Tackling Family Laundry

A large household can mean piles upon piles of laundry each week. Even small families can feel the heavy load of laundry day. In the past, I have tackled laundry without much thought. This often leads to a huge pile waiting for me! To get this under control, I’ve tried a few different approaches. I have listed them below. I recommend trying each one over the course of a few weeks to see which works best for you and what fits best into your schedule.

One day a week: Choose a specific laundry day each week in which load after load is washed, folded and put away (or at least put near their final destination).  I recommend making this a day that is relatively clear of other plans. While each load is running, do other things around the house like cleaning, cooking, or playing outside with the kids. When using this approach, I designate one day each week for laundry and heavy cleaning. The rest of the week I do light cleaning to keep it tidy.

Daily: Do a load of laundry every day – whatever needs to be done.  This prevents pile up, but requires a little effort every day.  When using this approach I recommend sticking to a routine. For example, after your morning coffee put a load in the washer and before the kids take a nap put it in the dryer. This makes it easier to remember that it needs to be done.

Organized Daily Laundry: This approach requires some organization of both of the dirty laundry and possible the rest of the family. Laundry is done every according to a schedule. For example:

• Monday:  Work & School Uniforms
• Tuesday: Whites
• Wednesday: Child’s Clothing
• Thursday: Moms Clothing
• Friday: Dad’s Clothing
• Saturday: Blankets & Heavy Items
• Sunday: Catch up, anything left over

For this approach, separate hampers or laundry baskets work well. Have each family member drop their dirty clothing into their designated basket. This prevents most of the sorting that will be need to be done and limits any leftover laundry on Sundays.

Other Laundry Tips:

• Teach kids to do their own laundry. This while save time in the folding/putting away process.
• If laundry is overwhelming or you have to many other things to worry about, consider a laundry mat. Many offer washing, drying, and folding services for inexpensive prices. They usually charge per pound. You just have to drop off, pick up, and put away.
• Fold clothing as soon as the dryer is done. This will reduce wrinkles. If you hang dry clothing, smooth each piece with your hands as you hang it.
• Use homemade laundry detergent to save money and be eco-friendly.

Do you have laundry tips? We would love for you to share. Post them in the comments below.

Related posts:

1. Laundry Done Right: Laundry Tips to Save Your Clothing and Machines
2. How to Store Outgrown Clothes
3. Interview: OMommaWrites, where writing is how sanity is found amongst diapers, laundry, and homework

No Responses to “Tackling Family Laundry”

1. Baby Bump Diaries says:

   August 9, 2010 at 1:55 pm

   RT @babybumpdiaries: Tackling Family Laundry http://bit.ly/asX8PL #moms #cleaning #homemaking