What tools make laundry easier for busy parents?

By Catherine Spiteri in Jul 8, 2026

When you have kids, the problem with laundry is not that you do not know how to wash clothes. It is that the machine runs twice a day and there is never enough time to keep up. The right tools do not make a parent better at laundry. They give you minutes back and protect the things you have already paid for, so you are not replacing shoes and uniforms on top of everything else. The trick is knowing which few tools do that, and which just add another step.

In short. The tools that make laundry easier for busy parents are the ones that save real time or protect what you have paid for: sorting baskets so the load arrives grouped, mesh bags for delicates and shoes, a drying rack, a small-items container, and a structured shoe wash bag. The biggest free win is washing cold on a delicate cycle at 600 to 800rpm, which cuts the running cost and makes clothes last longer.

This is a question about time before it is a question about tools. A busy parent does not need forty gadgets. You need the handful that remove a step from a routine you repeat every single day, and that stop you buying the same school shoes or sports kit twice. So here is the honest version: the time the laundry really costs, the short kit that gives some of it back, and the one job most kits ignore.

The real problem is time, and it is not shared evenly

The reason laundry feels heavy when you have kids is simple. There is more of it, it never stops, and the work mostly lands on one person. Australian Bureau of Statistics figures show women average about four hours and fifty-three minutes a day on unpaid work, and that 70% of women do daily housework compared with 42% of men (Source: ABS, how Australians use their time). That is the load behind the question. A good tool is worth its space only if it gives some of that time back or shares it more evenly, by making the routine simple enough that anyone in the house can do it.

The consumer body CHOICE makes the point that the biggest laundry savings come from a better system and gentler habits, washing less often, in cold water, treating delicates gently, rather than from buying another product (Source: CHOICE, laundry tips to save your clothes). Tools support a good system. They do not replace one.

The short kit that actually saves a busy parent time

A complete family laundry kit is smaller than the aisle suggests.

Sorting baskets, one decision made early. Two or three baskets so the wash comes out already grouped by person or type. Sorting at the source is far faster than untangling a mixed pile at the machine, and it is the one job kids can be handed.
Mesh bags for delicates and small items. A fine mesh bag keeps tiny socks, bras and anything with straps from being lost or chewed by the machine. Fewer lost items means fewer replacements.
A drying rack. Air drying is gentler than the dryer, free to run, and kinder to school uniforms and sports kit that the dryer would shrink or wear out faster.
A container for the small things. A lidded box or compartment for socks, laces and insoles. Most of the time lost on laundry day goes to matching socks, not folding shirts.
A structured shoe wash bag and trees. The one tool most family kits skip, and the one that protects the most expensive items in the wash. More on that below.

That is the kit. Everything past it is a refinement, not a requirement.

The cheapest tool of all is your wash setting

Before you buy anything, change one thing for free. The biggest cost in a family laundry is the energy, and most of that energy heats water you do not need to heat. CHOICE puts it plainly: about 90% of a washing machine's energy goes to heating the water, which makes cold washing the single biggest saving in the room (Source: CHOICE, how green is your laundry routine). A cold wash on a delicate cycle at 600 to 800rpm costs nothing to switch to, cuts the running bill on every load, and is gentler on uniforms and shoes so they last longer. The Australian Government's YourHome guidance puts a figure on the heat cost: a warm or hot wash can cost 80 to 90% more to run than a cold one (Source: YourHome, Australian Government). The spin matters too, since most machines run anywhere from 400 to 1600rpm and a moderate spin is gentler on fabric and shoes than a hard, fast one (Source: Miele Australia, laundry care guide). With the machine running twice a day, that saving adds up fast.

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The job most kits ignore: the kids' shoes

There is one part of the family wash that almost no laundry kit has a plan for, and it is the one carrying the most home from the day. Kids' shoes are filthy in a way adults' rarely are. A University of Arizona study led by microbiologist Charles Gerba found an average of 421,000 units of bacteria on the outside of a shoe, with coliform bacteria present on 96% of the shoes tested (Source: CIRI, study reveals high bacteria levels on footwear). That is what walks in from the playground and the oval and gets tracked through the house. Washing shoes is not vanity, it is hygiene, and it is the one laundry job parents most want a safe way to do.

The safe way is in a bag, not loose. Appliance guidance is consistent that shoes should go in inside a bag, with a few towels to soften the load, on a cold gentle cycle (Source: Whirlpool, how to wash shoes in the washing machine). A loose shoe in the drum is what damages both the shoes and the machine. Keep the wash cold, too, because heat is the enemy of the shoe: most athletic-footwear adhesives soften above 40°C, which is how soles start to peel (Source: Nike, how to clean your shoes). Nike suggests cleaning shoes about every two weeks or whenever they look dirty, which for school shoes is a realistic rhythm that keeps the grime from setting in (Source: Nike, how to clean your shoes). It is worth pulling the insoles out, too: ASICS notes that insoles absorb the sweat that breeds the bacteria behind shoe odour, so cleaning them separately does more for the smell than washing the upper alone (Source: ASICS, how to clean your running shoes).

How to make the family wash easier, step by step

Tools only help if the routine is built around them. A calmer laundry day is a sequence, not a scramble.

Sort at the source. Keep two or three baskets where the washing is shed, so the load arrives pre-grouped. Hand this job to the kids; it is the easiest one to share.
Bag the small and the delicate. Tiny socks, bras and anything with straps go into a mesh bag so nothing is lost or damaged in the drum.
Wash cold, delicate, 600 to 800rpm. The free setting that saves money on every load and protects uniforms and shoes. No need for hot water for everyday wash.
Wash the shoes in a structured bag, never loose. One shoe per compartment with a shoe tree in, laces and insoles in the centre, a few towels in the drum to balance the load.
Air dry, and contain the small things. Dry on a rack out of direct heat, and put socks, laces and insoles into one container so nothing is lost between the bench and the drawer.

The full cold-wash and shoe-wash method, including settings, is on our Care Guide.

Where the Shoe Wash Kit fits

Shoes are the one laundry job most family kits ignore, and the one that does the most damage when it goes wrong, because a loose shoe in the drum can chip the machine and lose its shape. The Shoe Wash Kit is a three-compartment bag plus a pair of adjustable shoe trees. One outer compartment takes each shoe so the pair never touches mid-cycle, and a centre compartment holds the laces and insoles, the small things that otherwise vanish. More than 3,000 soft chenille fingers line the inside and hold each shoe off the drum wall, and a 3D mesh panel at each end lets the water move through. On the Chalk Kit there is no dye anywhere in the bag, so there is nothing to transfer onto your white runners. It is tested to ISO 105-C06 grade 4 colour fastness and stress tested to 50 cycles at 60°C and 1400rpm, which is the durability test, not a usage instruction. Recommended use is a cold wash, on a delicate or gentle cycle, with the spin set to 600 to 800rpm, air dry only. Designed for canvas, mesh and synthetic shoes. Not designed for leather or suede.

The busy-parent laundry kit at a glance

Tool	What it does for you	Worth it?
Sorting baskets	Load arrives pre-grouped, kids can help	Essential
Mesh bags for small items	Stops lost socks and damaged delicates	Essential
Drying rack	Gentle, free, saves the uniforms	Essential
Small-items container	Ends the sock search	Essential
Shoe wash bag + trees	Protects shoes and the machine	Essential if you wash shoes
Cold, delicate, 600 to 800rpm	Cuts running cost, makes things last	Free, do it today

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About Mudroom Co

Mudroom Co is a small Australian premium brand making home care tools for active families. We build for the way people actually use their homes, not the way the catalogue says they do. We launch in July 2026 with one product, the Shoe Wash Kit: a three-compartment bag plus a pair of adjustable shoe trees, built chalk cream inside and out, with a eucalyptus zip, piping and tag the only colour you see. It is tested to ISO 105-C06 grade 4 colour fastness and stress tested to 50 cycles at 60°C and 1400rpm. We are based in Melbourne and we sell direct. The machine washes the shoes. The bag protects them. That is the whole brand in one line.

Frequently asked questions

What tools make laundry easier for busy parents?

Sorting baskets so the load arrives grouped, mesh bags for delicates and small items, a drying rack, a container for socks and laces, and a structured shoe wash bag with trees. Those few cover the family load and save real time. The rest of the aisle is optional.

What is the single best change a busy parent can make in the laundry?

Switch the default wash to cold on a delicate cycle at 600 to 800rpm. It costs nothing, cuts the running bill on every load since about 90% of a machine's energy heats the water, and is gentler on uniforms and shoes so they last longer.

Can I wash my kids' school shoes in the washing machine?

Canvas, mesh and synthetic shoes, yes, in a structured wash bag with shoe trees, on a cold delicate cycle at 600 to 800rpm with a few towels, then air dried. Never wash them loose, and keep leather and suede out of the machine.

How often should I wash my children's shoes?

About every two weeks, or whenever they look dirty, is a realistic rhythm. Kids' shoes carry far more dirt and bacteria than adults', so a regular wash is hygiene rather than vanity, and it stops grime setting in.

How do I get the kids to help with the laundry?

Give them the jobs a system makes simple: sorting into baskets, carrying their own pile, matching socks at the end. A laundry where every task has a clear home is one anyone in the house can use without being told where things go.

Are expensive laundry tools worth it for a family?

Where they last, yes. A durable basket, rack or shoe wash bag bought once is cheaper than replacing a cheap one repeatedly, and protecting shoes and uniforms saves the bigger cost of replacing them. Skip the novelty gadgets.

About the author

Catherine Spiteri is the founder of Mudroom Co. With two teenage kids, an overflowing mudroom and a washing machine running twice a day, she noticed how few quality tools existed to make busy home life easier, and to protect the things we use every day so they last.

She started Mudroom Co because, while the tools existed, she could not find any made properly for the lives people actually lead. She has thirty years in development and construction, working with global corporates on projects of every scale and complexity, and now applies that skillset to household products with proper manufacturing and quality control behind them. Mudroom Co is based in Melbourne, Australia.