Advice: Laundry in France

I realized that I really should write a post about doing laundry in France because it's a bit more complicated than in the United States!

There are TWO steps to doing laundry.  The first part is washing it, the second part is drying it.  I am fortunate enough to own a washer, so my explanation will be done under that assumption- for others you'll just go to an 'auto laundry' and do the same as home.

Let's begin.

First off here's the 'weapons' against the dirt, we have some laundry soap and detergent.  Make sure to get color safe, around 60 degree c max.

And here we have the basket of laundry and the washer...

Separate the darks from the lights.  I wash yellows or light greens with the lights, dark greens and colors in the darks.  NEVER MIX A BLUE or JEANS with a WHITE OR LIGHT shirt.  I ruined some clothes that way.

Stuff the laundry into the washer..

Pour the laundry into the containers...

 

Pour in the softener...

Choose the corresponding heat... for lights/cottons it's okay for higher heats, colors I use lower heat to save the color.

Turn the knob...

Start the laundry...

Voilà!!

Part II is a bit more time consuming..  you'll need one of these:

And some clothes hangers.  You hang you allow to dry for about a day for socks and light clothes, and 2 days for heavier clothes.

Jeans will be crispy and loose...

Still!!  Better for the electricity bill.  Good luck!