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I don't know about you, but in our home laundry seems to add up quickly. After three years of marriage and too many days of "catch up" doing 10 plus loads at once, I've finally landed on a little system that so far has proven quite handy! Here are my tips...
1. Invest in a laundry hamper that has sections. Walmart has some great options you can view here. I warn you, they aren't nearly as pretty as the photo above but they'll do the trick and cost you much less.
2. Sort your laundry as it gets dirty by placing each item in its designated section of the hamper: darks, lights, whites, towels. This saves you on the sorting time later.
Note: Having an additional section for hand washed items is helpful.
3. Clean out one section of your hamper per week day. Just one. You may be tempted to do more but remember it is essential that you fold everything you wash and put it away the same day, so sticking with one hamper section is key. Usually this will equal one full load. However, it may end up being two or three plus loads if you have a larger family.
4. Write your laundry schedule in your planner. I do this because I'm nerdy and it feels fun to check it off at the end of each day. My weekly laundry plan looks like this...
Monday - hand wash
Tuesday - lights
Wednesday - whites
Thursday - darks
Friday - towels
5. If you don't have a full load when the designated day comes along, you've earned yourself a laundry-free week day!!! Enjoy...
This is what works for me in this stage of my life. I find it totally manageable and even a little bit enjoyable. Plus it leaves my Saturdays and Sundays free to spend with my hubby and son. And I find myself much happier Sunday morning when everything we need for church is fresh and ready for wear.
Have you developed a system that works well for you? I'd love to hear it!
I like this idea! I live on my own so I can get away with doing one white and one colored load each week, which forces me to use clothes in my closet that I don't typically wear... But there will come a day when this will change dramatically and I love the idea of having certain days for washing. And I also loooove the compartmentalized hamper ... I am going to be on the hunt for one of those!
ReplyDeletei so need to sort out my laundry system! i can do the laundry but then i never fold and put away. and i'm still meaning to get started on using cloth diapers but i just don't know if i can handle it!
ReplyDeleteSomething that I've found helpful with 3 kids and all there underwear and socks is using the mesh bags for delicates. Each child has a mesh bag, when they change clothes they put their dirty underwear/socks in the mesh bag and it gets washed and dried in the bag. Then they are responsible for putting their socks together and they haven't gotten mixed in leaving me trying to figure who's underwear/socks are whom's! Saves me so much time!!
ReplyDeleteThis is a great system! I should see if I can find a basket like this in England. :)
I LOVE your mesh bag idea. Gonna file that one away for the future and totally gonna use it! Thanks!
DeleteI definitely need to find a basket that allows me to sort upfront like this...sorting is such a pet peeve of mine when it comes to doing the laundry. I was all laundry every monday (sort, wash, fold, put away). It's definitely a long evening and I don't do much else that day. Getting rid of the sorting stage would definitely help. I like Tina's mesh bag idea as well! Great tips!!!
ReplyDeleteWe just do laundry on a daily basis now! Especially with cloth diapering. =) My best trick though, we wash all of our clothes together. I know it sounds crazy, but I don't separate colors. Unless we have a new item, I will wash that separately for a while, or if i want to do a load of whites with some bleach. Otherwise, all the colors go in together! I just make sure to dry them right away, and we never have issues with colors bleeding. It makes things WAY easier!
ReplyDelete