 cup water with ½ cup hydrogen peroxide and a little bit of soap. Put the mixture in a spray bottle and apply it to the stain.

Or just only serve white wine!

I hope these tips will help you get rid of those pesky stains and keep laundry time stain-free. Do you have any tips you’d like to share?