A couple of months ago, I noticed my dryer wasn’t drying like it used to. I had to run the dryer for two full cycles for my clothes to get dry. That is when I looked into alternative sources to dry my laundy.  Here are a couple of drying tips.

Machine Drying:

• Don’t overload. That increases your drying time, and wrinkles.
• Seperate heavy and light items, so they’ll dry more evenly.
• Remove your permanent press items (dress shirts, pants) as soon as possible. You also won’t have to iron!
• Clean the lint out of the  filter after each use!

TIP – Keep the lint you pull from the filter. Also keep any toilet paper roll. Stuff the roll with the lint. You have yourself a fire starter for the next time you may need to start a fire!

Line Drying/Clothes Drying Rack:

• Be sure clothesline and clothepins are clean
• Smooth items as you hand them.
• When you dry colored items outside, turn them inside out to prevent fading.

I personally love the way the clothes from the dryer feels. I usually will let my clothes dry outside for most of the time, and put them in the dryer for 10 minutes.

Norwex also has these awesome dryer balls.  They reduce the time your clothes need to dry by 25%.  You place both in your dryer with laudry, and set your dryer at the desired heat. The unique design of the Dryer balls lifts and separates laundry while softening fabrics. This reduces the drying time, static cling, and wrinkles, naturally without chemicals. No need for fabric softner or dryer sheets. When you are finished remove the balls from the dryer. The balls have a 1 year warranty, yet they last 3-5 years. Click here if you are interested.

We are all busy, the best way I have found to get rid of clutter and clean is to stay on top of it. Don’t wait until your home is so messy that you do not even want to go home. Do a couple things each day, and you can easily maintain a clean home. Below are some easy tips to help you get started, and create good habits to help you keep a clean home.

• Did you know that the dentist recommends to brush our teeth for 2-3 minutes? Use that time! Put away things that are on your counter, sort through “that pile” that is on your night stand, wipe down your mirror and counter. You can get a lot accomplished during those 2-3 minutes using only one hand. You may even prevent a cavity.

• We all spend a good amount of time on the phone. Make sure you have a cordless phone, and use that time. You can do dishes, tidy up clutter, sweep, wipe down walls, etc… A lot of cleaning gets done while I am also connecting with family and friends. Don’t sit on the sofa, get up, chat and clean!

• While you are cooking, don’t wait until everyone is done with their meal to start the dishes. Try to have all the dishes you used to prepare the meal done by the time you sit down to eat. Clean up as you cook, doing this  makes clean up simple and easy.

• Never put your clothes down and say, “I’ll hang that up later.” Later may take several days. Just hang it up, or put it in the dirty clothes hamper. Don’t take short cuts, and you’ll have a cleaner home. It may take only 15 seconds to hang that shirt up – it is worth it!

• As soon as you take your clothes out of the dryer, let them stay in your laundry basket for only a minute. Transfer your clothes to your couch, or bed. You will more likely put them away if they are in your way. Turn on the TV and fold your laundry right away.