Why doing laundry well matters

And what I use to tackle this dreaded chore.

🎙️ LISTEN IN I was a guest on the Green Route podcast this week talking about why living small is the most sustainable choice. It was a wide-ranging conversation: I hope you enjoy it!

I’m a stickler when it comes to laundry (my husband might say, a fanatic). I sort my colors, I read care labels, I hand wash when needed, I’ll work forever, I air-dry often—and maybe I have lost some of you already? But stay with me: There’s more to my laundry fanaticism than some aspiration to domestic greatness. 

Doing laundry well matters to me because it impacts how clothes wear and age. Do it with care, and clothes (sheets, towels, table linens) will look good longer. Do it poorly and things will start to look shabby before their time.

When our belongings look nice, we’re less likely to buy something new. We circumvent the consumerist culture of consumption, which, PS will save you money, but you could even say that taking care of your clothing is an anti-capitalist act.

At the same time, an awful lot of energy and resources goes into garment care. Making good choices about how you do your laundry (and with what) has an impact on your energy consumption, your water use, and what ends up in our waterways.

To some readers, putting all this importance onto laundry might feel like too much: You’re busy, you’ll say: You don’t have time to worry about the best way to keep your whites white and your blacks looking their best. But if my experience is anything like yours, I think that you’ll save time too. Shopping is a time consuming business. (Personally, I loathe it.) The extra time to spot treat your duvet cover or even wash it an extra time is a lot less than the time it will take to choose a new one, order it, then dispose of the packaging, launder it before use, and donate the old. 

I believe the right products can go a long way to keeping your clothes looking their best, so I’ve gathered a list of my tried-and-true laundry essentials. Below are the laundry products I swear by and a few tips for how I use them. I hope you’ll find them useful.