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If you find laundry mundane, tedious, and boring, join the club. It’s not fun, but it’s a chore that needs to be done—about 300 loads a year for the average American family. That’s no small amount of time spent in the laundry room, so if you dread this task like I do, it’s worth investing in a few items to make it easier. Fortunately, I’ve rounded up some of the best affordable and practical laundry room essentials products to make laundry day a bit easier.
1. Heavy-Duty Laundry Sorter
I find sorting laundry ahead of time can make all the difference—it puts one less step between me and the washing machine. The Simple Houseware 4-Bag Heavy-Duty Laundry Sorter is a standout in our best laundry hamper guide. It’s a heavy-duty pick, mounted on wheels so it’s easy to cart from room to room. Four bags allow you to sort laundry at the source, though you can opt for a three-bag version if four is too many.
Get the Simple Houseware laundry sorter at Amazon for $40.97.
2. Shirt-Folding Board
For some of us, washing laundry isn’t the difficult part—after all, a machine handles the job. However, folding laundry feels like a never-ending chore. If you’re prone to ignoring a clean (and soon-to-be-wrinkled) pile of laundry like I am, get help with the BoxLegend V5 Shirt-Folding Board, a handy laundry-folding tool. It can help fold T-shirts, sweatshirts, pants, dresses, and more into uniform shapes to store them more easily.
Get the BoxLegend shirt-folding board at Amazon for $19.99.
3. Sock Laundry Tool
I’m not sure why washers and dryers eat socks, I just know it’s aggravating when it happens. Solo socks are no longer a problem with the SockDock Sock Laundry Tool, which keeps sock pairs together. Simple enough for young children to use, all you need to do is load your dirty socks onto the SockDock and watch them stay put throughout the entire laundry process, including washing and drying. This means no more searching to find matching socks when a pile of laundry comes out of the dryer! There are two in a package (one for dirty and one for clean socks), each with a convenient hanging hook.
Get the SockDock sock laundry tool at Amazon for $19.99.
4. Organic Wool Dryer Balls
These smiling sheep Wool Dryer Balls by Friendsheep make laundry day feel a bit more fun. Our expert-approved pick for the best dryer balls is eco-friendly, organic, and suitable for sensitive skin. They’re our favorite because they’re ethically handmade in Nepal from 100 percent pure New Zealand wool. They’ll fluff up and reduce wrinkles for over 1,000 dryer loads per ball. Plus, this pack includes six, so they should last you for years.
Get the Friendsheep wool dryer balls at Amazon for $32.00.
5. Washing Machine Cleaner
A stinky washing machine makes doing laundry feel even worse. After battling a musty washer that the usual DIY methods weren’t clearing up, I reached for Affresh Washing Machine Cleaner. It worked well, banishing the stale smell I had been trying to eliminate for weeks. It even inspired me to write a full Affresh Washing Machine Cleaner review.
Get the Affresh washing machine cleaner (6 tablets) at Amazon for $10.16.
6. Laundry Guard
When laundry already feels like a chore, there’s nothing more annoying than a clean sock falling into the dusty gap behind the washing machine. The Haus Maus Laundry Guard solves this problem. It’s designed for most front-loading machines (as long as it has a fully metal top) and has a magnet base to keep it in place. If you habitually toss your laundry on top of your washer and dryer like I do, this is a must-have.
Get the Haus Maus laundry guard at Amazon for $31.95.
7. Wall-Mounted Drying Rack
As an apartment dweller, I argue that the worst part of laundry day is having a clunky clothes rack take up the entire living room. The Honey-Can-Do Wall-Mounted Drying Rack can help. It can be mounted on a wall or hung over a door to provide a dedicated space for hanging laundry. Install it in your laundry room or bathroom to keep laundry out of sight and out of mind. It also comes in a larger size if you have more pieces to hang.
Get the Honey-Can-Do wall-mounted drying rack at Amazon for $39.47.
8. Laundry Turtle
The Laundry Turtle makes it easier to transfer laundry loads, so you can grab every item in one go. It’s essentially a flexible laundry basket that you can place right inside front-loading machines. Turn the washer or dryer drum around, and the entire load will fall into the flexible hamper. It’s as simple as ever to transfer loads between machines or take them out to fold. When the job is done, this hamper folds up into a compact package, making it a great replacement for a bulky laundry hamper.