5 Reasons to Love Laundry Day

If you own clothing, you do laundry, and odds are it is not your favourite day of the week. We are not sure why the world came to declare laundry as the most annoying chore of all, but we are here to bring some life back into your laundry day. Let’s get into a few handy tips that may just shift your perspective.  

Odds are, you spent some time picking out your clothing, carefully deciding which items best suit your needs and style: comfortable and laid back, professional and classy, even your favourite hand-me-downs carry some little aspect of you along with them, so why not pay a little extra attention to your clothes and the stories they tell this laundry day? We promise, at the very least, it will spice up your least favourite chore (and might even make you a laundry day lover like all of us here at ULAT).  

Sometimes, after we decide which clothes to buy, we no longer think about those items, and how we ought to care for them, as we toss them in the laundry bin. This means we can cause undue wear and tear on our clothes when they really deserve a little love to live their longest, happiest lives!   

Here are 5 ways to spend some time learning to love laundry day: 

1. Intentional laundry habits can extend the lifetime of your favourite clothing items: 

Pay attention to the care labels on your favourite garments! For example, some items can only be washed in cold water, dry-cleaned, or hung to dry (especially synthetic fabrics). Find out what special care your garments crave to make sure they live a long happy life. Intend on practicing this learning process with each item you wash.  

2. Laundry day is an opportunity to reflect:  

Remember that stubborn grass stain from a day at the park? Or that red wine stain from when girls night got a little too fun? Carefully consider what your clothes have held you through, and try to recall a happy memory attached to your favourite items. You’ve been through a lot together! This short happy reflection time, will have long term benefits.  

3. Laundry can help us practise mindfulness:  

Like any chore, it is easy to rush through our to-do list as fast as we can. This laundry day, start by slowing down. Take laundry time as the perfect moment to   disconnect, wind-down, and complete an activity with intention - no rushing! Place each item into the washing machine with care, taking slow deep breaths. You got this.  

4. Sustainable laundry habits can help you lead a more eco-conscious lifestyle:  

Take proper care of your clothes by following care instructions and reducing drying time with ULAT Dryer Balls. When you we take proper care of our clothing, it not only cuts down on energy costs, but also prevents clothing from ending up in the landfill when it could have lasted much longer given proper care.  

5. Laundry day reflection can prevent overconsumption:  

When the time is taken to reflect during laundry day, we can review which items we wash the most, indicating what we wear most frequently. Next time you find yourself browsing for clothing, ask yourself these questions: is this similar to items I already own and love that I remember washing last week? Does that item still have life left in it? What steps can I take to extend the life of that clothing item? Is this an impulse buy that does not reflect my wearing habits I have come to notice on laundry day? This way, we can make informed and intentional clothing purchases that reflect our personal wearing habits, rather than impulsively following trends or buying items we could substitute with what we already own and love.  

If you’re looking for some easy steps to incorporate mindful, earth-conscious habits into your cleaning routines, laundry day is the perfect place to start. It is easy to get caught in negative thought loops, just as easy as it is to get caught in impulsive buying habits – when we take the time to slow down, complete agenda items with intention, and reflect on our personal needs, we can feel better and save money. Why not take your next laundry day as an opportunity to reflect on the points we’ve discussed and see how your relationship to “the worst day of the week” shifts in perspective? We believe everyone can come to love laundry day!