Sorting Laundry -
 

Why is there always one item that does not go with anything else and languishes unwashed for weeks (months, sometimes) because it is an "orphan"?

The intensely yellow shirt - does not go with the whites or lights - does not go with the darks -
The black and white striped shirt -
The wool socks -
The new intensely colored shirt - (magenta or teal)

I have sometimes gotten so annoyed at that one item that I will wash it by itself - but because I was raised to be frugal with water, that causes me "pain". If I get really "desperate", I will wash it by hand.

And where does that kleenex come from? I thought I checked all the pockets!

Anyone else?

LOL! I retired in December and just got around to washing one of those orphan tops I used to wear to work. And the Kleenex, yeah, I hear you.

At my house anything orphan goes in with denims . . . unless it is fragile, then I chastise myself for the purchase while handwashing it.

Yes, those Kleenex pop up all the time--lol !

Get some colour catchers (Shout is great) and was with whatever load the fabric goes with. That usually protects everything. My DD throws everything together which drives me nuts but most(!) of the time it works....

I thought that was what sheets were for.

I use the color catchers too. I do still separate the whites from the darks and since we have so many grays I have that pile too. And there is a pile for delicates - this is where the color catchers really go to work because there just isn't enough for separate loads and I will not wash them by hand. Same with the fabrics I bring home - they all go together with warm water and a color catcher (mainly because I want to know if one of the fabrics is going to bleed).

It seems I ‘sort’ Kleenex with darks only. How can one small tissue cover everything in the wash inside and out?

I watched a you tube video where a young woman showed how she did laundry in a family of a lot of children. She said she sorted by like fabrics not caring about color except for the whites. If I have a loose item I add it to whatever is left. It might need to go in a lingerie bag. I don’t find anything lately runs color wise

I wash everything in cold. No color running. Comes out clean. Things I want to bleach, I separate and bleach, but that's not often. Spot treating and washing regularly works for me