A box or bottle of all-purpose laundry detergent. Give it a sniff before you buy it--be certain that you like the scent.

Laundry baskets or bag: Bags work fine for carrying in dirty clothes, but baskets keep folded laundry together more neatly.

Optional:

An abundant quantity of coins (if you're using a pay-as-you-go, self-serve laundromat). Most are engineered to accept exactly one kind of coin--in the U.S., that's a quarter. Figure on the local equivalent of two dollars (U.S.) of change per load. If you can't scare that much coin before you go, try to round up your least crumpled small-denomination banknotes. Laundromat change machines are notoriously picky.

Fabric softener, if you care to indulge in this product, makes clothes feel softer, and in some cases, reduces static cling. Some people wouldn't think of a washday without it, while others dismiss it as a marketing gimmick. It's a matter of personal taste.

When washing several loads, these tasks can be done simultaneously:

5 minutes to sort laundry

25-35 minutes per wash load

30-50 minutes per dry load

5 minutes per load to fold

Bleach alternatives: If weather and real estate permit, consider doing what the Portuguese and most other cultures do traditionally; hang your whites out in the midday sun. They'll usually end up sparkly clean with a wonderful, fresh-air smell. Air drying is also less harsh on clothes than tumbling around in a dryer.

Load abandonment at the laundromat is not recommended. If you leave your laundry in the washer or dryer and then cruise off on other errands, be sure you know the cycle time of the wash--and make sure to return before it finishes. If you return hours later, you may find your laundry removed from the machine, by another customer. If you're lucky they'll move your wet stuff to a dryer, but you may also find them sopping in a pile .

Clear your lint trap!! Do it twice: before you start (because chances are the person before you didn't) and afterwards (because you're a nice person).

2torial #0454: Learn2 Wash, Dry and Fold Your Laundry Honey, I shrunk the clothes! For some of us it's the most difficult part of striking out from home and living on your own: battling that mysterious transformation of wardrobe into the Laundry Lump, a rapidly-mounting pile that threatens to leave you huddled naked in your room. But fear not: this 2torial will show you how to restore that pile of cloth to its useful state, with a minimum of hassles and time. These instructions talk you through the task either at home (with your basic domestic machinery) or at the laundromat (with the coin-operated types). Decide when "laundry time" occurs and stick to that schedule; don't always wait until you're down to last year's Halloween costume and a trenchcoat. There's a wide range of views on the optimal time to do laundry: some folks wait until two or three loads pile up. Others have a weekly date with their washer and dryer that they'd hate to miss. You'll have to decide for yourself where you fit into that range. If you want a weekly schedule, pick a time where you won't have too many other temptations (i.e., Saturday night, or the night of your favorite TV show). If you rebel at the notion of a schedule but don't want to always be driven by desperation, you may want to pick a "trigger item" in your wardrobe. For example: the day you wear that green striped shirt (you know, the one you don't really like but can't throw away), that's the trigger for laundry day. If going to a laundromat, consider bringing a book or magazine, or perhaps some letter-writing materials. Rather than dashing about to complete other errands, consider this your time to relax and have some quiet time while. And you'll be keeping a better watch over your clothes (theft, even of soggy clothes, is not uncommon in some parts). Sort your clothes Sort the clothes by colors. Once you have a week or two weeks' worth of clothes, sort them as follows: whites, light colors, dark colors, and delicates. Dark colors include garments such as jeans, dark socks, dark colored t-shirts, and dark-colored underwear. Whites are, obviously, all-white clothes, but also white t-shirts with silk-screened images. Light color garments is a good catch-all category. This includes striped white garments and pastel colors. Delicates are items that would probably best be washed by hand or dry cleaned, such as sweaters, woolens, blouses or skirts, dress shirts or linens. Don't wash anything that labeled "Dry Clean Only" in a washing machine. If you'd like to avoid dry-cleaning for financial and environmental reasons, check out some of the gentle detergents like Woolite, which is made for dry-clean items. Wash special clothes by hand Wash reds or any new, colored garments by themselves for the first time. They can bleed and stain the other clothes in the same wash. Or you can simply dip them in almost-hot water in a sink to see if they bleed. If they don't, they're probably safe to wash with other garments. Pre-treat stubborn stains If there's an especially stubborn stain, pre-treat it. Rub a small amount of liquid detergent into the stain. Or use one of the many sprays or liquid stain treatments. Wash the remaining clothes Most washing machines have dials that turn clockwise only. Generally, push in the dial, turn to proper setting, and pull out to activate. Put the soap in first. Each detergent is different, although you should generally use no more than a half a coffee cup of powdered detergent per full load, or a third of a coffee cup of liquid detergent. Too much detergent can cause overflow problems, or clump up in the folds of your clothes and not wash out properly. Read the directions on the box to determine how much detergent to use. Most manufacturers include a scoop for powdered detergents and a measured cap for liquid detergent.   Evenly distribute the clothes. The weight of the laundry should be evenly balanced around the inside cylinder. This will prevent the inside cylinder from spinning off its track during the wash, and ensure even and fair washing among the clothes.   Set the water temperature: Keep in mind that machines vary and read any special notices that may be listed. There are two temperatures indicated, one for the wash cycle and one for the rinse cycle. Whites - Hot/Cold Light Colors - Warm/Cold Dark Colors - Warm/Cold or Cold/Cold Delicates - Cold/Cold   Set the machine-wash cycle: Whites - Regular Light Colors - Regular or Permanent Press Dark Colors - Regular or Permanent Press Delicates - Delicate Some say follow the soap with water, some say with laundry. May the great debate continue. If there are instructions printed on the inside lid of your washing machine, you may want to follow them. Dry your clothes If you're cash-strapped, environmentally conscious or just want to minimize your time in laundromats, dry your clothes on a clothesline or on a folding, wooden, clothes-drying rack. Both are available at hardware stores and will save you a lot of money over the long-term. Otherwise, head for the dryer. For some reason, most dryer dials turn both ways--as opposed to most washing machines, which have dials that turn clockwise only. Generally, push the dryer dials in to turn to the setting, and pull them out to activate. There's often an extra button on the dryer which starts the process. If you open the door to check how well the clothes are being dried, hit the bottom again to start.   Important! Remove the lint from the lint trap before each load. A full lint trap sharply lowers the effeciency of your dryer and often results in very unhappy (read: damp) clothes.   Drying times depend on the effectiveness of the individual dryer. An older machine could take up to twice as long to dry the same set of clothes. Settings on the dryer are similar to the washer. Dryers also an additional setting whereby you can time your drying cycle. This is generally best done at 40 minutes for a full load to start. If you come back and the clothes need more time, try it 20 minutes at a time. If you dry your clothes for too long, they can shrink. It also wears and tears on them a bit, too.   Jeans and towels take the longest to dry. If faced with a large load, one option is to pull out the easily-dried items (underwear, etc.) when finished early in the load to allow more heat for the others. Fold your shirt Find a flat, open space to fold your clothes. A bed, or a clean table or floor are all good spots. Put each folded garment out of the way in a clean space as you finish with each piece. It's best to fold items when they are still warm. Lie the garment on a flat surface and smooth out the wrinkles. If smoothed when warm, they'll stay that way.   Shirts: Hold the shirt by its shoulders. Flap up and down once or twice so it hangs straight. Lay it face-down on the folding surface and smooth out any folds. You can do an extra neat job by pulling gently on the side seams to smooth out the back.   Now start folding. Fold the shirt lengthwise along the line of the outer edge of the collar or neck band. Smooth the sleeve out, using your fingers to pull at the seam, making it slightly taut.   Fold the other side over. Fold it lengthwise, along the line of the outer edge of the collar. Repeat the sleeve-smoother technique.   Fold the shirt in half. Take the bottom edge of the shirt with both hands and fold it up to the collar. You're done--onto the next one! Fold your pants As with shirts, the secret to flat, neatly folded pants lies in lining up the seams and hems of the pants. Hold pants by the waist and flap up and down several times to smooth out large folds. Lay down on folding surface so that the seams from each pant leg are parallel.   Pull gently on those seams until they're slightly taut.   Now you have two options. If you stack your pants in a shelf or drawer, fold your pants in thirds as shown in the diagram. Hanging the pants on a hangar requires only a single fold in the middle of the pants.   Congratulations! You have acquired the skills (well, some of them, at least) to re-enter the world in cleanliness and in style. -end- Learn More!