If you think that you’ll never finish climbing Mt. Washmore, you will appreciate these tips to help you stay ahead of the laundry!
Is it just me or is laundry like the ‘song that never ends’, it just goes on and on my friend. Ha! Before we had children, I never really understood why so many people were overwhelmed with laundry. I usually managed to keep a pretty good handle on it overall.
Then, we had a baby, and 3 years later…another baby, and now: I totally get why laundry is so overwhelming and the bane of most moms’ existences. I’ll admit, I’ve let the laundry get the best of me the past few months. Between a new baby, the holidays and just life, I have had more mountains of laundry than I’d like to admit.
In order to keep up with all these new changes, I am committed to staying ahead of this laundry game.
One of those little changes is in how I approach our laundry routine as a family. I’m making huge strides in staying on top of it, and as silly as it seems: I’m much less stressed because of it!
I don’t feel like there’s constantly something else to check off of my to-do list, and I don’t have to worry if I have a clean pair of underwear (tell me I’m not the only one?!).
How To Stay Ahead of The Laundry Game
Reuse Towels
If you use a new towel for every shower, it can a mountain of laundry in a hurry. We have 4 people in our house constantly taking showers and baths, and that’s a TON of towels to wash each week!
Let’s face it, you can hang your towel to dry and use it at least twice. Getting in this habit alone is a huge time (and resource) saver!
To make this easier, grab a different color of towel and washcloth for each member in your family. With all the colors you can find, this should be easy, even for those with larger families.
Set a Schedule
You don’t feel like you are chasing your tail with it by washing bedding day after day. Do the same with clothing, pick two or three days a week that you will wash, dry, fold and put up the laundry.
Instead of doing 1 load per day, do 2 or 3 loads every 2 or 3 days. By ‘batching’ your laundry work, it relieves the feeling of constantly doing laundry.
Don’t fold your sheets
Pick a day every week or every other week to wash bedding. If you want to keep things to a minimum, wash the bedding and put it back on the bed immediately. No folding, and less to store.
Wash blankets once a month, or as needed, and just put right back on the bed. If you can, hang them outside to dry for a fresh scent when you go to bed that night.
Put It Up Right Away
This is often the biggest struggle. How often do you put off folding laundry and leave it sitting in the basket for days, or pile it so high that it’s nearly impossible to carry the basket where it belongs?
By putting a load of laundry up as soon as it’s folded, you can stay ahead of the game. It not only gives you a sense of accomplishment, but it also clears out your laundry area so it feels less cluttered and overwhelming.
Get your whole family to help
Even toddlers can be taught to help fold washcloths and learn how to separate some clothing into a basket. Enlist the help of older children, and teach them to use the washer and dryer themselves. Make them responsible for their own laundry as they can.