How to Do Your Own Laundry!

This 18 step guide is the complete guide for doing your own laundry.

Step 1: Gather Materials

Doing your own laundry will require:

- A washing machine

- Laundry Detergent

- A drying machine

- Dryer sheets

And of course, your dirty laundry, with a basket for transportation to the washing machine.

Step 2: Take Laundry to Washing Machine

The first step to doing your own laundry is to transport your dirty laundry to the washing machine for loading.

Step 3: Load Laundry Into Machine

Once you've transported your laundry basket to the machine, it's time to load it into the washing machine. Open the door to the machine and place all laundry inside the machine. (Door location may vary by machine.)

Step 4: Find and Open Detergent Compartment

Once your laundry has been loaded into the machine, locate the sliding compartment for laundry detergent. On this particular model of washing machine, the compartment is on the front-top-left of the machine.

Step 5: Add Detergent to Washing Machine

Once the detergent compartment has been opened, you will want to open the bottle of laundry detergent and pour a significant amount of detergent into the container. For most loads of laundry, the detergent has the amount necessary for use. For this particular load, I added approximately one cup. Some detergent comes in "pods," for which you must add one pod on the inside of the washing machine.

Step 6: Close Detergent Door

After you've added laundry detergent to your washing machine, you must now close the door to the compartment where the detergent was added so that it may drain into the machine without making a mess.

Step 7: Set Wash Cycle

Once the clothes are inside and the detergent has been added, it is now time to select a wash cycle. For this particular model of washing machine, the cycle is selected using the dial in the middle. I have opted for a one hour cycle to ensure that my clothes are clean. If you are in a hurry, you may set the cycle for less than one hour but it may not be as clean.

Step 8: Start the Washing Cycle

Now that you have selected a cycle for the washing machine, you must now press the start button, shown in the image above. This will start the washing cycle and the countdown timer.

Step 9: Move Wet Clothes Into Dryer

Once the timer has expired on the washing machine, you must transfer your laundry into the dryer. This will ensure that the clothes dry quickly and do not begin to smell.

Step 10: Remove Lint Trap

Once your laundry has been loaded into the dryer, you must remove the lint trap and check for lint. For this particular model of dryer, the lint trap is in the front, underneath the door.

Step 11: Check Lint Trap for Lint

Once you have removed the lint trap from the dryer, you must check the trap for lint that may have been left over from a previous dry. If there is any lint on the trap, it must be removed by hand. For this particular load, there wasn't any left over lint. Failure to remove large amounts of lint could be hazardous and could potentially start a fire.

Step 12: Replace Lint Trap

Once all lint has been removed from the lint trap, replace the lint trap by putting it back into the dryer. It is important to ensure that the trap is facing the same direction that it was when you took it out of the machine or it will not work properly.

Step 13: Grab Dryer Sheet

Once the lint trap has been replaced, you must locate your dryer sheets. Dryer sheets prevent wrinkling and static electricity to ensure that your laundry is soft when it is done drying.

Step 14: Place 1-2 Dryer Sheets Inside Dryer

Take 1-2 dryer sheets and place them inside the dryer. I have opted to use 1 sheet for this particular load because it is not a very large load. However, for larger loads, you may want to use 2 sheets.

Step 15: Close Dryer

Once the dryer sheets have been placed inside the dryer with your laundry, you will want to close the door to the dryer. Again, the location of the door may vary but for this particular machine, the door is on the front. Ensure that the door is closed all the way or the dryer may not function correctly.

Step 16: Set Dryer Cycle

Now it is time to set the cycle for the dryer. I have opted to go with a 60 minute cycle to ensure that all of the laundry is all the way dry when it is done.

Step 17: Remove Laundry From Dryer

Once the dryer cycle is up, you will want to remove your clothes from the dryer. Discard the dryer sheets and take the laundry back to your room for folding.

Step 18: Hang Clothes

Once you have transported your clothes back to your room, you will want to hang them up for organizational purposes. Once you have hung your clothes up, you have finished your laundry! Repeat steps 1-18 for every load of laundry that you have to do. Congratulations!