I moved out of my parent’s house when I was 25 years old. Before the day I moved, I had never, ever used a washing machine. Seriously. My mum had to come over and show me which settings to use. I think it was one of those that she assumed that everyone would just know. How wrong she was!

Even now, I’m pretty rubbish when it comes to laundry, and I know that means I’m probably shortening the lifespan of our clothes. I literally just grab a basket full of washing and bung it in the machine, all on a 30-degree wash. Graham’s grubby work clothes, towels and the bed linen get washed on a 60-degree wash. Once things come out of the wash, they get dumped in the tumble dryer on the standard setting, and then they’re put away. I don’t iron – I don’t even know where our iron is! I’ve got a linen skirt that I adore, but because it needs ironing, it stays in the wardrobe.

I’ve had a few laundry fails in the past because I don’t look at the laundry labels. I once looked and gave up immediately – they were so confusing! It means I’ve accidently put a wool cardigan in the dryer (if I was a size 8 I might fit in it again) and one of Harrison’s beautiful cardigans was dyed blue, thanks to going through the wash with a brand new pair of jeans.

It turns out I’m not just completely incompetent when it comes to washing and laundry labels. Data Label ran a survey which found that 56% of people find laundry symbols on clothes really confusing and that as a result, they’re leaving things in the back of their wardrobe or doing what I do and washing them anyway and ruining them. They’ve created this really useful infographic that explains all the symbols in a much more simple way. I’m definitely printing this off and sticking it to the fridge!