My laundry and I have not been the best of friends. Add to it a small laundry room for a family of 9 and I find myself fetal position, crying out for answers. I’ve tried a million different ways it seems: once a day, 2-3 times a week, having my children being responsible for their own, I’ve tried doing laundry by bedroom and these are only naming a few. All of these ways backfired at some point. Piling up, dirty, in spite of me.
Well, now the laundry blues are no more and if you have been trying to find your winning laundry stride, here’s my Planner Perfect, tip… once a week. That’s it! Believe me, it’s not as overwhelming as it sounds…I have a large family and the clothes do pile high when all brought down from the rooms for me to wash. But I would rather tackle my laundry on one day, then every day of the week! I hated being a slave to my laundry and no amount of discipline did it for me. I just didn’t want it on my plate every day. So in my Planner Perfect, I concocted a plan and I’ve never looked back.
With your cleaned, organized laundry room, this will make laundry day all the more productive.
Every room should have its own laundry basket to harness dirty clothes throughout the week (and should have enough clothes and undergarments and towels to last a week). This keeps your laundry room clean until you are about to do the laundry and kids’ room, too. Unannounced company is welcome without rushing to shut your mess of a laundry room. Simply pick one day out of the week that you can devote to your home and your laundry. It changes for me with the season…summer time I tackle during a week day, the colder months I tackle it on a weekend with a stew bubbling away at the stove.
Write it down in your planner to show you’re serious and make it a day to either be your baking day or a day you tackle a zone in your home to deep clean or organize. Change your zone each week and soon you will have a well functioning written plan that will change your life.
My older kids are responsible for their own laundry and they do it from beginning to end on a different day. (They only have 2 loads.) And when my laundry day arrives, younger children bring me their laundry and are responsible for putting it away that day!
Remember that getting the clothes washed is only half the battle! Ensuring they all get put away has always been my problem. So now that the laundry has my full attention, I fold as they come out of the dryer, put into piles according to bedroom, put in their laundry basket, and give to my children. And don’t forget your room! Resist the temptation to pile high your clothes on your bed and walk away (I’m speaking out of experience here.). Don’t get into the trap of only going half way. Get them put away right away. A little discipline is all you need and you’ll be singing “Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah” the rest of the week.
No more laundry blues with this Planner Perfect, tip. I hope this inspires you to be one step ahead of yourself with a plan that helps keep you running a smooth, organized, household.
This is Kim and I am so excited to read some of your articles of ideas that you have learned from trial and error. You have an amazing gift of helping others and once again never seem to amaze me at your willingness to go the extra mile. What a wonderful feeling to know that you are "de-stressing" many homes by your words of encouragement and building "happier" homes that were meant to be enjoyed. Thank you for sharing with all of us! Love you dearly!
I am visiting here from tatertots and jello. HI! I LOATHE laundry…and I mean LOATHE! I am going to give this a try and if you can make it work with 7 kiddos I certainly can with 2! Thanks for the tips!!
Try it Lauren…I think you'll like it. You have to pamper yourself when it comes to your laundry. Get new laundry baskets, bake that day you have loads in, and make a day of it. Fresh clothes, homemade goodies and a happy mom! Good luck…thanks for stopping by!
what would you say is a fair amount of clothing to have? I constantly have dirty laundry and am starting to think we just have too many clothes.
Hi Emily…
My children have at least enough to last them a week (without having to rewear any and that includes undergarments.) If they have accumulated a lot, you could put extras in a bin in their closet and recycle them out once and awhile. Try doing your laundry once a week…you won't feel like you're a slave to it and you'll be ready with fresh clothes for the week:) I hope this helps and nice to meet you!
I agree 100%. I've tried to break it up or "keep on top of it" and I just always feel like I'm fighting a loosing battle. When I ignore it and then just chose the 1 day to tackle it I feel accomplished when I'm done. My friend and I started a laundry service from our homes and we do the same thing with the buisness. We p/u the laundry and then do it til it's done.
http://www.laundrycare.biz
I totally need to try this. I have a bad habit of not finishing. Fortunately (or not), I have a large counter right outside the laundry room and I'll pile and pile and pile. It is all clean, folded and even sorted. What prevents me from getting it into the drawers and closets ?!? Still, with 6 kids and my mom's stuff too – it is NEVER all done.
Excellent and useful tips! Thanks for taking the time to post this.
I realy like this I dea, but wonder it is as easy in practice.
For Example if you have a newborn(leaking etc.)or in the middle of pottytraining( wetting clothes or worse the BigOne).
Do you than also wait till Laundry Day or right away. I have 6 children and do not seem to get out of washing clothes, it just never ends. So I think these tips are great.Thank you.
When I had small ones and potty training and doing my laundry on one day, it's easy then to just throw soiled toddler bottoms in the wash…I still just keep to my one big laundry day and do mini washes if need be. It's a savior with a large family, given they have enough clothes to last them the whole week…:)
Try it…you'll love it
What helps me is to wash and fold the clothes and then sort them into the kids's own smaller laundry baskets. I keep the baskets downstairs so I can quickly distribute the laundry. Each of my four children then put away their clothes as part of their daily chores. It sure helps out a lot!