This article is sponsored by Simple Green

With Addison on the way, I’m doing all kinds of nesting. I have gotten into a nice little laundry routine for Mathew and I, and I’m wondering how I’m going to manage doing the laundry once Addison is here. I hear that babies go through SO much clothing when they’re newborns because of either diapers or spit up, and I want to make sure that I use my time-saving laundry tips, as well as make sure I’m not making our water bill sky high. I thought I’d share them with you, and if you have any others, add them in the comments!

Looking to save time on laundry? The Vintage Modern Wife has 8 great tips on how to get your laundry done faster and greener! #simplegreenselfie

1. Have a laundry basket for each person in your home instead of baskets just for colors and whites. This really has saved SO much time for me. Usually in a household, everyone dumps their laundry in baskets that are divided by colors, but here’s the thing- when it’s all washed- you have to separate it! Mathew and I each have our own laundry baskets and it’s SO much easier for me to dump all my colors into the washing machine for one load, and then his for the next. Our clothes stay nice and divided, and we don’t have to spend 30 minutes trying to figure out whose stuff is whose. I plan on buying Addison a laundry basket to keep in her closet so I can do all her laundry together as well!

2. Pre-treat any stains ASAP. If you know you have a stain on your favorite shirt, pre-treat it right away! This will make sure that you don’t have to wash it several times or have to end up throwing it out.

3. Adjust the settings on your washer. To keep your water bill down, choose the lowest water setting you can, and choose to avoid the second rinse unless you really need it. I also adjust my settings to “tap cold water” instead of the other cold water setting, so I use less energy. 

4. Find the perfect detergent and stick with it! We’re fans of Simple Green in our house because it’s high quality and environmentally friendly. Simple Green Sunshine Fresh Laundry Detergent is tough on dirt, grease, grass, food, coffee, wine and more. Simple Green is safe on all washable fabric and is effective in High Efficiency and standard washing machines. One 100 oz. bottle washes up to 100 HE loads! This biodegradable formula is also gentle on delicate skin, which makes this mama happy, because I can use it on Addison’s clothes as well as ours! No more buying expensive baby laundry soap! Whoop whoop!

5. Set a reminder on your phone to switch your clothes out. iPhone owners- ask Siri to remind you when your laundry is done. You know approximately how long your washing machine takes to wash, and sometimes you can’t hear that timer go off on the machine. Setting a reminder will ensure that you don’t forget to switch the clothes to the dryer. No one wants mildew-smelling laundry OR having to re-wash the load you JUST washed.

6.  Set your dryer to the correct fabric choice. I admit that I don’t do this very often because I have lots of cotton clothes, but depending on what you’re drying, it can help dry your laundry in the least amount of time possible. Baby clothing takes less time to dry than our clothing, so I’ve already started changing the drying time on our machine when I wash her clothes (you know- nesting!)

7. Spread out your clothes right away. I know that hanging clothes is the most tedious task, but as soon as your clothes are ready to come out, start laying out your shirts in one pile, fold your pants, and put your socks and underwear into another pile. If you throw them in a big wad onto your couch or bed, chances are they’ll get really wrinkled FAST. I’m one of those people that tried to avoid the ironing board at all costs, so I make sure to lay out my clothes immediately and then hang them up. My clothes never look wrinkled, and I only pull out the ironing board for a special occasion. Call it lazy, but I call it being proactive haha.

8. Enter into the  #SimpleGreenSelfie contest right now! This might not seem like a time-saving laundry tip, BUT every day 1 person will win a $50 GAP gift card and the grand prize #SimpleGreenSelfie winner will win a LG ultra large capacity, high efficiency, front loading washer & dryer set featuring LG’s Steam Technology. It’s easy to enter:

Enter the #simplegreenselfie contest for your change to win a new washer and dryer from LG!

  1. Purchase a 100 oz. bottle of Simple Green Sunshine Fresh Scent Laundry Detergent at The Home Depot (in store or online).
  2. Take a photo of yourself, the product and your receipt from The Home Depot.
  3. Post the photo on Instagram or Twitter tagged #SimpleGreenSelfie and @SimpleGreen.
  4. Make sure to follow @SimpleGreen on Twitter and Instagram so that you can easily be notified if you won.

The #SimpleGreenSelfie Photo Contest is open to US residents only and ends July 31st.

Want to implement my time-saving laundry tips into your every day life?

Start with the Simple Green Sunshine Fresh Scent Laundry Detergent Mail In Rebate! Buy two 100 oz. bottles while they are at The Home Depot, and get $8.98 back. Buy online or in store, and download the form at simplegreen.com/special-offers/rebate.

Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links and/or product(s) sent from companies or their PR team for editorial consideration. For more information, please view my disclosure policy.