Whether you have one kid or seven, laundry is a force to be reckoned with. It is a never-ending task that requires constant attention. And, if you are like me, it is the bane of your existence.
I’ve had many people make statements like, “I can’t even imagine what your laundry must be like.” To which I just nod because no, you can’t imagine.
Having six kiddos and soon to be seven, the laundry does seem to multiply exponentially. But even I have a method to my madness.
I have chosen to have certain days dedicated to certain types of laundry. Here is how my week goes.
Monday~ Kid’s laundry (About 4 to 5 loads for me)
Tuesday~Bath towels, kitchen towels and linen (Anywhere from 2 to 6 loads for me)
Wednesday~Mom and Dad’s laundry (2 loads for me)
Thursday~Anything I haven’t finished from the other days of the week.
Friday through Sunday~No laundry if at all possible
Now, in a perfect world, I would stick to this schedule like glue. But life happens, and sometimes I have to use my weekends to catch up. However, having a general schedule and sticking to it as much as I can, has greatly simplified my life.
Each of the kids has their own basket with their name written on it in Sharpie. I do this to make it easier to sort it after it is washed and dried. I also try to wash their laundry according to gender. That is another way to make it easier to sort. Here’s what it all looks like after it’s sorted.
It’s lovely. I know!
Here’s my disclaimer on folding laundry and putting it away: I would rather run through the halls of my high school naked, than fold and put away laundry. Seriously. I hate it. I don’t know why. I just do.
So…I teach my children at a young age how to fold and put away their laundry. Everyone five and older gets to do it. I know many parents that aren’t willing to let this part of the chore go. I understand why. Their closets get messy when they do it on their own, but I’ve discovered that they learn responsibility and confidence through being given chores.
And, since I loathe this particular chore, I deal with their messy closets and just teach them how to fix them when they get really bad.
I also have my older kids help put away towels, or bring baskets upstairs. The more pregnant I get, the more I require a little extra help.
The great thing about a growing family, or a family growing up, is that all of these things are adjustable. Over the next couple of years, I hope to assign older children their own laundry day and (heaven forbid) give up on their laundry all together. All in due time.
And that, my friends, is how I do it.
Now, if you were to visit me today, you’d see I’m a little behind. Such is life and laundry!
What are your laundry tips? How do your organize your laundry?
I HATE laundry. It really is something that if you don’t stay on top of you are in BIG BIG trouble. I am really impressed at the amounts of laundry you have to do every week. I laughed so hard at the part about how you’d rather run naked through your high school than fold and put away laundry! I almost hate it that much.
That is a good tip on having kids five and older fold and put their own away. I think I am going to start that. My oldest just the other night asked if she could help me fold laundry. While it wasn’t really neat, she was so excited to help.
I don’t mind folding too much. I wash all the clothes on Mondays and Thursdays and try to fold them that night if possible. It’s the only time I sit down and watch a video. Mondays are the hardest, though, as it seems the pile never ends.
I like your idea of having the kids fold it!
handsfullmom´s last [type] ..Our Daily Bread Favorites Friday
thank you for this, stacey. i despise laundry with a passion as well. i also have a schedule, but adhering strictly to it is so difficult when i hate it so much. monday=darks, tuesday=whites, wednesday=light colors, thursday=towels & linens, friday= hubby’s work clothes, saturday=delicates, SUNDAY=NO LAUNDRY. again, it works when i stick to it. but, for example, today=catch up on as much of everything as i can! just glad to know someone else has a schedule, but that doesn’t always mean they’re at the top of their game with it every single day. thanks for being normal.
keely aka LKP´s last [type] ..Rommadon 2011
Seems you a1ready have a good plan with your spacing and delegating…I gave my children the opportunity to do their own laundry at the age (12 for girls, 14 for boys)when they sent back clean folded laundry to be washed. One warning and then they learned to do it themselves. It was great!
My BFF’s mom had assigned laundry on assigned days, too! I don’t know about Sharpies (and I forget the breakdown of girls to boys with your crew, but her boys were on opposite ends of the birth order, so mostly girls), but I know she was very regimented in this regard.
liz´s last [type] ..A Mother&8217s Concern
I like the idea of giving everyone their own basket. I detest folding and putting away laundry! Adam and I usually fold and the little kids put away. Looks like a train wreck in their closets. The upside is that there’s a door on their closets and I can close them.
I’ve never, not ever, even once caught up on the laundry.
Wow. That’s a lot of laundry. Would you hate me if I told you my laundry schedule went like this… One-two loads of laundry every 1-2 weeks?? And that’s only if I decide to wash my own scrubs. I can always leave them at the hospital and not have to do any….
SuzRocks´s last [type] ..Craigslist ain&8217t got nothing on a murder map
Not hate…but definitely jealous! That would be the life!
Funny that i read this cause today is “laundry catch up day” for me. I use cloth diapers so my laundry is never ending. Never. There is always at least 3 loads waiting to be washed at any given time. And I only have 3 kids……..Thank you for the encouraging post! If you can do it then so can I!
Annie @ Mama Dweeb´s last [type] ..Wordless Wednesday Best Friends Forever
Sunday, Monday, and Wednesdays are diaper days.
Kids cloths usually 1 load Tuesday and 1 load Friday.
Our clothes 2-3 loads on the weekends.
The important part is that if I’m going to do a load late in the evening (like my weekday loads) either do diapers or kids clothes because if I leave them in the dryer overnight the consequences aren’t as great.
I noticed a singificant increase in laundry when the twins were born. Much greater than their little clothes seem to warrant.
Jen M´s last [type] ..Walking Babies
I love folding. It’s crazy, I know, but I still love it. I do one load each on Tuesday Wed and Thurs, and then on Sunday and Monday finish up to make sure all is done and ready for the week. Socks, I fold Monday night in front of the TV, right now I’m watching Ugly Betty streaming on Netflix.
Jesika Jennings´s last [type] ..A Baby Boy is Still a Boy- Afterall
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