My family is a family of 4, so there is lots of laundry that has to be done weekly. I feel like I am drowning in laundry most weeks. It’s pretty pathetic. To make it even more fun I have a 4 and 2 year old who are of course messy just like any other kids that age. Oh did I mention my husband is a Vet also. That means super dirty, muddy, you said it poopy clothes. I can sit around all day telling you why I am drowning with laundry, but that is not going to get the job done. I have learned a lot of things over the 7 years that I have been married.
I remember learning to do laundry at a pretty young age. By the time I was in high school I was doing my own laundry. I was the oldest of 5 kids in my family. My mom was most defiantly drowning in laundry when we all lived at home. I remember the day when she said, “OK, you all are learning to do your own laundry.” We did, and we each had a day that we got to do two loads that day. A dark load and a light load. At the time I am sure I complained, but how perfect is that. My mom is a genius. So, there you have it, it’s important to teach your children to help with laundry, and take responsibility.
1: Designate a day
I have done with the entire time I have been married, and it’s worked for me. When we were first married I used my Saturday mornings to do laundry. Now I use Saturdays as well because it just works well with my families schedule. We are usually home and being lazy for the most part of Saturdays. Also you don’t have to all the washing, drying and folding in one day. This could be the main reason why you are drowning. It just can’t all be done in one day. You can designate a day to wash and dry, a day for folding and putting away.
Another method that might work for you is designate days to wash jeans, to wash colors, to wash sheets and towels and to wash whites. This kind of breaks it up a bit, and doesn’t overwhelm you with 10 loads a day. You can do 1 or 2 loads a day.
2: Have two hampers
I have not done with, but I am going to do it very soon. Have a hamper in your bedroom or bedrooms that is for dark clothing and one for light clothing. How easy would this make sorting laundry? Amazing! Some weeks I am lazy and I don’t wash jeans separate from the other dark clothes. I just do darks and lights as I like to call them. It’s okay if you do this. There is no rule that says you have to wash them separately. My laundry always comes out just fine.
3: Shake out the wet clothing
This seems silly, but it works. This has two purposes. The first purpose is that by taking the clothing out of the washing machine, a handful at a time (as opposed to arm fulls), I can then catch any lingering stains, especially on my kids’ clothes. I want these clothes to last as long as possible. So, if I can catch a stain that isn’t quite gone after its been washed, and save it from setting-in in the dryer, you will be much happier later. I will then pre-treat the stain (again), and throw it in with the next wash.
The second reason I do this, is to help with wrinkles, and speed up drying time. When everything is matted together, squished up in a ball, it isn’t going to dry very fast. Also, if that pant leg is stuck up inside the jeans, it won’t dry and when it does it will be a wrinkly mess. I don’t iron hardly at all (occasionally some clothes for church), so keep things as wrinkle-free as possible is important. This also helps speed up folding when I catch some of the inside out clothing on day one.
4: Don’t fold clothes that need hung up
It’s a waste of time. If you fold it, then unfold it and put it on a hanger you just are adding more work to your load. Just don’t do it. You will save more time if you don’t. I like to lay the shirts or pants out flat on my bed or couch that need hung up. Then after folding all the rest of the laundry I take my pile of hangers and hang them all. It’s as simple as that.
5: Don’t be picky about product
I have never been super picky about my washing product. I have used all sorts of laundry detergent. I like to use whatever I can find on sale at Costco or Walmart. It’s not always the same kind. As long as it has a good stain fighter in it, I love it. If it has worked before in the past I will use it. I just need clean clothes, so why add more stress to my life if I don’t have a certain brand of detergent.
