My Laundry Taming Tips

I know all of you out there are in desperate need of LAUNDRY REFORM! Well, you've come to the right place. I spent countless moments pondering the great theory I have of doing laundry, and I came up with these helpful tips for all of you! Hope they help! If they do, I'll be posting more fabulous ideas to help you get your home in order. Now, if only someone could do the same for my brain!

If you have tips of your own, feel free to include them in the comments. We could all use a little help now and then! Watch out Fly Lady, here we come!

Laundry Taming Tips

1. Decide how often and when to do laundry.
A. Do one to two loads EACH Day; having everyone take their laundry to the laundry room each day and sort it into bins by color. Then, first thing in the morning, run the loads through.
OR

B. Pick two days a week to spend all day running laundry through. Choose days that you are home and not out running errands and make it the same two days each week. Have everyone take their laundry to the laundry room on specified days and sort into bins by color.

2. You can’t do it all alone! It is a privilege for your family to have their laundry done. Teach children to appreciate that their laundry is being done for them. When they grimace when you ask them to help, tell them that you worked really hard to wash and fold their laundry and that you appreciate them for putting it away, and then make sure they put it away. You can reward an empty laundry basket, if you want.

3. Set the buzzer on the washer and drier and keep up with it. Each time you hear the buzzer, run to the washer and switch loads. Keep it moving. This is the best advice for getting it done in a timely manner. If you’re heading out the door, switch loads. During the commercials, switch loads. It is very quick to switch loads. Commit to doing it when the buzzer rings!

4. Fold and hang as you go. This step makes doing laundry much EASIER! When the drier buzzer rings, immediately fold or hang the laundry as it is coming out of the drier. This is also the time to sort each person’s clothes. Set aside a basket for each person, and fill it as you go, making stacks for pants, shirts, stack underwear, and socks. Create a place to hang laundry and lay it over the kid’s full baskets.

5. Sorting Socks. Never, I repeat, NEVER create a sock pile. Instead, sort socks as you go. The best way to stay organized is to have a specific set of socks for each person. It may be a little boring, but when you have a lot of socks to sort, this makes it much easier! This works for underwear too! Hang the socks on the sides of the baskets and when you find a match, roll them together. If you end up with a sock without a mate, put it or have the kids put it in the drawer and match it when the mate comes through. You may need to periodically go through everyone’s sock drawers and mate socks. This should be quarterly.

6. Have each child put their own laundry away. Even the little ones can help push baskets of laundry around for you! Remember you’re a TEAM (Together Everyone Achieves More).

7. Tidy up your laundry room and make it a nice place that you will want to visit!

8. Make sure you tell your husband and kids how much you appreciate them often, especially when they are doing only what is expected of them. Gratitude makes life more beautiful!