How to do laundry (because your mum isn't going to do it forever)

If you've always relied on a parent to wash your clothes, it's about time you learned this most essential adulting skill. Doing laundry is boring AF, but really, nobody wants to sit next to the person who smells of mildew, or stale sweat, or last week's taco dinner. 

Here's a beginner's guide to getting your clothes clean.

1. Have a designated laundry bag or basket to put your dirty clothes in, because you’re not going to be doing a load of laundry every day, and keeping them in a pile on the floor is just gross – it will start to stink.

2. When you’re ready to do a load, tip the contents of the basket onto the floor or another convenient flat surface.

3. Decide what kind of wash you need to do. There are two things to consider: colour, and the temperature needed to wash.

Separate your pile into white, light and dark. “Light” can be anything pale in colour, but not pure white. If you don’t separate, the colours from darker clothes can stain your lighter coloured stuff.

Towels, bedding, sports clothes and underwear – stuff that’s likely to be “soiled” – is one sort of load, and is best washed warm (40C) or even hot (60C or more, although these days most launry detergents work at lower temperatures; read the bottle or box).

Everything else, white, light or dark, can be washed (separately) at 30C. Using a liquid detergent is even better than powder, which sometimes needs warm water to work.

You need to be careful with delicates – thin fabric, or stuff like silk, wool and linen. Some of those fabrics can’t go in the washing machine, so read the label inside. If they can, wash them with other delicates of similar colours, on cold (30C). Also be aware that clothes with metal decorations, or transfers should be washed inside-out, and on cold.