I know I'm not the only mom who despises laundry. I think between the monotony of folding and the fact that it's a never ending cycle of clean & dirty, most moms would love to have someone else take care of the laundry for their family! But like me, just because you hate to do it doesn't mean you can get way with not doing it! Sure if you're J. Lo or someotheroverpaidfamouspersonwhoneverhastodotheirownlaundry the laundry probably seems like a joy...drop it off and it comes back clean and folded and you didn't have to do any of the work! But in my house laundry is work, and the best way to make work easier is to be organized.
We've had the dirty clothes part organized for a while thanks to this lovely creation that I bought at Walmart a few years ago.
My organizational issues with laundry start after the clean clothes come out of the dryer. We have spent the last few years with just two laundry baskets. You can do the math and probably figure out that two laundry baskets for five people just doesn't work very well. And most of the time the clean clothes end up piled on the couch {and the chair} kind of like this...except this is a much smaller pile than normal:)
So I decided it was time to get my clean clothes organized by simply buying a few new laundry baskets. My original intentions were to find some fun colored baskets {ideally in blue, green, and orange to continue our tradition of color coding}, but Walmart and Target didn't seem to get the memo and only had either black or white baskets. I decided on black mostly because they seemed a little more sturdy, but also because they seemed a little more formal too...you know just in case I wanted to leave them sitting around full of laundry when we have guests over!
Now I had three identical black baskets, and I knew that would be an issue. It is is a lot harder for my kiddos to find their clean {wrinkled} clothes if they don't know which basket is theirs. My simple solution was to cut a few pieces of ribbon {blue, green, and orange} and tie them to the handles of the laundry baskets. Now everyone knows which basket is theirs without digging through a basket for 10 minutes while looking for clean underwear!
Do you have any simple solutions for making the dreaded task of laundry easier? Please share them with me....I need all the help I can get when it comes to the laundry!
That is a good idea! I love doing laundry. It relaxes me!
ReplyDeleteI do love doing laundry, but ours is in the basement and that's the part I hate. We have no system and you can tell...lol. When I fold I do try and separate each person's clothes into his/her own basket so it makes putting away easier.
ReplyDeleteStefanie is crazy, isn't she? Laundry doesn't relax me at all, but I am pretty organized about it.
ReplyDeleteI wash the boys stuff separately because they both have skin sensitivities. I do two loads of their clothes a week...darks and lights. When the laundry comes out of the dryer, one basket is for Buddy and the other for Buster. Everything gets folded right away, taken upstairs, and put away immediately (otherwise I'll never do it).
With Jdaddy and my laundry, I'm less organized. Once it's folded and put in a basket, it gets placed on teh floor in our bedroom. Jdaddy hardly ever puts his stuff away, so I'm constantly moving stuff from basket to basket when I need another basket.
Oh, girl, I HATE laundry. I don't mind the washing part, it's the folding and PUTTING AWAY!! I usually let myself catch up on DVR'd shows while I fold laundry. Then it's a little bit of a treat. ;)
ReplyDeleteugh...laundry! I agree...it's the clean laundry and putting it away that is the dreaded part! Ours has gotten much better now that we've moved it upstairs in our closet...but there is a HUGE pile stacked up right now. At least Alex and emily have their own pile ;-) I have no solutions for you...but I LOVE yours! I need new baskets too! great idea! And so cute ;-)
ReplyDeleteI love that you have the 'formal' black laundry baskets :)
ReplyDeleteI may trade my white ones in for some fancy new ones!!!
I have no solution suggestions but I could really use some!
Oh, how I wish I knew more about how to organize laundry. With three boys, there's a lot of laundry, isn't there?
ReplyDeleteThe thing that finally worked best for me was to do a load of laundry every single day. Waiting to do it all on one day was just too overwhelming for me!
I have the EXACT same laundry sorter that you do. It's funny because it has that fabric cover, but I've never once used that! I LOVE that sorter though. Unlike other ones I have had, it has never collapsed or bent or misbehaved in any way other than to fill up too quickly. ;)
ReplyDeleteI taught my kids (8,6&4) to fold their own laundry, greatest thing ever. Now I get it all washed on Monday and we have a big folding party that night with everyone folding their own. I really don't dread it anymore.
ReplyDeleteThere's only two of us and I can hardly keep up with the laundry. I don't know how you do it. I'm actually glad that my laundry area is in the basement because it hides the mess. I have no helpful hints but I'd say that with a family like yours, you must have to do at least a load every single day.
ReplyDeleteGreat idea! This is what I do that is working for the moment. It may very well stop working soon though.
ReplyDeleteI wash all the laundry on Saturday (you can pick your day of the week) and I lay it all out flat as soon as it comes out of the dryer. (Less wrinkles) The flat piles then get stacked inside the laundry baskets until Sunday.
On Sunday I set up camp in my room on my king size bed and fold and put all of the laundry away (hopefully, that putting away part is just awful).
Somehow by not trying to do it all in one day but still completing the job, I do better. It doesn't seem like such a monumental task and it actually feels finished for about 1/2 a day until Nolan decides he needs to change his outfit.
Here's some of my laundry tips:
ReplyDelete1. Cut down on the clothes you have (I'm in process). If you have more than 8 t-shirts, jeans, or shorts that's too many. Give some away or put some in storage for when other things wear out. (Exception: Baby clothes, since they can go through several outfits in a day between spit up and leaky diapers. Other exception, pants of any child in potty training--same reason.).
2. Color code your closet...it's only hard the first time you do it. Very easy to maintain and cuts down time.
4. Keep extra hangers in the laundry room if you have a place to hang clothes there. When you take the hung clothes to your closet, grab all extra hangers and take them back to the laundry room.
5. I won a Robby Wash laundry ball in a blog giveaway about 6 months ago. 6 months of not having to buy liquid soap...of not having to clean up liquid soap drips, of not loosing those little detergent measuring cups and then having to search for them. I highly recommend it!
Loved this post, as I have been trying to get organized when it comes to laundry (and in general). I am trying to do one load a day, instead of a bunch of loads on one or two separate days. That might cut down on having such huge amounts to fold. I'm hoping, anyway! :) But first, I have to catch up on the never-ending dirty clothes pile that's down there now!
ReplyDeleteThis is our same style of organization. I have 3 baskets at this point all are different so they know who's is who's (one for each boy and 1 for mom & dad - the baby's clothes get set on top of the dryer right now). Previously I had done the same as you just sorted it into the baskets unfolded. Then about a year ago when that got out of control, I vowed to fold and then sort. The baskets still sit there by the dryer, but at least it's folded and sorted. If I don't have time to fold, it goes in my desk chair which I use every night so that means I have to fold it before I can work.
ReplyDeleteI make myself fold it and hang it u straight out of the dryer. It doesnt go into a basket unless it is folded. My only downfall is socks. I throw all those in a laundry basket and then when it get to the point that no one has any I have to sit and match an overflowing basket. Last night it took me an hour.
ReplyDeletegreat tip! I'd love for you to link up to my linky party
ReplyDeletewww.blissfulanddomestic.blogspot.com
I have to say since becoming a Whirlpool Mom laundry is a breeze now, but darn it I still need a folder, a putter awayer(you like that)and someone to hang. I'll never iron haha. Like your simple solution for the boys.
ReplyDeleteGood idea! Visit me at http://raisingdieter.blogspot.com/ for a giveaway!
ReplyDeleteI wish I loved it, I wish I found it relaxing, I wish I was organized about it.
ReplyDeleteAbout 80% of the time clothes are either in the laundry room floor (waiting to be washed) or on the couch (waiting the folding and putting away).
My suggestion (not that I follow it) is fold while watching a show and put away in the commercials. If you have a DVR, pause your show and time yourself for 10 minutes. You'd be surprised how much you can put away in that amount of time.
I love the ribbons. We color coordinate in our house too. For our laundry, we have cubbies for each person. But I love the idea of putting ribbons on the baskets. Thanks for the inspiration! http://dejongdreamhouse.blogspot.com/2012/07/upstairs-laundry-room-tour.html
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