Raise your hand if you hate laundry. *Raises hand* Raise your hand if you have to do it anyway. *Grudgingly raises hand*
Let’s face it. Laundry is a necessary evil. When I first started my Mayhem Management series, I posted one all about how I manage laundry for my large family. It was a system that worked for me for a very long time. Sure, I had piles of laundry from time to time, but it got done. Something happened after I had baby boy. For some reason, my system stopped working and I had permanent piles on my couch, floor and coming out of my ears.
It wasn’t pretty people.
So, I did some research and I have developed the ultimate laundry system. Seriously. I have been doing it for about a month and haven’t had a pile of laundry on the couch once.
And no, my solution was not to hire a laundry maid. Although, I did try that. And if she hadn’t been flaky, she probably would be my current tip.
Without further ado, my laundry system:
1. Make use of the space you have. I am lucky enough to have a nice counter space in my laundry room. However, it was previously cluttered with all the crap I didn’t know what to do with. I also brought up a section of shelving and used it in the space next to the washer and dryer so I could store my soap and two laundry baskets that live in the laundry room. The one on top is for wet towels from the kitchen. The one below is for all the miscellaneous clothes that seem to collect on the main floor.
2. Have a schedule. After much deliberation, I decided to try a room by room system. That has worked beautifully. I only do laundry for that room on the designated day. I posted the schedule on the door for everyone to see.
3. Have a laundry helper. My kids are required to fold and put away their own laundry. That hasn’t changed, but I now rotate through my four oldest kids for a laundry helper for the week. Their name gets clipped to the note on the door that lists their responsibilities. When it is their week, they are excused from dish chores. They thought that was pretty neat-o. For a minute at least. This, of course, only works if you have children old enough to help. Their responsibilities are to: help fold and put away the laundry, tidy laundry room, take out trash, and ask Mom if there is anything extra.
4. Deal with it as soon as it comes out of the dryer. If I take 5 minutes to sort the load into the kid’s baskets, or fold it, it doesn’t get out of hand. I am seriously amazed at how much less time I spend folding laundry. At least not all at once. And, my laundry helper puts away the folded piles for their chore. That helps tremendously.
5. Don’t let the laundry spill over into the next day. Sometimes, this is unavoidable. But, the great news about this system is that it doesn’t take as much time because the amount of laundry is less. Doing one room a day is totally manageable. Even with 7 kids.
I always do laundry on Sundays. That’s my laundry day. As I tell anyone who needs clean clothes throughout the week, it’s not Sunday, which means I’m not washing it. This works pretty well, but it means my entire Sunday is filled with laundry. Of course, I also have 3 kids, not 7. I’m sure I’d need a much more organized system with any more.
C @ Kid Things´s last [type] ..I Wish I Knew
I used to have one day a week to do laundry too. I hated spending the day doing laundry though. Actually, I think clean clothes should just appear as if my magic.
I fold it right out of the dryer and into a milk crate designated for each kid. I still get piles of dirty laundry climbing the laundry room wall, but clean laundry is always dealt with immediately and always has a place. Laundry has been my nightmare since I had 4 kids. Now that I’ve doubled those kids– well…
Diane´s last [type] ..The 10 Commandments By Adam
Great system. Thanks for sharing your plan. I only have to do laundry for 3 people, but I’m sure as my family grows I’ll use some sort of schedule like this.
Emily´s last [type] ..GUEST blogger: EMMY MOM
These are some great tips. I like your room by room system and helper idea.
I love doing laundry, but it’s probably because I don’t have kids yet. Maybe I should see if anyone would hire me to do laundry for them?
Thanks for linking up to the Take it on Tuesday blog hop. I’ll be pinning this post!
Betsy @ Romance on a Dime´s last [type] ..Take it on Tuesday blog hop #17: Kitchen Remodel Before
You have really REALLY good tips here. The idea of us having a 4th kid seems even more appealing now, seeing as it’s manageable to do laundry for 7! Kudos to you for making it so workable!
Mama, Hear Me Roar´s last [type] ..Dreams of a domestic tyrant
Thanks for the wonderful tips on laundry. Wish I had a counter though. My laundry room is super small so I have to take the wash into the living room and fold it there. It can clutter up the living room though. But I really like all your ideas.
Sela toki´s last [type] ..My very ownTarot card reader
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what I love is that this is the very next post after your “anything’s better than cleaning” post. =) love it. With 5 kids in our family, we each got a day of the week and that was that. Still, sometimes our ping pong table was COVERED in mounds of clothes.
Rebecca {The Reluctant Housewife}´s last [type] ..Wordless Wednesday a.k.a. Those pictures that I promised