It’s hard to believe that I’ve never blogged about Laundry. Whether it’s in an email, a blog entry, or face-to-face, this is one of the most common topics ever discussed. So, here it is…
We wear clothing every day, obviously…which means there’s always laundry to wash, dry, fold and put away. Most people complain about what is considered a thankless task, but one that has to be accomplished. Here are my suggestions for simplifying the Laundry chore:
1. Hampers and Sorters You can never have enough. Well, I guess you could, but first, you want to make sure that you have one in each bedroom. If possible, have a sorter in each room (or a central location) and teach your family members how to sort: whites, darks, and delicates is the simplified method, and generally, sorters have three baskets for clothes. If you combine everyone’s Whites, darks, and delicates, then you may be able to do just three loads (whites, darks, and delicates) in one day. On wash day, grab a bag and begin.
2. Choose a day once a week or every two weeks to wash sheets. This is a chore in itself, so best not to combine it with ALL the washing. Remove the sheets in the morning and get them started, that way you’re not ready to hit the hay and discover that you still have to make the bed. As children grow, you can have them remove the sheets and bring them to the laundry room. And as they get even a little older, they can put them back on the bed too! It’s worth the training!
3. Choose another day to wash towels.Although you may like colored towels, decorative towels or ones with designs, if you are pressed for time and want to be able to zip through washing towels, go with all white. For a couple of reasons: You can wash them together AND you can use bleach. Also, if you’re sticking with the same type of towels for everyone, then it doesn’t matter which towels go where, you can simply divide them by the number of towels per bathroom.
4. Multi-task Fold laundry while watching your favorite tv show. This will make the time go by more quickly and your accomplishing two things at once.
5. Put it away This is actually the MOST important step because then you can FINISH the task and have it out of sight!! Second, everyone knows where to find what they need, when they need it!
As with any other container, be sure that your closets and drawers aren’t stuffed with clothing that isn’t worn regularly that might make it difficult to put clean clothing away. Rule of thumb is to leave at least 20% room in a container for growth. If you buy something new, go through your containers (closets and drawers) and see what you can eliminate by donating or consigning to be sure you’re able to clearly “see” all that you have.
