The laundry heap, the mountain, the never ending chaos that hides in the corners of our bedrooms and stacks up in the far reaches of our basements. We’ve all been behind on laundry, however there are some of us who can’t ever seem to catch up. I have fallen into that category! With 5 children, laundry is my nemesis. It returns day after day to haunt me. Today I am going to share 5 very different tips for doing laundry and staying on top of it. Choose one that inspires you and just go for it! Make sure to pin this for later!
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1. Reduce your clothing!
The number one tip for doing laundry (without pulling out all your hair) is to reduce the amount of laundry in your home and keep it from piling up is to reduce the amount of clothing! We have a tendency to continually build up our clothing collection. Buying new things here and there without ever purging what we don’t wear, because, well, we might wear it one day! (am I right?). But especially with young children, you should go through your clothing once a month. If you stay on top of your drawers and closets, it should take you no more than 5 minutes each room, just whisk through and grab what doesn’t fit, hasn’t been worn that month, or has been replaced with something new!
I have found that the idea amount of clothing for my kids is about 5 pairs of pants, 10 shirts, a few sweatshirt As soon as we have 20 pants and 30 shirts and 10 sweatshirts, we are officially living in chaos. So take some time to analyze what fits, what you need, what you don’t wear and PURGE!
2. The bag system.
Have you heard of the bag system? The bag system is where you pair up your clothing into complete outfits and place them in bags. With young children, this is a LIFESAVER. We did it for a full year before we took a break and I miss it every day! No more having your kids pull out 10 shirts and 4 pairs of pants, no more messy drawers! No more finding out you have 20 shirts but only a few pairs of pants that fit with them. In this system, I chose 10 complete outfits for the kids and a few nice dress clothes and we just rotated them. Our laundry cut in about a quarter and the kids got dressed a heck of a lot faster too! I wrote each child’s name on their bag and we had a basket for empty bags they had used that we reused every time we did laundry. I may have just been inspired to return to this system. As a side bonus, it makes it REALLY EASY to pack up if you are going on a trip!
A glimpse at our laundry bags.
3. The laundry basket system.
In the laundry basket system you have a different laundry basket for each child. Once that child’s basket is full, you simply do a load of laundry, fold it right into their basket, and put it away in their room. It is a great idea if you have a large family and are feeling overwhelmed with the amount of sorting you have to go through each time. I always feel like I can’t really relax and zone out while I fold because I am constantly trying to figure out what sizes go in which pile. We have used this system before and it can be a wonderful tool–especially if your children can do their own laundry! Have them do their own laundry once it’s full.
4. A load a day system.
When I have a lot of laundry and try to do it all at once I burn out. After doing 10 loads of laundry I am ready to SCREAM if I see another dirty laundry basket, so we just let the clothes pile up again so I can have a big break between. By the time I stop procrastinating and feel up to scheduling another “laundry day” it has once again become a huge task to complete. Try just doing 1 load a day. Even if you have heaps and mounds to do, don’t do it all at once. If you focus on one load a day you can get into a routine. Put a load in before breakfast, switch it over before you do school, and fold it while you’re watching a video or doing a lesson online. Find a routine that works for you!
5. Set up a dump pile.
One of the best tips for doing laundry I was given was to set up a dump pile. The most effective way to do the zone system is to just have the one basket. Multiple times a day gather the dirty clothes as you change, have a shower, take off your dirty socks, etc. Start a load when you put the kids to bed, throw it in the dryer when you go to bed. If you like folding at night you can either do it in the evening or fluff it up in the morning and fold it then.
Join us for the “How to Organize your Life in 30 Days” Challenge!
Do you feel like you are drowning in to do lists, laundry, and dishes? Does lack of organization cause you to lose your patience or avoid having people over? Are you often late because you can’t find what you are looking for? As mom’s, we all have a lot on our minds and life is busy. In some seasons our mind becomes so full that we become less productive. I am teaming up with some amazing bloggers to bring you 30 days to an organized life! All you need to do to join the challenge is check out the landing page HERE and start working through the challenges. You can join in at any point, there are no rules! Share your before or after pictures on Instagram and use the hashtag #30dayorganize for a chance to win a $10 gift card to Hobby Lobby (3 winners)! The more your engage on social media, share the graphic below, etc. the more entries you’ll have! The winners will be announced on Instagram so stay tuned!
Join the challenge! Take a screenshot and share this on Instagram!
Your #30DayOrganize Challenge Day 17: Try a new laundry system!
I challenge you to choose one of the systems above and go for it! If you already have a system you love, then just do it! I want to see pictures of you on Instagram folding a load of laundry! Make sure to use the #30dayorganize for a chance to win the giftcard and tag me @rebeccaspoonerpg so I can come and tell you how awesome you are!
