Growing up as part of a large family meant heaps of laundry. As the daughter of a home economist (now called family and consumer sciences), our home often felt like a laboratory. While some of our mother’s laundry practices remain with me today, others no longer suit modern lifestyle. After doing laundry for my family of six — before becoming an empty nester seven years ago — I've developed sustainable practices that extend the life of fewer, high-quality clothing items.

Patric Richardson, Minnesota-based author of Laundry Love and House Love and host of The Laundry Guy TV show, advocates investing in quality essentials year-round and adding a few seasonal pieces instead of fast fashion. He notes: “If you really love your garments, both classic and trendy, you’ll be more motivated to take care of them and make them last. In sum, you’ll be buying both more thoughtfully and less.”

I've learned ... laundry is more than just cleaning clothes — it’s about sustainability, simplifying life ...

While there’s plenty of consumer education about laundry care, my “home lab” goal is to accomplish this practice with lifestyle efficiency. Here are some of my favorite practices and a few that honor my mother with a smile but have been retired:

Today’s Practices

• Gentle and proper washing of clothes – I sort by color, use correct water temperatures, and pre-treat stains while using half the recommended detergent amount. Express cycles serve for most loads and protective mesh bags for delicates. My simplified system of just "whites" and "darks" once or twice weekly has replaced our family’s four-category sorting system that required laundering three or more times weekly.
• Less frequent washing – Most clothing (except undergarments, athletic and outdoor work wear) can be worn two to three times before washing, reducing fabric wear and workload. Our closet hooks are full of grab-again athlete-leisure wear and echo my parents’ practical approach – a connection I only recently realized.
• Handwashing – Enter any runner girls’ house and you will see a bathroom full of running gear that have been handwashed and drying in the shower for the next use. In addition to running bras and tops, any piece of clothing that says handwash or that appears special, I take the time to wash and rinse in cold water.
• Clothesline/air drying clothing – I mentioned this in a previous blog post. It’s a practice I’m passionate about and have a winter method with both a drying rack and a garment rack with hangers and a European-inspired outdoor clothesline. Richardson say: “Abrasion is the No. 1 enemy of laundry.” I avoid the dryer for most of my clothing and use the shortest amount of time if I do use the dryer.
• Gentle and proper keeping of clothing – With fewer clothing items, it is easier to care for each item from washing and drying to folding and storage. Loosely using a version of Marie Kondo’s folding and hanging methods, I no longer stuff items in my closet or drawers and give them air to breathe. A final folding touch is to hand pressing the item before making the fold. To add more freshness to the closet or drawers, I add my favorite baking soda-based odor balls to shelves and drawers and cedar blocks for longer-term storage.
• Annual dry cleaning for special items – Weekly trips to the dry cleaners to less than a handful of times a year, I have a practice of wearing special clothing more than once, researching and washing dry-cleaning items at home with gentle detergent and avoiding the dry-cleaning expense and more sustainability.

Practices Left Behind

• Bulk dry cleaning – One of mom’s regular errands was dropping off "bulk dry cleaning"—a mountain of Dad's suits worn nearly every day. I still smile thinking of her meticulously cleaning pipe tobacco from his pockets before adding each suit to the pile.
• Mangle iron – Our mother taught her three daughters to iron on a mangle iron, progressing from pillowcases and napkins to shirts and pants. Our mangle iron was with my parents for the duration of their marriage before finding another home.

As I reflect on these practices, I realize that much of what I’ve learned and still learning about laundry is more than just cleaning clothes — it’s about sustainability, simplifying life and preserving a few memories.

Silverish Simplicity Links

• Why it’s OK to put ‘dry clean only’ clothes in the washer (and more neat laundry tips)
• The History of Dry Cleaning: From Then to Now 
• The Green Heart of Germany: Clotheslines