Laundry!

I know that the fact I don't mind doing laundry makes me strange (though I don't like to fold). I can't remember ever damaging any clothes I have, or really screwing up in any big way. There are just a few rules and tricks I make sure to employ.

1) I very rarely use hot water
Unless the load is all whites, I don't ever go over "warm". Modern laundry detergents are orders of magnitude better than the "Tide" of yesteryear when in warm and even cold water. Hotter water encourages colors to fade more quickly.

2) Silkscreen-printed items are turned inside-out
I have an inordinate amount of T-shirts, accumulated over years at high school and college. Some are thus almost 20 years old - and the silkscreen is largely intact. Put the print on the inside, and it is subject to far less physical wear from other items in the wash.

3) Don't overload the washer
As tempting as it is to get through that wash more quickly, it really compromises the ability for the soapy water to flush through laundry when the machine has too much in it. Start filling the washer with the largest items and work down to the smallest.

4) Don't use too much/too little detergent
Read the recommendations on the detergent package and realize that they are a generalization (for an "average" wash), and adjust up and down as necessary. Clothes won't get much cleaner if you put in tons of soap - in fact, it can create a mess, and your washer may not be able to get all the detergent out without an extra rinse.

5) Use good detergent
Generally speaking, any major brand (Tide, All, etc) will do a good job of cleaning your clothes. The few dollars you save (across many loads of laundry) buying lousy detergent is not efficient use of your time or money. Do some research and find one of the major or store brands that works well, smells the way you like it to, and satisfies your budget. I currently use the Costco house brand "Kirkland - Free and Clear" liquid. I prefer the unscented, as I don't want to smell like... laundry soap.

6) "Boost" your detergent
I'm dubious of just about anything that sells itself via infomercial, but somehow I started using Oxy-Clean - and after it performed a few miracles, I became a believer. I had a few cotton dress shirts that had some stains that didn't want to go away - and I figured I had nothing to lose. Filled up my 40+ year old laundry sink with hot water, put in 10 or so scoops of Oxy-Clean, dropped in the shirts, and let them soak for several hours, after which I ran them through a normal wash - and they came out looking practically brand new. Stains gone, color brighter. And the laundry tub was much cleaner as well!