Earlier this month we asked you to tell us what household chore do you dread the most? Doing laundry was the clear winner.

The average family washes nearly 400 loads of laundry a year — more than a load a day — and Americans spend more than $3 billion on detergent. (The Environmental Protection Agency) That is A LOT of time and money!

As promised, here are some tips to take some of the dread out of this totally dreadful household chore.

Sort Smarter

Tip One: In my house we have two side by side hampers; one is for whites and the other for colors. By separating our clothes by colors, we let our hampers do the work for us. Seriously, who has time to go through each item of dirty laundry? Once it is time to do laundry we simply dump the hamper right into the washing machine. It looks kind of like this…minus the adorable kitty of course.

Tip Two: Give each person in your house a lingerie bag for their socks. Wash and dry the socks in the bag. This will save you time AND fix the missing sock problem that has plagued the world since the invention of socks.

Get It Done Faster

One of the reasons laundry is so dreadful is because of the time it takes out of our day. According to Daily Mail Reporter, the average mother spends five months of her life doing laundry. (To be fair to men, my husband always help with laundry)

While we dream of the day where a genius inventor figures out how to get laundry clean in the blink of an eye, there are some quick tips to speed up the process in the meantime.

Skip Ironing (if possible)

Tip Three: When you can, try to fold clothes while they are still warm from the dryer. This will help to avoid wrinkles.

Tip Four: For those who can’t, I learned the power of shower steam from my mom at a young age and have used this as a go to trick when I am crunched for time. Hang up items that need ironing in the bathroom and turn up the water to the highest temperature on your shower. Of course, be careful not to burn yourself. Close the door and let the room fill up with steam and wait for at least 10 minutes. Voila!

Shorten Dry Time

Tip Five: If you’re in a rush for a load of laundry to dry–try tossing a clean, thick cotton towel in the dryer with the wet clothes. The towel will absorb some of the moisture and clothes will dry faster. If it’s a large load of laundry, throw in two or three towels. (Tipnut)

Become a Folding Pro

I worked in retail for a year in college. During that year I learned two things. 1) I affirmed my hatred for folding. 2) I learned I didn’t know the “right way” to fold things.

Tips Six, Seven and Eight: We have already tackled How to Fold a Fitted Sheet (an enigma to many), a way to get rid of all your bathroom towels and the best way to Fold Your T-Shirt but here are some other tips and tricks that will help turn you into a folding ninja:

Tip Nine: How to fold jeans

Tip Ten: How to fold socks and maximize drawer space

Put it away…NOW

Tip Eleven: My last tip and one you will hate me and then thank me for…make putting your clothes away hard on yourself. As soon as my husband and I finish laundry we take it out and put the folded clothes on our bed. By doing this we force ourselves to put it right away the same day, or else we’d be sleeping on the floor.

I hope these tips make the most dreaded household chore, laundry, a little bit easier. What household chore would you like us to write about next?