For some people, doing laundry is second nature. Their parents taught them at a young age to use the washer and dryer and not let clothes pile up. For a lot of other people, Laundry is just an unwanted chore that needs to get done. If laundry is a major chore to you, chances are you’ve never taken the time to consider whether or not you’re doing laundry in the most efficient and practical manner. Here are some tips to help you do laundry better.

The Right Temperature for the Right Clothes – Many people just throw all of their laundry in and set it to warm. This will cause your whites to not get as clean as they could and your colors to fade. Sort your clothes out into whites and darks; wash the darker clothes on cold, and your lighter clothes on warm.

Load Your Washer in The Proper Order – Put water in first, the detergent in second, and your clothes in third. This will ensure that the detergent is nice and mixed in with the water.

Wash Conservatively – It’s okay to not wash your clothes every time that you wear them. Something might not be anywhere close to dirty after you wear the item once or twice. Washing your clothes every time after you wear them is a great way to wear them out and force you to have to buy clothes sooner than you should have. It’s not stinky, gross, or weird. There’s no reason to wash something if it’s just not dirty.

Make Your Own Detergent – A lot of frugal individuals have taken to creating their very own laundry detergent. There are all sorts of recipes on the web to create your own detergent, and when you do make your own detergent, you can save a ton of money on over-priced laundry detergent. Usually you’ll end up paying about 1/10th of what you normally would on a per-load basis when you make your own detergent.

Get a Front Loading Washer – Front loading washers are a bit more expensive, that’s true, however they save quite a bit of energy. Since the drum rotates horizontally rather than vertically, your clothes will also become much cleaner. Front loading washers also don’t wear your clothes out nearly as much. More often than not, the up-front investment is worth it over a long period of time.

Doing laundry might not be the most fun thing in the world, but since we have to do it regardless, it makes sense to do laundry in a manner that saves money and makes our clothes last as long as possible.