Sign this to the tune of Let it go:
The laundry piles high on the
couch tonight
Not a maid to be seen.
My living room is consumed
Yes, it’s all for me.
The laundry piles high on the
couch tonight
Not a maid to be seen.
My living room is consumed
Yes, it’s all for me.
 |
| Disclaimer: This is only two loads of laundry, usually there is FAR more. |
As a homemaker I feel it’s my responsibility to be sure that there are clean clothes available for everyone in the house.
Now I am an odd duck who finds joy in doing laundry. I mean everything except putting it away, but I have little people who love to help with that. 🙂
Now I am an odd duck who finds joy in doing laundry. I mean everything except putting it away, but I have little people who love to help with that. 🙂
Step 1-
Gather all the laundry into one spot.
Step 2-
Wash & dry all the loads you have for the day.
Step 3-
As a load comes out of the dryer I pull out shirts and hang them up right away, the rest get thrown on the couch. If any shirts ended up missing out on the hang up step in the laundry room, they get flattened out nicely over the arm of the couch.
Step 4-
Wait for all the clean laundry to collect on the couch throughout the day. It’s not worth folding and leaving it there to be unfolded by the short people in the house. It’s also not worth making several little trips to put away one sock or a towel when I know there will be many more to go with it.
Step 5-
Once all the CLEAN laundry is on the couch I separate into piles like this:
The Fashionista, The Drummer, Momma, bathroom washcloths/towels, kitchen napkins/towels, Hubby’s socks.
I fold bath towels, kitchen towels, my hubby’s undershirts & underwear. I only fold those because they fit better into the drawer this way. And I occasionally will fold The Baby’s clothes as I go.
That’s it, The rest are left as messy piles.
The big kids are responsible for putting their own clothes away in their rooms, & in the right places. They know that mom won’t iron their clothes if they put them away in a sloppy manner. So they are really good about taking care of them. 🙂
Gather all the laundry into one spot.
Step 2-
Wash & dry all the loads you have for the day.
Step 3-
As a load comes out of the dryer I pull out shirts and hang them up right away, the rest get thrown on the couch. If any shirts ended up missing out on the hang up step in the laundry room, they get flattened out nicely over the arm of the couch.
Step 4-
Wait for all the clean laundry to collect on the couch throughout the day. It’s not worth folding and leaving it there to be unfolded by the short people in the house. It’s also not worth making several little trips to put away one sock or a towel when I know there will be many more to go with it.
Step 5-
Once all the CLEAN laundry is on the couch I separate into piles like this:
The Fashionista, The Drummer, Momma, bathroom washcloths/towels, kitchen napkins/towels, Hubby’s socks.
I fold bath towels, kitchen towels, my hubby’s undershirts & underwear. I only fold those because they fit better into the drawer this way. And I occasionally will fold The Baby’s clothes as I go.
That’s it, The rest are left as messy piles.
The big kids are responsible for putting their own clothes away in their rooms, & in the right places. They know that mom won’t iron their clothes if they put them away in a sloppy manner. So they are really good about taking care of them. 🙂
We all pitch in to put all the other piles away. This method of folding, sorting and putting away goes really quick!
Tips:
* Pretty much always hang up shirts as they come out of the dryer. No ironing!
*Teach kids to put their own clothes away, make it simple. This does not need to be fun, and they don’t need a reward. It should just be one of their responsibilities. We start this expectation at about 2-3 years of age.
*Buy all matching socks for each person.
Then you aren’t stuck trying to figure out which sock belongs to which person and where the other mate is for it. If each person has 20 of the same socks then they just get thrown in a sock drawer and pulled out two at a time, no more matching up! Can you tell mismatched socks were a time consuming joy sucker of mine? 😉
* Pretty much always hang up shirts as they come out of the dryer. No ironing!
*Teach kids to put their own clothes away, make it simple. This does not need to be fun, and they don’t need a reward. It should just be one of their responsibilities. We start this expectation at about 2-3 years of age.
*Buy all matching socks for each person.
Then you aren’t stuck trying to figure out which sock belongs to which person and where the other mate is for it. If each person has 20 of the same socks then they just get thrown in a sock drawer and pulled out two at a time, no more matching up! Can you tell mismatched socks were a time consuming joy sucker of mine? 😉
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| Separated piles |
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| The Big Kids’ piles get thrown behind the couch.. Looks like someone changed too much and someone else hardly at all.
What is your method or what are your practical laundry tips? |
I need to start making my kids help more with laundry!