Tips for keeping up with laundry - Page 2

[3boys3girls]

Originally Posted by alwaysbymyside

i took a cue from the duggars and turned our laundry room into the family closet. There's a couple of hanging racks in there, and our dressers, and a retractable clothesline. It makes things so much easier.

I also made a pact with myself that once i did that, the clean clothes would not leave the laundry room unless they were on a body. (as in, i don't put the clothes in a basket and take them somewhere else to be folded. They get folded while i'm standing in the laundry room and put away right there.)

this is my goal! We have five kids + my husband & me. In july we'll have 6 kids. The first thing i need to do is get rid of three-quarters of each child's clothes..... They'd each still have enough for 2 kids! And then i'd like to do like the duggars and have a combination laundry room / family closet. Another laundry issue i have is that i can never get around to putting it all away.

[hlkm2e]

I have 4 young kids, so I know how much laundry there is to do.

I have my laundry down to a science finally. I do laundry only on Monday and Friday. I start it the moment I come downstairs and I am usually done before I start dinner. I usually do 4 loads. 1 each of towels/linens/bibs, lights, darks, and whites.

I have a basket for each of the colors that I sort into each day as the clothes come down the laundry chute. I try to keep track of things that need stain treatment and I set those in the utility sink so I can spray them before they get washed.

Since 3 or my 4 are still in diapers and need new pj's everyday (I think they smell like pee even if they aren't leaky) I did need to buy a couple extra pairs of pj's for the twins, so we could have 4 pairs each.

My suggestion would be to find out exactly how many full loads of each type you are doing each week and then figure out how to break that into the least amount of days doing laundry. That way you aren't doing a bunch of small loads of the same type and wasting precious time. That is what was killing me. I would do not quite full loads to get it done, but it actually ate up my time, because a not full load and a full load take the same time to do, but you have to do more not full loads.

[AlwaysByMySide]

Originally Posted by 2boys3girls

Another laundry issue i have is that i can never get around to putting it all away.

Yep, I have no problem actually getting the laundry done, it's the folding and putting away that I struggle with. I swear, the family closet system makes things SO much easier.

[suziek]

I've posted about my solution to the laundry problem before, so I'll just cut and paste what I wrote in an earlier post.

I do mix colors and whites to no ill effect (give or take one or two pink loads). I mix towels and sheets with socks and underwear, etc.


"Here's my laundry system: the kids share the master bedroom with the walk in closet. We put the washer and dryer in the closet. We put four hanging sweater bags--the kinds with six cubbies each--along the rod. Each night, the kids undress for their baths and toss their clothes right in the washing machine, where other dirty laundry (clothes from the kitchen, wet socks, running clothes, tc) has been tossed all day. I put my jamps on then, too. Then I run the machine. By the time they are done with their baths and we've done our reading, the clothes are done and ready for the dryer. When the clothes are dry and the kids are asleep I put their clothes out at the foot of their beds for them (the boys and I wear the same things day after day, which really cuts down on the stuff that has to be put away, Dh and dd like a bit of variety.) What remains gets put on the hanging bags.

We have some things stored, but we each have very few clothes in circulation at a given time. I wear about three different things, my boys two, my dd four or five. It really makes life so much easier.

I also do a load of laundry in the morning--sheets, towels, pajamas. Again, the pajams just get put into the communal jamps basket until bed, when they get put on again."

[Kino]

Not the OP, but thanks for the ideas! I'm going to start loading the laundry at night and starting it up in the AM. I used to start laundy as soon as I got out of bed, but got out of that habit with the baby. I can only do a load or two a day anyway as I hang dry.

[StephandOwen]

I tried doing a load a day. I HATED it. I hated feeling like the laundry was never-ending. Now I do all laundry on one day (usually Sunday). Either DP or I will take all the laundry that needs washed and throw it into a huge pile in the hallway by the laundry room. Then we just do it. Whoever happens to notice the washer/dryer stopped will put another load in. All dry laundry goes on the loveseat in a big pile, where I then sort/fold. Then we carry all upstairs and put away. Sometimes if we're really busy it might sit on the loveseat until Monday. Usually it doesn't sit there any longer than that. And then laundry is DONE until Sunday

[nolansmummy]

I've let go of the expectation of having all the laundry done at once. I got caught up one weekend and i've done at least one load a day since (except for the rare times i don't have anything to do) and its helped. I only sort towels/sheets and other clothes. We wash everything in cold. We don't have hampers in the kids rooms, just one in their bathroom and one in our bedroom.
I enlist my husband to help me fold every couple days and we do it while watching tv before bed. Sometimes it stays in the basket folded for days. That is ok for us. The goal is clean clothes.

[rebeccalynn]

Keep It Simple

I struggle with laundry too and think that the key for moms with many small children (or others that struggle in this area) is to Keep It Simple. Could you just treat the stains and throw everything into the wash as you wear it and then start the load when it gets full? I also am one that does not separate much and washes almost everything on cold. I use color safe bleach if I feel it needs it. Sure, I have a few items that are an exception, but they are very few and I really think twice about having "special needs" clothing. Also, maybe set a few times a day that you check/swap the laundry (I do after breakfast & lunch & kids bedtime).

I do not know if you have this problem, but my dds like to unfold my clean/folded laundry and pulling their clothes out of their dressers. I was also having problems getting the laundry put up because of sleeping kids. I ended up putting their dresser in my bedroom and the problem was solved. I easily fold laundry on my bed and then immediately put it all up.

[lisalulu]

Laundry is an every day chore here too! I usually do 1-2 loads plus a load of diapers. Typically I start right in the morning. I dry on the line overnight to cut down on dryer time so that takes an extra step.

I usually take whats on the line and throw it in the dryer to finish it. Put whats in the washer on the line and start a load in the washer. I'll take what was in the dryer upstairs with me and put the basket in the living room. Usually while ds2 is napping I'll fold the clothes while keeping ds1 company while he colors or something. Then I'll take a couple minutes to put away what I folded (this was always the hardest for me) and then maybe do another round from the beginning if I have time.

I don't sort my clothes unless I know I have something that bleeds-I've been lucky and never had a problem-and everything is done on cold.

By far my biggest challenge with laundry has been going from the "folded in the basket/on the couch" stage to "put away in drawers" so I just limit what I bring up from the basement. For a good while there, our sofa was everyones dresser because thats as far as I would get!

[bananababies]

I just happened upon this thread earlier today, and it totally inspired me to just get it done! I did about 8 loads and I'm almost done. I still have a few piles left, but they're mostly delicates/hand-wash and dry clean only. And once those are clean I'll probably donate at least half of them cause I just don't need them anymore and can't keep up!

I ran out of hangers - I had to sent my hubby to the store after work to pick some up! I've never had all the clothes hung up at the same time!

[oneKnight]

I wash everything all together too. We wear jeans, tshirts and sweats, nothing that towels and underwear can't be washed with too. I wash on warm wash/cold rinse, because this time of year "tap cold" water is VEEEEEEERY cold and I really just don't think it washes as well. I use cold/cold in the summer because the tap water is halfway warm then anyway. I line dry everything, either inside or out depending on the weather. DH helps me hang things up so it's a breeze.

My problem is that I tend to keep a laundry basket full of clean, dry clothes sitting around almost a week because I absolutely hate folding things. Sometimes I match the socks as I get them off the line, it takes a minute but it forces me to actually do it. If I could find an economical way to hang up socks/underwear, I would probably do it.

[Blucactus]

Here's what I do.

Washing:
We have a basket upstairs (bedrooms) for dirties, and a basket downstairs (living space) for dirties. When I have time, or they start to get piled up, or I need something specific, I wash them. If there is enough to sort by color/type, I sort them and wash on warm or cold. If not, I wash them together on warm or cold.

Drying/sorting:
Our washer/dryer are in the basement. There is a hanging bar above them, and a big table along side them (enough room for me to walk between the appliances and table with ease). Most clean clothes go into the dryer, some gets hung on the bar. All clothes out of the dryer go into piles directly. There are three baskets under the sorting/folding table: DH, DS1 and DS2. I have a bin on top of the table. As a generalization, I don't bother to fold them. They get tossed into the correct bin when they're in my hand as I take them out of the dryer. Towels/washcloths/linens/dishcloths are folded directly into neat piles on top of table.

Putting away: At minimum of once a week (usually a saturday), we ALL put ALL the clothes away. Everything. Hanging stuff goes right into our closet, where it...hangs. Bin stuff goes into people's drawers. Towels and such usually get put away during the week when I am running up and down to the basement doing other stuff (feed cat, grabbing canned goods, throwing in laundry) It's not more work to go down to the basement to get clean clothes for ppl during the week then it is to go upstairs to the bedrooms.

It is an imperfect system (My DREAM system would be a laundry room/family closet off the kitchen in the heart of my home, but that's not happening! LOL) but it WORKS for us.

[suziek]

Just wanted to add that I think putting laundry away is easier if the drawers aren't too full and there is an exact place everything goes. Then you don't have to make decisions or set things aside for later and you don't have to move things from one drawer to another or stuff clothes in. For the kids we don't have dressers at all, just closet hanging bags. And they only hold the clothes the kids actually wear. The rest (off season, to grow into soon, special occasion) is in containers on the shelves. Everything fits easily and is easy to see. If the space weren't so narrow I'd post a picture.

[Kyyrah]

I only have two kids but two are in diapers and DH is a clotheshorse so we have a bit of laundry too.

I have ONE diaper pail and ONE laundry basket. ALL our clothes go in it. When either gets full, I wash what's in it. Period. No sorting. Cold water for clothes, hot water for dipes. I also make one extra hot water wash for our rags/kitchen towels/etc. I put it right in the dryer and immediately dump it on our made bed, so I fold everything before bedtime, and set the laundry basket right up again. And we family closet so it's all right there.

May I suggest doing away with the extra space in your laundry room? I remember growing up we had a huge pile of clothes in our laundry room. It was 10+ years of living there before I discovered, whilst moving, that there was a table under the clothes heap. I kid you not. I was in high school and there were clothes from first grade in said pile. If it were me, I would have turned the table into a craft or sewing space. If there's no room for clothes to pile up, they won't...

[Alyantavid]

I'll be one of the few on here who doesn't do laundry every day. I can't stand that.

I wash, dry, fold and put away clothes 2 days a week, Sunday and Wednesday. I do sort, lights and darks. The towels get their own basket and I wash those whatever day I clean, usually Saturday. Dh's work clothes get their own loads and that's after I wash the regular clothes on Wednesday, mostly so the next load is towels which I bleach. I used to fold and sort on my bed, so I'd have to put everything away to actually go to bed, but I'm bedless at the moment so I fold/sort on my freezer that's in the laundry room.

[Drummer's Wife]

love all the ideas in this thread and hearing everyone's system. Laundry is neverending in my home. I need to get rid of at least half of our clothes... maybe blankets, too. I do several loads a day and still never seem to get caught up. For sure I don't separate by colors or anything. All laundry gets washed on warm, except diapers which is always hot. My kids have school clothes and play clothes, I am crossing my fingers the proposed dress code changes go thru and they can wear the same thing they do at home (for the most part, anyway).

I hate laundry (& dishes)

I still haven't done a family closet, I attempted to do so in our master closet but it was way too much in one space. I hope to get some clothing racks in the spare room downstairs, which is close to the washer/dryer and thus where my kids end up getting dressed each day anyway. Just have to get DH to get his drums out of there first

[Ygle]

Well, here are the things that have seemed to work for me...

For one I've definitely weaned down the clothes -I used to have the philosophy that more clothes meant I had to do less laundry, what was I thinking??? To be fair to myself though, when I had fewer people in the house a few days' worth of clothes didn't fill up the washer so I guess it made sense for us all to have enough clothes to get a full load's worth but now that that happens more quickly more clothes just adds to the work.

I also got rid of all collapsible or larger laundry sorters... those things just gave me way too much grief trying to lug them around or trying to dig stuff out. I went with nice firm small plastic square bins on the floor of everyone's closet. So now everyone can just toss their clothes on the floor in the bins and they are so easy to carry and toss the clothes into the washer.

And I got rid of the dressers -things getting shoved in the drawers or stuff in the drawers being tossed around looking for a favorite item caused so many headaches, also not knowing if some special item was clean until the last minute. Now everything is out in the open in the closet, either hung on a hanger or laid out on an open shelf (besides socks and undies in bins). When stuff comes out of the washer or dryer everything that can be hung up gets hung up (we hang sweaters, I've been reading a lot here people say they don't hang sweaters because it damages them which has me a bit worried, but I've been doing this for four years and so far I haven't noticed any issues yet? maybe it's because the sweaters are stored for half the year, though?) and I have a bar to hang hangers on in the laundry room, socks and undies get tossed in a basket and pants and skirts get minimally folded and set on top the washer and dryer. My 4yo likes folding the towels and sorting socks and underwear so while I'm hanging and folding he's matching socks, making piles for everyone and folding the towels... before he started folding towels I decided it was no longer something I had time for so I switched to bins in the closet and just tossed towels in there, no folding! When it's all out of the dryer if everyone's available they immediately grab their hangers, stack of folded pants, and pile of underclothes and take to their closet, underclothes tossed in a clear bin, folded clothes placed on open shelf, and hangers on the rod, easy. Sometimes someone is not immediately available but it's pretty easy for anyone to do when they see it and their hands are empty.

I also weaned down the bedding... now I just wash everyone's sheets together once a week (this was a big scary change for me, I used to change the sheets every other day, I'm still squeamish about going so long, but I just don't have time to do it anymore) in one load and put the same ones back on and then I do all the pillows and comforters once a month which takes about three or four loads... so there's no folding or putting away bedding. If I find myself with more time on my hands I will go back to more frequent bedding washing and one thing I found that really helped there was sticking with nonfitted sheets... easier for everyone to make their own beds and one person to do quickly, also don't have to worry about sizes and easier to fold and not worry about grabbing the wrong sheet out of the closet (with people pulling out and unfolding several to find the fitted sheet, ugh!)

[Knittin' in the Shade]

there are 6 of us in my house, and I found that the worst part of doing laundry was the sorting and folding after it was washed, because all of it was jumbled together. So now, there's a laundry basket in the boys' rooms (we've got them 2 and 2, so the oldest and youngest are together and then the two middles are together) Then DH and I have our own hamper for our stuff. I do the middle guy's stuff on Monday, the older/younger's on tuesday, then sheets on wed, dh and mine on thursday, towels on friday, and two loads on saturday (both boys' loads) It's my older guy's chore to fold and put away his and the 2 year old's clothes, and the 7 year old's to fold his and the 5 year old's clothes, then they each put their stuff away. So, now I just fold sheets, towels, and my/dh's stuff. So much better!!

[mamabain]

i only have 2 children and my dh does his own laundry (has his own hamper) so i know i have it easy.

but here is what helps me: hanging out the laundry. it is a stretching, peaceful experience and cheaper. i have the laundry wash overnight and in the morning take it out and hang it up (here in the winter i am using clothes dryers from IKEA). then the next day it is dry and i fold and put it away.

this is the most peaceful laundry has been for me. OH and we don't sort clothes and wash everything on cold.

i am excited to be continuing this peaceful method in the nicer weather so i can get some vitamin D while doing it.

[Queen of Cups]

I try to do one load a day, but sometimes fall behind. When I've gotten behind I'll take a day and do catch-up, which goes like this: I do several loads in a row and when I fold them I set them on the bed in stacks (my pants, my shirts, DH's shirts, etc) and after I've done all the loads and folded them, I put them all away at once. I also have a big box sitting in my room to fill with stuff for Goodwill as I go through the just-washed clothes. Obviously, life is better when I stick to my one load a day rather than getting behind.... I usually try to put a load in the washer either right before bed or first thing in the morning, then when I get home from work (I work part-time while the kids are in school) I switch it to the dryer and then fold and put away before dinner.

ETA: There's a hamper with two pockets in the master bedroom (colors/whites), one hamper in DD's room, one hamper in DS's room, and one hamper in the bathroom for towels. That way its easy for me to grab ONE load each day!