Do you feel overwhelmed by the laundry that keeps piling up in spite of your best efforts? A laundry system helps you to manage your laundry without feeling stressed. As my family has grown over the years and my laundry room (or lack of!) has changed several times, I’ve changed the way I do laundry to fit what is needed. Read on to learn three of the methods that I have had success with.
Method 1: A DESIGNATED LAUNDRY DAY
Do the majority of your laundry on one day of the week, with additional loads as needed throughout the other days.
Start early! Aim to finish by 4:00 so everyone can help put the laundry away the same day.
Fold as you go… and if you have young children who are hard on their clothes anyway, save a step and don’t bother folding their play clothes at all! 🙂
Use a timer to make sure you are moving loads through the washer and dryer without any pauses. Clothes folded or hung as soon as they are finished drying can eliminate the need to iron.
Consider using a labeled bin for each family member and sort the clean clothes into their bin so they can put it all away when the laundry day is finished.
Look around your laundry area to see if there is anything you could tidy or wipe down.
Method 2: DAILY LAUNDRY
Do two loads every morning (more or less depending on family size)
Start the first load immediately in the morning and set a timer to make sure you switch it over and start the second load without delay.
As soon as the clothes comes out of the dryer, fold or hang the necessary items.
Consider using a labeled bin for each family member and sort the clean clothes into their bin so they can put their own clothes away as part of their daily duties.
Aim to wash all the laundry every day.
Method 3: LAUNDRY BY ROOMS
Have a separate hamper in each bedroom.
Assign one day of the week to each family member to wash, dry and put away their clothes. If needed, assign an older “laundry buddy” to help a younger child do their laundry. They can be assigned the same designated day.
Assign additional days for towels, sheets, etc.
OTHER TIPS AND IDEAS
Mark kids clothing tags with the dot system… one dot for the oldest, two dots for the second oldest, etc to make sorting clean clothes easier. When an item is passed down to a younger sibling, just add a dot to the tag.
Don’t buy high maintenance clothes! Make your workload easier with clothes that can all be thrown in together.
Remove clothes immediately from the dryer to eliminate wrinkles
Fold the laundry all together as a family while you listen to audio books
Buy one type of sock for each child and eliminate the need to ever match socks!
Teach your kids to turn clothes right side out before throwing in the hamper
Throw all the children’s socks (and underwear!) into one big bin and let them take their own.
Do not overload your washing machine so the clothes will come out cleaner.
Fresh blood will come out easily if you rinse with cold water and then a bit of hydrogen peroxide.
If you only have littles, have them help you with laundry so they can learn as they grow.
Show them how to turn their clothes right side out when they take them off at night. They will pick up the habit themselves in time.
Keep a box available all the time for collecting items to be donated, clothes or otherwise! If you save clothes for siblings to wear, have a second box for items that are too small for your child and need to be put into storage.
At the end of the day, place used kitchen towels, washcloths, etc into the washing machine so they will get washed first thing the next morning.
If space allows, have a small shelf with a bin or small basket for each child. Sort their clean clothes into these bins so they can daily put away their own clothes.
3 responses to “3 Laundry Systems (that actually work)”
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[…] Read more about laundry systems here […]
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The dot method is a great idea! Thanks
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It’s been a huge help for us!
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