A 4-Step Laundry Routine That WORKS!
I finally found a laundry routine that works!
Believe it or not, laundry is my favorite chore.
But it can also make or break my day.
If I am on top of the laundry pile, I feel like my whole day goes better.
If I'm behind, it's hard for me to concentrate on anything else. It's almost as if Mount Laundry is calling to me from its hiding place in my bedroom closet.
Thankfully, even when I do get behind now (which usually happens after a family vacation or when, ahem, while I'm working on a big project), I know how to catch up and stay caught up.
Figuring out how to take the overwhelm out of my laundry routine has been a huge game changer. It started when my mentor, Holly, convinced me of the benefits of doing just one load of laundry per day.
I share the good, the bad, and the ugly on this blog. This is the ugly of when I don't stay on top of laundry! Knowing how this makes me feel has me trying to avoid this at all costs!
After implementing Holly's tip of completing just one load of laundry per day, from start to finish, I was able to begin tweaking it to meet my family's routine and needs.
I can't wait to share with you my 4-step laundry routine because it really works!
1. Throw a load in at night–when the kids are getting ready for bed.
At 2, 4, and 6, my girls are independent enough now to put on their own pajamas. While they are doing this, I toss a load of dirty clothes into the washer. Because I'm piggybacking laundry with an activity we do every day, it makes it easy to remember.
Throwing in one load of laundry takes me less than five minutes!
2. Toss the clothes in the dryer after the kids are in bed.
After we put the girls to bed, my husband and I usually do a little work on our computers or sometimes watch a TV show. I listen for the washer to finish, and I quickly toss the clothes in the dryer after the wash is done.
As a bonus, using the washer and dryer at night costs less money than it does to use these appliances during the daytime hours!
3. Fold the clothes the next morning.
Most of our clothes do not wrinkle very badly, and if they do need a fluff, I might turn on the dryer for just a few minutes to de-wrinkle them.
An old trick my grandmother once taught me was to toss a wet washcloth in with the wrinkled clothing. Something about the wetness with the heat makes the wrinkles fall out!
It takes me no more than 10 minutes to fold one load of laundry. I do this mid-morning, and I place all of the clothes into the individual containers assigned to each child (and my husband and I share a basket).
The containers sit neatly on a shelf, so it's not like a bunch of laundry is all over the place (like it used to be!).
Note: I use these color-coded laundry baskets for each child!
4. Put the clothes away (at bedtime).
While the girls are still getting ready for bed (it takes them longer to get ready than it takes me to accomplish step #1!), I quickly put away their clothes.
Since I only do one load of laundry per day, it takes me about five minutes to put it all away.
Yes, it takes me an entire day to do one load of laundry, but because I divide the task into four 5-10 minutes tasks, it's easy to complete each step from start to finish–without it taking up close to an hour at one time!
I am a busy work-at-home mom who doesn't have an entire hour to spare, but, this way, I can complete one full load of laundry per day, which helps me to stay on top of it (for the most part!)!
Trimming down our wardrobes has also helped tremendously in preventing our laundry from getting too out of hand. Before, we could go weeks without washing clothes (I know–it's embarrassing!) because we had way too many!
Now, our smaller wardrobes force me to keep on top of things.
I rarely face the laundry blues now, and laundry is back to being my favorite chore!
Do you usually keep on top of laundry, or is it a struggle for you? Do you have a laundry routine that works for you?
Great tips! I've also found that if you use enough fabric softener, the clothes won't wrinkle as much either after sitting in the dryer.
It's cheaper to run appliances at night due to less "strain" on Duke Energy (or to whoever you pay your electric bill)!
With six kiddos age 1.5 to 10, it feels like I'm running laundry all day long! I tie it to daily routines – similar to what you do at bedtime. I start a load before breakfast, reboot to the dryer before I do the breakfast dishes and start another load in the washer. Take 5-10 minutes to fold or hang immediately when it finishes (by that time the kitchen table is cleared off and ready for laundry piles). I sort into personal piles as I fold. I keep both machines busy throughout the morning. I put away my and my husband's clothes as I run upstairs for something else (never go empty handed). I put away the little ones' clothes when we go up for naps. Big kids take theirs up after school and have to put them away as a part of cleaning rooms before screen time. I often run a few more loads in the evening (big kids bring down hampers and start a load after dinner is cleaned up) except that I am a night owl so I'll fold towels or match socks while watching a movie with my husband. Evenings are also a good time to get to the small delicate loads. I totally agree that having fewer clothes makes it easier – my boys especially want to wear the same few things over and over again anyway.
I just wanted to say how much I loved the e-course! It has helped me so much! You both are truly a blessing to our family!
I'm forever getting the overgrown pile of Mt. Laundry in the hallway! I'm going to have to try this to help me keep on top of it… I've noticed it does help if I can do one load a day, I just forget or don't feel like it. Thanks for the encouragement, and I'm off… to soak that load of laundry that Z-man puked all over. 😛 Gotta love being Mama!
I'm watching the "dishes" video. There are some of us that don't have a dishwasher. 🙁 I appreciate you doing this class though.
I see you are addressing that issue, also. I LOVE the fact pointed out about coming full circle. That's where I have trouble.
Awesome tips, Erin! I loved watching your eCourse videos. I am implementing all of the ideas in my home! Some I was already doing, but not well… hopefully now I will have the motivation to do it!
I really need to start this! I feel like every weekend, I'm behind on laundry! Doing a load a day seems much more manageable.
I try to do a load everyday, but some days are just too busy. I've rewritten my routine to keep on top of things better. I love the load a day method. It's too exhausting to do one day a week. I'm usually good with the washing and drying part, but the folding and putting away is something I have to work on most. Thanks for these tips!
I like the individual bins that you assign to each child. We already have fabric drawers in their rooms, so I don't even need to go buy anything special. I'll have to take that idea! Thanks.
First of all I love your posts. I read them almost daily. I have found a few tricks that work for me. I HATE matching socks So I have my children (ages 4, 7, 10, 11) match the socks whoever matches the most socks gets more of a prize than the others for example whoever matches the most gets two rolls of smarties while the others get 1 or The winner will get 2 quarters to put in their piggy bank while the others only get 1. I also sort my clothes into 3 different bins mine and my husbands is in one, my boys clothes (the 7, 10, 11 yr old's. ), and then my daughter's. I have my boys go through the "boy" bin and pick out their clothes and fold and put them away. I have 3 reasons that I have my boys sort and fold their own laundry, 1. makes my life easier 2. teaches them independence 3. My 7 year old and my 10 year old wear the same size clothes and I have no idea which clothes belong to each child other than their blue jeans. The blue jeans they fight over for some unknown reason so I used a permanent marker and put marks on the tags. 1 mark for the oldest 2 marks for my middle boy and 3 marks for my youngest son. If they pass them down to the next brother I just add another mark.
Those are some good ideas that I might have to try!
How do you sort it all? I have a kids basket, a whites and darks in my room. Usually the kids gets separated between the two and becomes its own lighter colors as well. Stuff always gets mixed up and I have to go through each basket to do it. Plus we live next to the beach, so doing wet, sandy laundry happens a couple times a week. Any suggestions?
My only issue is we usually have to wash towels every day so I would have to do 2 loads.
Ours are now old enough mostly to do their own laundry. We each have an assigned day and they bring their laundry down the night before. If the system is working like it should, and most weeks it does, then we sort of follow this same system but I am not the one who has to change the clothes out or put them away. Your system will be very adaptable as your girls get older!
I recently moved to a state where having a your own washer and drier its super expensive, unless you live in a house and I am still living in an apartment. Therefore I have to use the laundromat, what ideas do you have for this situation, my dirty pile gets huge and living in an apartment it can be challenging. Thank you!!