Laundry is a job that is never done, and often it can be a thankless job. I’m sure you understand! Just when you’re (finally) caught up, everyone comes home, takes a shower, and boom- the laundry room is full again!
However, it must be tackled. So, here are just a few simple tips that worked for me; maybe they will help you too!
–Sock bags- Why is it that it seem like the washer must eat socks? When you go to pair them up, there is so often one that is missing! I bought each child a mesh “sock bag”. When their socks were dirty they would put them in the sock bag. When it begins to fill up, they drop it down the laundry chute and all their socks get washed up at once. As long as they manage to get them into the sock bag when they take them off, they don’t get lost.
– Laundry markers- I always tried to choose a little different style or brand of underwear or socks for each child, but hey, sometimes you just can’t tell whose is whose. For those items, I had the kids mark their initials on the articles with a permanent laundry marker. It saves so much time when folding the laundry.
–Hampers- I bought a hamper that had three compartments in it. I used it for special wash clothes- those that needed a little extra care such as ‘hang to dry’ or ‘wash on gentle cycle’ or ‘lay flat to dry’. I had the family put their gentle wash clothes into the hamper- one section was for whites, one for colored, and one for jeans that needed to be hung to dry. That way, they did some of the sorting for me. The rest of the laundry was just sent down one of two laundry chutes into a large Rubbermaid tub.
–Who does the laundry in our home? For years, we had an inadequate well (meaning inadequate amount of water) so I HAD to do the laundry myself. I know other families that have the kids do their own, but I had to juggle when laundry was done with when people would need to shower, etc., so I did and still do the washing. Now, I do the folding too and one of my daughters puts it away. At times, I’ve had some of the kids do the folding too. It varies from year to year, but do what works for your family.
– Folding “party” – We did this for a number of years, and it was fun. We would make folding time into a “party” by turning on a Moody Science video or something educational to watch as we folded. The laundry didn’t get done super fast when we did this, but it did make a humdrum job into an occasion, and everyone would participate. I didn’t let the kids do much “watching” during their growing up years, so it was kind of a treat.
What about you? What simple or creative or even brilliant tips and tricks have you discovered to make laundry a less formidable task?
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I really enjoyed some of these tips, thanks for sharing them! I have discovered that having a room for the laundry has been really beneficial. We’ve just moved to our new home and the laundry room is upstairs which is also a great help. Not many pieces of clothing roll around downstairs and when some of it does, I put it all together on a pile and send a child up with it to the hampers. I have four hampers in which I separate my husband’s work clothes, towels and sheets, and then the rest by light/dark colors. I also do laundry everyday, and we hang it all to dry. My children usually help put them away once dry and folded. It’s a big job here at our house!
My friends shared how she eliminated hampers, quit sorting, and did at least a load a day. We have used that idea for years and it has been a blessing. Family members bring their clothes right to the washer and put them in, my oldest or I start it in the morning. When we miss days, there is a backlog to get through… But it is nice having one or two outfits per person to put away, instead of big piles.
They usually fold while I read our read aloud books. If they have a big pile I will read an extra chapter, which they think is a treat.