Is gathering, sorting, washing, and drying laundry taking up too much of your time? Try these suggestions designed to help you make laundry time efficient and organized.

There's nothing worse than going from family member to family member, asking (or begging) for their dirty laundry. Instead, make sure to have a clothes hamper or basket in every bedroom or bathroom in the house. Lets face it - you're probably not going to get each family member to do his or her laundry. But you can save yourself time by giving them a basket for their clothes. Let your family members know to close all zippers, button all buttons, hook all hooks, and turn their pockets inside out before putting their clothes into the laundry bin. This will prevent possible damage, and will make sure pockets get cleaned of lint and debris.

To save yourself a bit more time, you might consider setting up two bins in your laundry room, for each family member to sort his or her laundry into. Put a sign on each bin - one for DARKS, and one for WHITES. It should only take each family member a minute to sort his or her own laundry, and it will save you the headache of sorting everyone's clothes.

Keep all of your laundry products within reach, and near the washer. You might even want to arrange products from left to right, in the order you'll use them. For example, stain removers on the far left of the shelf, and spray on starch on the far right side. Also be sure to never mix bleach and ammonia, as this can produce toxic, potentially deadly fumes. Have a small container nearby that you can use to empty the contents of pockets - and catch things like change, wallets, keys, and lip gloss, before they go through the wash cycle.

You'll also want to remember to keep your dry cleaning away from the laundry room. We've heard countless times from people who have accidentally washed an expensive dress or shirt marked "Dry Clean Only" and ruined it. A mistake like this can cost hundreds of dollars. Play it safe by keeping dry cleaning in a hall closet, or a bedroom closet.

Laundry stain removal is very important. You need to make sure not to miss any stains on clothing. Be sure to pre-treat the stain before tossing it into the wash. OxiClean® Spray-A-Way Instant Stain Remover is a handy tool to keep with you all the time. It's small enough to fit in your purse or pocket. If you are at a restaurant and spill some spaghetti sauce or wine on your shirt or blouse, just spray some OxiClean® Spray-A-Way on your clothing, blot with a napkin, and the stains will disappear. For tougher stains, try using OxiClean® Laundry Stain Remover. You can use this as a general stain remover (a colorsafe option to chlorine bleach), and you can also use it as a laundry booster by adding some to every load of laundry. It fights the toughest stains – wine, blood, dirt, tomato, grass, ink – even set-in stains. Bleach should only be used if the product allows for it and has no types of colors in it. Even if your clothes look white, using bleach can actually leave a stain and ruin a white piece of clothing, so be careful.

Once clothes have completed their dryer cycle, while they're still warm, hang them up or fold them immediately. (It's helpful to always have a supply of hangers in the laundry room). The longer clothes sit in the dryer, the more wrinkled your clothes will be, and the more time you'll have to spend ironing. Instead, prevent wrinkles before they start. Just make sure you fold your clothes on a flat surface that's high enough that you won't have to slouch or bend down. You want to prevent any potential back injuries from laundry. After all, laundry should be a no-contact sport.

To prevent the problem of unmatched socks, or single socks without their match, here's a simple rule to follow: never take a solo or mismatched sock out of the laundry room. Have a small bag to collect these mystery socks. Eventually, you'll find the match, and it will save you time and money of having to buy a new pair.

Make sure to clean the laundry room when you clean the house. In fact, the laundry room should be the cleanest room in the house. It should be bright and airy, with light colored walls. It should be a well organized, clean, spacious room. This will keep your attitude about laundry more positive. If you enjoy music, you might want to bring your ipod, or a CD player into the laundry room for entertainment. Maybe even a portable TV. Maybe hang some family photos, or some artwork.

Once or twice a year, when laundry begins to overwhelm you, treat yourself. Call a laundromat that specializes in washing, drying, and folding all of your loads for you. They'll often pick up your clothes, and deliver them back to your door when completed. While this can be a bit pricey, it can be a nice escape for those times you feel like taking a vacation from the everyday stress of life.

Laundry is a lot of work, but with the skills we've outlined above, you should become better organized in the laundry room. Before you know it, sorting, washing, drying, ironing, folding, and hanging will be easier than ever before.