I am THAT girl. You know – the one who, at 9 years old, crafted potpourri, took a keen interest in sewing Little House on the Prairie dresses and staged elaborate dinner parties that should have been playdates. Better than almost any playground or TV show, though, was laundry day. Yes, I am fully serious. Bright white linen napkins hung on a clothesline or the smell of fresh, wet laundry out of a machine still give me excited palpitations. My boys love helping to fold warm laundry. (They still need instruction on keeping clothes off the floor, however).

But wait. Did you now that April 15th is National Laundry Day? To celebrate (and I will be!) we are sharing our 23 top secret laundry tricks!

1. Ink and oil, begone. To remove even the most stubborn ink stains, apply hairspray or hand sanitizer and pat dry. For oil stains, apply baby powder and let it stand overnight. And remember, don’t use force when trying to rub out stains, always blot.
2. Pit stains, no more. To remove sweat stains, spray the affected clothing with pure lemon juice before tossing in the washer. I’ve also used a child’s paintbrush to dab on shampoo or a grease-fighting dish detergent. Cool feature alert: the GE Designer Line laundry pair features a Stain Removal Guide to help remove tough stains with pre-programmed settings based on the five most common stains: Tomato, wine, blood, grass and dirt.
3. Adopt a basket system. Hate sorting laundry? Adopt a basket system for your darks, lights and whites to sort clothes as you go so it’s less of a chore come laundry day.
4. Think inside out. Faded clothing is the worst. To keep your darks the darkest they can be, simply wash your clothes inside out. You can also add 1 cup table salt to the rinse cycle.
5. On a tight schedule? If your wet clothes are taking forever to dry, speed things up by simply adding a dry towel to the load. Sneakers and tennis balls will just add germs and potentially melt in the machine.. oops.
6. Never lose a sock again. Don’t you hate it when your sock disappears into the laundry vortex and you’re left with mix-matched pairs? Avoid the frustration by using safety pins to keep socks tied together as they wash or put them all in a mesh bag.
7. Shrinking woes. Ready to ditch that shrunken sweater? Before you do, soak it in tepid water with a bit of hair conditioner and mold it back to shape. When drying, just be sure to lay it flat.
8. To dry or not to dry. It’s easy to forget which clothes should go in the dryer. Just write on your washing machine using a dry erase marker to remind yourself which clothes can’t go in the dryer.
   
9. Velcro Alert.Ever ruin special garments because velcro snagged them in the laundry? A mesh bag for any velcro-adorned pieces will do the trick. Ditto for sashes or long bits of fabric that can tangle (and mangle) a load. The good news about the new GE Designer Line laundry pair is that without a central agitator, the exclusive CircuClean technology, offers 100% water recirculation to soak clothes more thoroughly and you’ll get far less clothes tangling.
10. Embrace the cold. Piping hot water is no longer necessary with the advancements in machines. Special cold water products also keep colours bright and also save on your fuel bill.
11. Fluff the Towels. Skipping laundry sheets will keep your towels more absorbent. You can make your own dryer balls with tinfoil!
12. Sneaker Bang Be Gone. When you throw sneakers in the dryer, wedge the laces in the door to prevent them from tumbling.
13. When the stink sticks. Place jeans and stuffed toys in the freezer to kill odor-causing bacteria that won’t come out in the wash.
14. May the Warmth be With You. Always remove and fold clothes from the dryer when they are warm to save ironing time.
15. When it’s Yellow. For antique linen napkins and whites that look more lemony, mix ¼ cup salt and ¼ cup baking soda with 1 gallon water in a large cooking pot. Add the yellowed items and boil for 1 hour.
16. Stinky Hamper Woes. Cut the foot off a pair of old pantyhose. Fill with baking soda and knot it for the bottom of your hamper.
17. Golden Sun. After a good wash and Sanitization cycle in your GE washer, let the clothes dry flat on towels in bright sunlight.
18. Dryer Vents. Clean your vent regularly to prevent fires – doing it from the outside is easiest!
19. Clothesline Woes. Once a month, wash down your clothesline and replace any rusty clothes pegs that could stain your garments. If you suffer from allergies, it’s best to skip the line and stick with an energy-efficient dryer.
20. Pocket Pals. Always check pockets for money, rocks and lego men. Tissues are also a killer when you have to redo a load.
21. Tale of The Pink Socks. If you accidentally toss a red shirt in with your whites, don’t dry the stained items. Instead, was again immediately without the coloured culprit. Because the GE Designer Line laundry pair features a slick top-loading washer, you have the option to also simply soak the stained laundry in the actual machine. This trick saved me when I washed cloth diapers for 4 years straight!!
22. Dry wisely.Even though drier capacities are larger than ever (The GE Designer Line laundry pair has up to 17% more room for clothes versus previous models!), you can save time and energy by simply laying pillowcases and napkins on top of the machine to use the residual heat for drying. You can then skip the ironing too. Drying two loads back to back is more efficient than heating up the dryer twice.
23. Think Big. You’d be amazed how much can be put through your washer or dishwasher to save time and eliminate germs we take for granted. Think: toiletry bags, pillows, reusable grocery bags, curtains, rugs and gym bags. You can even wash just a couple items with the new GE Designer Line laundry pair, as it has an auto load sensing option, so you’ll only get as much water as is needed for even the smallest loads!

So there you have it! I bet I missed a few though. Please leave your extra tips in the comments, and happy national laundry day!!

Disclosure: This article was generously sponsored by GE Appliances. http://www.geappliances.ca/. My love of laundry and opinions are my own.

So there you have it! I bet I missed a few though. Please leave your extra tips in the comments, and happy national laundry day!!