Guest post from Jenae of I Can Teach My Child
Doing the laundry is one of my most loathed household tasks. Actually, I don’t really mind doing the laundry… it’s the folding and putting away that I especially dislike!
Laundry is also an ongoing task that never has a definite ending. By the time you have all your loads folded and put away, there will inevitably be another few garments waiting for you in the hamper.
However, laundry doesn’t have to be as complicated and time-consuming as we make it out to be. Here are three simple tips that have helped me streamline the laundry process in our home.
1. Find a laundry schedule that works for you.
I do laundry one day each week. I’ve found this works much better for our family to get it all done in one day rather than doing multiple loads throughout the week. Plus, since I need the dryer to do the next load and get it all done in one day, this holds me accountable to putting the laundry away immediately instead of letting the loads sit in the dryer for a few days!
I know many people who prefer to do a load of laundry once a day. If that works for you, great!
2. Use mesh bags for socks, underwear, etc.
More than any laundry-related task, I dislike pairing and folding little-kid socks! I began using mesh wash bags this fall with the advent of sock weather and it has revolutionized my laundry-doing life!
Now, I hang a mesh bag for each child close to his hamper. Instead of throwing the socks in the hamper with everything else, I put them in their mesh bag. When laundry day arrives, I secure the drawstring, throw it in with the laundry, and dump it into the sock drawer when clean. No pairing or folding needed!
3. Ditch the laundry basket.
When you remove clean laundry from your dryer and put it into a laundry basket, you are creating one more potential place for laundry to sit before it gets folded and put away.
Instead of using a laundry basket, grab the load with both arms and move it immediately to either your bed or the children’s beds. That way, the laundry must get folded before bedtime. Obviously, if you have to climb a flight of stairs to put laundry away, you’ll need to use a basket. Just make sure to dump it onto a bed once you get up (or down) the stairs.
These small, simple changes have made a huge impact towards my productivity when it comes to laundry.
What are your favorite laundry tips or shortcuts?
Jenae is a Master-degree holding former first grade teacher turned stay-at-home Momma. She loves finding creative ways to save money, spending time with her family, and sharing fun activities on her website I Can Teach My Child.
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Laundry is one of my “pet peeves”! BUT to make it more enjoyable, my 3 year old helps me! She will put the wet clothes in the dryer for me (I hand it to her of course
but she loves it! She puts her clothes up as well. Her socks, panties and pj’s! Also helps put her towels and rags in the bathroom! She is an awesome helper!
Thanks for the tip about the mesh bags for socks! I love it! I am horrible about folding socks, I just really dislike doing it! I hang all of my clothes up. It doesn’t matter if it is in the summer or in the winter, I have clothes lines hung up both outside and in my basement. It depends on the week but sometimes I am able to do laundry once a week or sometimes I will do it a couple loads a day. The only thing I dry is the towels. It seems to work for us, but not everyone.
LOL…If I pile them on the bed, I just move them somewhere else to get in bed. It’s definitely the folding and putting away that I dislike a lot. There are 3 laundry baskets of clothes in the corner of my room that haven’t been folded and put away.
It’s only my husband and me right now. I do laundry once a week and I do an average of 3 loads per week (1 light/white, 1 dark, and 1 of either towels or sheets – I alternate weeks). I usually do 2 loads on Wed. and 1 load on Thursday.
I fold the laundry on our bed as soon as it’s washed and dried. I used to put my husband’s away, but at some point, I quit doing that. His drawers are such a mess so I let him deal with that.
We have a 3 compartment sorter in our room and it’s on wheels, so I just wheel it into the hallway where I throw the clothes in (we just have the washer and dryer in a closet-no laundry room at all).
I do not iron. I think I’ve used my iron 3 times in 3 years (and never for clothes, either!). We buy clothes that won’t wrinkle easily. As soon as the clothes come out of the dryer, I fold them or hang them up. My husband is a pastor and wears a suit or Dockers/dress shirt 5-6 days per week — and I think he looks pretty spiffy!
I think it’s all about finding a system that works for you. Clean clothes are a priority for me, but not to the point that I let them consume my life. I’m sure my laundry routine will change over time, too!
I enjoy doing my kids laundry – they bring me their dirty clothes. However, if I have to pick up any dirty clothes off their floor their is a $1 laundry fee for each item (deducted from their allowance) and if I find an item in their pile of dirty clothes that has been clearly washed and folded and thrown back in with the dirty clothes there is a $2 re-laundry fee! I also, like others, have a basket on the washer for mismatched socks – we attempt a match-up about once a month and if no match is found they get reallocated to other duties (dusting clothes, etc).
I LOVE the mesh bag idea for socks! My kids are very close in age and wear the same type of socks much of the time. This is a great idea to keep theirs separated. They usually separate, match and fold their own socks but this would make it easier for them.
I do laundry one day a week because if I don’t, it will drag on throughout the week because I know I’m a procrastinator lol. I lay each load on top of the bed when done, then fold and put them away all at once when they’re done.
Iron? Not me! Not sure our iron even works! And I have a built in sure fire reason for putting my clothes away…..cats! Many many cats! If I leave clothes laying around, clean OR dirty, they invite themselves to sleep on them! Cat hair likes to weave itself into clothing! So I have laundry bins in each bathroom and my daughters room. I sort as I go. Then wash and dry and fold while the clothes are warm. Then out them away. The cat issue fires me to get it done! Except for the occasional late washing of towels or blankets that stay in the dryer until the next day for a fluff and food!
Very interesting to read everyone’s posts!
I pin all my socks with safety pins. I keep safety pins in a small container right by my laundry hamper. I pin my socks by pairs immediately when I take them off. Then I throw them in the hamper. When they come out of the wash they are already paired and I do not lose socks anymore. I just buy the medium size safety pins at Wal Mart.
I also do my laundry one day a week. I do all of the sorting and folding in the laundry room. I keep a “boombox” with an audio book borrowed from the library in there and that is my treat for sticking to the laundry. Every time I do a load, I turn on the story and listen while I work. In between loads, the story calls me back. I also have my sewing machine in the same room and sometimes do mending or other projects in between loads and while I listen to the story.
Loved hearing everyone’s ideas! We are a small family of 3. I do most of the laundry, sorted by white linens, light clothes, dark clothes, and dark linens. I don’t have a set schedule, but try to keep on top of it during the week to avoid having to do it on the weekend (but will if needed). I have 2 sets of sheets for each bed, but often for ours I will wash the sheets and put them back on the bed to avoid having to fold them (not every time, though); this is not as big of a hassle for the twin bed.
I generally hang or fold most items as I remove them from the dryer. If I am in a hurry, I will lay t-shirts, etc. flat in a stack to fold later, but do not prefer to stuff everything in a basket as this seems to create a lot of wrinkles (and I rarely iron).
When I was first married, my husband did more laundry, so my system was to put anything I didn’t want in the dryer, such as underwear, sweaters, etc. in a mesh bag, even if it was not delicate. My husband knew to hang dry anything in a bag.
We are fortunate to have a guest room, so that tends to be our staging area for clean clothes, although we are generally good about putting them away promptly.
i put a tension rod, the kind for a shower, in my laundry room and keep hangers on it. it helps when I take things out of the dryer and hang it immediately. Also, I love my 3 bin sorter. I wash when a bin is full. I keep a basket in the laundry room for lost socks.
I love the mesh bag idea for my kids socks! Brilliant!!! Thank you!
Three things have simplified my laundry routine:
1. We don’t fold undies anymore. Who cares if they get wrinkled! The kids (4, 7, 9) just throw theirs into their bin/box. My boys are fairly close to the same size, so they share socks/undies. They don’t mind and it simplifies life.
2. My kids don’t have dressers. They have cubbies in the closet for jammies, undies, & socks. Their jeans stack on top. We hang everything else. It’s quicker than folding and allows them to shuffle through their choices without wrinkling everything.
3. Instead of sorting by color, I sort by weight (i.e. drying time) and by whether or not the load needs to be hung immediately to avoid ironing or whether it can finish tumbling while I go to bed.
Not sure if mentioned…but I don’t have hamper to carry around either. I have one of those big oversize beach bags or even one of those ikea type shopping bags you can buy for a $1 and I use that to schlep the laundry around the house. It doesn’t take up space. I do keep one big wicker basket for the family laundry.
I do this too! After two women I know broke their leg carrying laundry on stairs, I switched to something I could throw over my shoulder. It makes it so much easier. I use large utility totes or a big llbean beach bags.
Also, my kids wear white socks on an everyday basis. Each gets one brand. One kid wears Childrens place, the other old navy. They still have rubber treads with the brand on them, so it does reduce matching since almost any 2 match.
One tip that I learned from the Duggar Family (from TLC’s 19 Kids & Counting) was to have a sock & underwear tub for each child. It has really cut down on the “I can’t find any socks or underwear” syndrome! Now that they’re getting older, they also keep things like belts & deodorant in their tubs as well.
My Mother-In-Law is totally Anal Retentive and OCD with most of her household tasks and living with her was very difficult for me because well… my mother was a slob and she raised a slob.
HOWEVER, she has the best method of doing the Laundry I have ever seen. It worked for her and her 3 kids, and it now works for myself and my husband. It makes EVERYBODY responsible for the laundry, and one person didn’t get stuck doing it. She started doing this once the kids were old enough to reach the lid to the washing machine.
1. The minute you leave the bathroom, your dirty clothes go with you and straight into the washer. There is a basket on top of the dryer for whites only.
2. The next person comes along and discovers the washer will be full when they add there clothes. They start the washer.
3. The next person comes along to add their clothes and sees that the dryer is done. That person was the unlucky person who got to sort and fold the clothes.
(she used a signal method to tell the next person about the clothes in the dryer. Either the washing machine lid was left up or the laundry room door was closed). You knew the signals or she went absolutely nuts on you for ignoring them.
Since I came along, I made the addition of keeping clothes hangers to the laundry room. That way everything was hung up the minute it came out of the dryer and no one has to argue over how someone else folds.
I also love the idea of separate mesh bags for socks that someone else posted. I’m kind of surprised my Mother-In-Law didn’t implement that practice too.
oops..
Step 3 is actually step 4.
Step 3 should be. Next person comes along and sees the washer is full of wet clothes. They transfer the load to the dryer and start the dryer.
Getting the kids to help! I have a toddler who LOVES to do laundry. So it’s family time and cleaning time all rolled into one.
We are lucky to have a medium size laundry room with just enough room at the end for a big metal shelf, each person (there are 5 of us) has their own shelf with a med size basket. Clothes are folded as they come out of the dryer and put in the appropriate basket, socks are tossed on top of the dryer. The kids usually get dressed in the laundry room and occassionally puts their clothes upstairs. Everyone has a different brand of socks so the matching is easier (it seems to me anyway, no one here wants to share socks – yes, we have issues!) Towels stack up on top of the washer until I tell someone to put them away.
I like your suggestion of the mesh bag for kids socks. I am going to try it. Thx!
I love the idea of the mesh bag for the socks! That is awesome. I’m going to have to give that one a try!
I enjoy folding laundry in the t.v. room. I can relax and fold clothes while I watch a favorite show.working while taking a break at the same time is quite productive and enjoyable.
Having a large family (6) I do 3 loads of laundry daily. One of my children’s chores is to bring their dirty laundry to the utility room and put it into the appropriate baskets. Darks, Whites (bleachables) and special treatment (I have a plastic bin on top of my dryer for this). I get my “mechanical maids” working while we start school. When each load is done, I bring them to our dining room and fold while giving instructions or tests. After it is folded, each of my children take a pile up to their rooms or to the linen closet. I also do any ironing that is needed, while giving instructions or tests. I call this “parallel processing”
Wow!! After reading these posts, I’m feeling like Ms. Lousy Lazy Mom!
Toddlers doing their own laundry from start to finish and putting all their clothing away, too! Really? I’m barely keeping my own head above water, with working, dealing with 3 kids with differing abilities, and doing it alone, on little to no support. Don’t know how you “super moms” do it!
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