Independent Living: The Basics of Laundry

Adulting, no one really likes it but it is an inevitable phase of life that must come sooner or later. 

There are varying levels of adulting, each more challenging than the next. 

One challenge of living by yourself is having to wash the clothes you wear daily. Especially for those who are going off to university and doing chores independently for the first time. 

While some of us may be tempted to take shortcuts, doing so may ruin your clothes in the long run. Here is a guide on how to treat your clothes properly in the wash.

When should I do my laundry? 

After every wear

• Socks 

• T-shirts

• Undergarments

• Shorts

• Workout clothes

Every 2 to 3 wears

• Bras

• Towels 

• Dress shirts and blouses (unbutton before washing!)

• Sweatpants

Every 5 to 6 wears 

• Blazers

• Denim

• Outerwear (sweaters and hoodies)

Remember - this is just a rough guide of course. Try not to wear your clothes if you have spent the hot day sweating in the hot and humid weather. Doing so not only benefits your personal hygiene but also keeps the nasty odours at bay.

Next, we will touch on how you can go about washing your clothes. We can break it down into 2 major categories

1. Delicates

• Silk

• Wool

• Linen

• Chiffon

• Lace

• Embroidered

• Clothes 

• Clothes with embellishments 

• Thin cotton clothes  

2. Normal clothes 

• T-shirts

• Shorts

• Jeans 

• Sweatpants 

• Hoodies 

• Sweaters

For delicate clothing, take note of these four pointers 

1. Handwashing is ideal, do it whenever possible 

2. Sort your laundry, keep socks away from underwear 

3. Use mesh bags in the washing machine, run on the delicate cycle 

4. Cold/lukewarm 

It is more straightforward when dealing with normal clothing. Divide your clothing into whites and colours and wash them separately. 

If you are doing laundry just for yourself, it is ideal to machine wash only on a full load to reduce energy and water consumption. 

Other common tips: 

Rinse off soiled, or dirty clothes before machine washing to prevent staining of other clothes or clogging up the drain pipe, which may lead to more problems in the future. 

Pretreat stained clothes with natural or chemical stain removers before tossing them into the washing machine. 

Drying clothes is a different story. We advise you to air-dry whenever possible. If it is necessary to use a dryer, follow this guide on dryer settings to avoid wearing down certain fabrics. 

Not sure how to categorise your clothes? You can follow the care labels on the clothes tag on how to best treat each piece of clothing. Here are some common examples:

And that’s it! A crash course into the world of laundry. 

Leave your questions in the comments below!