You love the fresh, clean feeling of having all of your laundry done, but getting there is a whole different story. Laundry day may be time-consuming, but there are ways to make it easier. Here are a few tips to help you organize your laundry and get it done in half the time.

1. Sort laundry without even trying. It takes a lot of time to sort through your mountain of dirty clothes and separate the lights from the darks. Invest in a three-compartment hamper to do the sorting for you.
2. Bleach more effectively. Bleaching seems like a fool-proof way to remove stains from white clothing, but it doesn’t always work as effectively as you’d like. The proper way to bleach clothes is by first letting the clothing soak in a pool of water. Add one cup of bleach and one cup of dishwashing detergent and let it soak for about half an hour. Finally, dump the whole thing into the washing machine and wash as you normally would.
3. Prevent damage. To reduce fading, turn dark colored items inside out before washing. Use the cold water setting to prevent clothes from shrinking, and then hang them to dry instead of using the dryer. Also, only wash delicates, like bras and underwear, in a lingerie bag on the delicate cycle.
4. Invest in a drying rack. Rather than tossing delicate items over the shower curtain rod or rigging some other kind of makeshift drying rack, invest in the real deal. They're usually inexpensive, and they fold into a flat shape to tuck away when not in use.

10 Tips and Tricks for Easier Laundry Days [Yahoo!]
Easy Laundry Tips [The Nest]
How to Do Laundry More Effectively [Babble]
13 Ways to Make Laundry Day Easier [BHG]

CC-BY-2.0/Flickr/Wicker Paradise

Are you an avid birdwatcher who’s always looking for new birding resources? Lucky for tech-savvy birdwatchers, smartphone apps can help you identify birds, keep track of birds you see on your watches, and even record particularly interesting calls. Here are two great apps for birdwatching.

Peterson Backyard Birds
The Peterson Backyard Birds app is a complete field guide to the birds of North America, enabling users to identify more than 160 common types of birds. This app is ideal for the beginning birdwatcher because it helps to identify the most basic types of birds seen from most backyards, and it provides detailed illustrations of each bird’s appearance. There are even samples of each bird’s call for further help identifying it in the wild.

BirdWatching
With gorgeous nature photography and a magazine-style layout, the BirdWatching app is perfect for the more experienced birdwatcher. Lengthy, detailed articles provide information on the migration patterns and natural habitats of many interesting types of birds, while the ID Tool Kit offers helpful tips and tricks for identifying birds in your watches. If you’re a fan of BirdWatching magazine, you’ll love getting the same wonderful content right on your smartphone.

CC-BY-2.0/Flickr/Don DeBold

Please join us on August 3rd @ 1:10pm at Minute Maid Park for a Great Foundation!!!