Corner Flower

I don’t know who needs to hear this, but I’m sure someone does. Unless you use those clever little laundry pods, you’re probably measuring liquid detergent using the cap the bottle came with. Then you pour the measured detergent into the machine with your dirty clothes, or into the little dispenser compartment in your front-loader. Before long, detergent residue builds up in the measuring cap, and also in the dispenser. It’s sticky and disgusting, and can make a tedious job even worse. There’s a really simple solution: instead of pouring detergent and then shelving the dirty cap, pop the cap into the machine along with your clothes. When the cycle is done, fish the now squeaky-clean cap out as you load the clothes into the dryer. Some detergent bottles actually tell you to do this, if you take the trouble to read all the fine print. You can also do the same thing with the liquid fabric softener cap.