Let's Talk Laundry

Let's talk laundry! It's got to be done and can't be avoided (at least for too long). I can help you take those laundry days from dread to ease with an easy plan. One of the biggest mistakes I see is that people wait to do their laundry all in one day. I think this makes the whole day miserable! Follow my tips below to keep laundry days easy and stress-free!

To make the whole laundry process easier, decide how many times a week you want to do laundry and use that as your guideline. Ideally, I like to throw a load of laundry in every day just to keep up with it. I usually throw it in while I’m making dinner, switch it to the dryer while I clean up dinner, and then fold and put it away before bed. This may not work for your schedule or lifestyle. Maybe a laundry list would work better, if that’s the case, you can plan it out like you do with meals. Just get out the calendar, look at the week ahead, and write down what needs to be done and when. For example, if Monday night is a slow night, maybe you tackle all of the towels. Tuesday, your kid has a game, get that uniform in the wash so it’s clean for the next time they need it. Maybe Wednesday, you take a workout class so wait to do your laundry until Thursday night when you have all of the clothes ready to go. It’s your life, so plan it accordingly, a little organization will help make sure everyone has what they need and when.

If you want to do laundry once a week, then make sure you have enough items to last you for 7 days: items such as underwear, socks, workout clothes, and towels. If you like to do laundry a few times a week like I do, you can live with less since you are washing items more often. Decluttering and simplifying your wardrobe is the best way to cut back on laundry.

My next suggestion is to do smaller loads of laundry. Most washers these days are of the smart variety, meaning they can sense the amount of clothing in the machine and add the proper amount of water accordingly. This allows you to do smaller loads of laundry. Laundry is not one of those chores that I mind doing, but the part I really dislike is sorting the clothes and putting them away in multiple rooms. I alleviated this problem by doing smaller loads- one per person a week. I have two sons and they are close in age so when I wash their clothes together, I spend a lot of extra time looking at tags to determine whose is whose. Now, I simply decide which laundry I’m doing on what night, I take their clothes up to their bed, fold and put them away. It makes the process SO much faster!

My next tip is VERY important… Enlist the help of everyone in your home. Laundry doesn’t have to fall on one person’s shoulders, make it a group effort and see how much quicker it gets done. Make sure your children all have a laundry hamper in their room and know how to use it! Make it fun, have them basketball shoot their dirty clothes into it each day. My kids know it is their job to check their pockets before putting something into the hamper. They carry their basket of dirty clothes to the laundry room on their designated night and help me sort and put them into the machine. They are a little short still to turn the machine on and add the detergent but as soon as they are tall enough, I’m handing off the entire process to them to complete. Once it’s done, I have them come to switch it out, we talk about what clothes might need to hang dry and which ones can go into the dryer. We then take the clean clothes upstairs, sort them into piles and we fold and hang up items together. Now, I know this sounds all insanely perfect, and trust me it’s far from it, there is a lot of complaining and fighting at times, but I do want them to have this skill and always be able to take care of their own stuff, so we power through. There are also times when they are at school and I’m home that I just grab all of the wash and just get it done! The point is, whatever level your children are at, they should be able to contribute to the process in some way. Even little ones can help match up socks. Kids like responsibility and helping out so make them feel like they are contributing and eventually, they will be doing their own wash!

My final tip is to have an organized and tidy laundry space. This does not mean that you have to have an Insta-worthy laundry room with perfectly decanted soaps. - I don’t do that and probably never will. But you do want to have the space to work. Keep the laundry area picked up, clear the floor of anything that does not belong, and keep a trash can nearby for lint, dryer sheets, or anything else you might need to discard. Do not let your washer & dryer become dumping grounds for other household clutter. The tops should be clear at all times, this way you can leave the washer doors open to air out in-between washes. Have a shelf or cart nearby to keep your supplies, detergent, stain remover, dryer sheets or balls, bleach, softener, or any other products you like to use. Have a space to hang dry items, whether it be a line outside, a wall-mounted system, or just a free-standing foldable rack, this will make sure you quickly get those drip-dry clothes taken care of.

Get yourself into a rhythm when you do laundry, pick a time when you will be home for the duration of the process to make sure it gets completed. Plan your laundry routine around another daily habit, maybe you sit at night and watch TV- well then use that time to throw in a load of wash and check it on commercial breaks, fold it while you watch TV, and put it away in the morning. Or, if you’re up early complete a load before you head out for the day. Laundry is one of those pesky household chores that will never go away, but there are some ways you can simplify it for yourself. What else do you do that makes your laundry routine simpler? Let me know in the comments below!