Laundry is a mundane, tedious task, especially in peak season. As a rental owner, you’ll spend quite some time collecting, sorting, washing, folding, and restocking. Since it’s already unavoidable, why not make it more enjoyable? Here are some suggestions.
Comfortable Laundry Space
A well-designed laundry area can make all the difference, as you will be spending a lot of time there. Many laundry rooms look like basements, and it can dampen the mood additionally when you already don’t feel like working. Improve the lighting, add some plants, and design the shelving so that everything is at hand. Make the most used products the closest and easiest to reach, and organize the rest according to frequency and purpose of use.
High-Quality Equipment
High-quality washers, dryers, irons, and steamers will save you money in the long run, and effort and stress during your everyday work. Besides focusing on quality, don’t forget size — a large-capacity machine will reduce the wait between loads and help you with duvets, pillows, and other bulky items. If you’re dealing with frequent and heavy loads, you can also get a commercial laundry system designed for the hospitality industry.
Supplies
Keep your laundry room well-stocked. Your inventory should contain detergents, fabric softeners, bleaching agents, stain removers, dryer sheets, color catchers, and machine cleaners. Having everything at hand means no interruptions in the laundry process, and pausing work to hit the store would while waiting for guests would make any rental owner upset..
Pleasant Scents
Once you open the dryer and smell the clean, warm linen, it’s like a reward for all your hard work. Get the most out of these moments by using softeners and laundry perfumes with all your favorite scents. Try out the most popular aromatherapy combininations such as lavender, eucalyptus, lemon, and vanilla.
Play Music or Listen to Podcasts
Turn the chore into a time to unwind or even learn something new — create playlists, play entire albums to keep track of time, or listen to podcasts or audiobooks. This way, you won’t feel as bored and time will go by faster.
Set a Routine
Laundry piles up fast and the only way to prevent thaty is to set a routine. Designate a time for the task, such as mid-week, or on less busy days so you always have clean linen for the next batch of guests. Also create stain removal routines, so you know exactly what you need to do every time. Laminate a guide and prepar all the supply so you can spend less time thinking (and stressing) about stains.
Use Efficient Systems
If you have a high turnover of guests and many loads that you need to wash and restock, use a system that hotels have. You can purchase color-coded labels to add onto your linen so you can easily tell what is what (for example, what is king size, what is queen size). There are also linen manufacturers that add labels like this on their own.
Another system is using a color for each room (for example, bathrooms are green, bedrooms are blue) or purpose. This will save you time sorting laundry and waiting for bins to fill enough to wash.
Offer Laundry Services for Guests
Kill two birds (hampers?) with one stone. Guests often want to do their own laundry, and many look for accommodation with laundry services so they can pack more lightly. By offering on-site laundry facilities, you can ease your workload and provide your guests with a useful service.
Make It a Social Activity
Include your family members or friends into the process. It can make time go faster, but also speed up the work as you’ll have some help. You can also video call friends while you fold or iron laundry.
Reward Yourself
If you want to create a positive association with laundry day and make it annoy you less, plan a reward for after you’re done. This can be a snack, a drink with friends, a TV show, or a book you’ve been waiting to read.
