One of the most dreaded¹, tedious and boring household chores is doing laundry. The sooner we can get it over with, the better. We can hardly wait for the day a genius inventor designs a gadget² that can wash, dry, fold, press and hang our clothes without human intervention³. But until that day comes, we must devote major chunks⁴ of our precious time to doing our laundry. How can we save time? Here are some minute-saving tips.

洗衣服是一项单调乏味、令人望而生畏的家务活，在这件事情上花费的时间越少越好。一心盼着有一天哪位天才的发明家能设计出一款集洗、烘、叠、压、挂于一身、而又无需值守的洗衣机器来。但只要这一天不到，我们就还得把大量宝贵的时间用在洗衣上。那么怎么才能节省洗衣服的时间呢？下面就给出几个洗衣省时的小窍门。

1

Use a three-bin⁵ hamper⁶ system. Whether it's one big hamper with three sections or three different hampers⁷ lined up, it doesn't matter as long as you can use it to presort your laundry. Label the first bin "Whites," the second bin "Light Colors" and the third bin "Dark Colors." Toss your dirty and soiled clothes into the appropriate bins⁸ as soon as you take them off. This will save you time from sorting your clothes out of one big, dirty laundry heap.

预先将待洗衣物进行分类。这需要一个盛衣物的大篮子，分为三个隔档，也可以是三个小篮子，反正能把待洗衣物分开就行。你可在三个篮子上分别标注上“白色衣物”、 “浅色衣物”、 “深色衣物”，当你脱下准备要洗的衣服时，就可以根据情况把衣服放进适当的篮子里。这样，洗衣时就不要再对一大堆脏衣服中进行分拣，从而节省时间。

2

Designate a laundry day and do it all in one swoop⁹. Doing one big batch¹⁰ of laundry is faster than doing two small batches¹¹ on separate occasions. Washing and drying full loads is also more cost-effective in terms of power and water consumption.

将脏衣物攒够数集中洗。一堆衣物，一次洗要比分次洗花费的时间更短。再说啦，集中进行洗、烘，也省电省水。

3

Use wheeled laundry carts. Wheeled devices will help facilitate transporting dirty (and clean) laundry to and from the designated areas. A wheeled cart can move loads that will otherwise require two or more trips to carry between the laundry room and the walk-in closets.

准备一辆带轮子的洗衣小车。洗衣时免不了要将衣物在洗衣房和衣柜室之间来回倒腾，一辆小车将会使这个过程变得方便快捷。

Use the appropriate wash cycle. Observe how long it takes for your washer to go through the "Normal" cycle. Are your clothes so dirty that they need to be subjected to an hour-long wash and rinse¹² process? If your laundry is mostly regular casual wear, consider using a shorter cycle. It not only saves time, but also reduces the unnecessary abuse your wardrobe is getting from the "Normal" cycle.

设置适当的洗涤时间。观察你的洗衣设备正常洗涤需要的时间，衣物太脏时要考虑是不是需要延长洗涤时间？如果所洗衣物大多是些常洗常换的衣服，建议设置较短的洗涤时间。这样不仅可以节省时间，还能使衣物免受因洗涤而受到的损坏。

5

Multitask. Doing laundry requires very little brain function; therefore, do something else at the same time. Read a book/magazine or do some gardening while the dryer¹³ is spinning and watch television, listen to the radio or phone your folks while folding and ironing clothes.

兼做其他事情。洗衣服不需要动太多脑筋，因此，可以同时做其它的事情。烘衣服时，可以读读书、看看报、浇浇花、种种草；熨烫衣服时，可以听听广播、看看电视、或者给亲友在电话里聊聊天什么的。

6

Get a helping¹⁴ hand. Make laundry day a family activity. The more hands, the faster you load and unload the washer/dryer, move and carry the laundry baskets and fold and hang the clothes. Laundry day might even turn out to be a fun day.

找个帮手。让洗衣成为一项家庭的活动。洗衣时，需要搬弄机器、挪动衣篮、摆弄衣物，人手越多，这些事就会做得越快，大家合作得好了，甚至可以把洗衣变成一件有意思的事情。

7

Have someone else do it. This will definitely save you time, but of course, it comes with a price.

让其他人去做。这肯定会节省你的时间，当然，你要付出一定的代价。