Laundry sucks - but you can make it less sucky.
Laundry is not a task that can be easily checked off a to-do list, it requires multiple steps that can’t be done all at once (collecting, stain removing, washing, waiting, flipping, waiting for the dryer or air drying, folding and/or hanging). Plus it’s never done, always collecting, always waiting for the next step, never done, ever.
We can acknowledge that laundry is complex, but I’ve been welcomed into enough homes to tell you confidently that a lot of households are making laundry harder than it needs to be. For a lot of households, laundry has become a project, when it should be a habit. Keep reading to learn how to make the mindset shift from project to habit and some strategies that you can apply in your home.
Mindset shift - from project to habit
Imagine saving all your dishes for the weekend, not doing a single dish and letting them pile up only to have to spend your entire weekend running loads and loads in the dishwasher, hand washing some and finding space for them to all dry. This is the same concept with laundry, chip away at it because the laundry will never be done. I see a lot of households treating laundry like a massive weekend project, but because it is such a boring task, it’s too easy to let it sit in between steps while we get distracted by life and more exciting activities. Laundry can either be turned into a habit by honing your ability to notice when laundry needs to be done, or if you need something more automated, consider setting up a schedule. Here are some household schedules to consider:
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Monday - Kid 1 clothing
Tuesday - Kid 2 clothing
Wednesday - Kids Sheets
Thursday - Household Towels (bathrooms, kitchen, rags)
Friday - Adults Clothing
Saturday - Adult Sheets -
Monday - Adult 1
Tuesday - Adult 2
Wednesday - Adult Sheets
Thursday - Household Towels (bathrooms, kitchen, rags)
Friday - Pet Linens -
Monday - Adult Clothing
Tuesday - Adult Sheets
Wednesday - Household Towels (bathrooms, kitchen, rags)
Thursday - Work Clothing
Collect laundry where it lands
Consider a laundry hamper for every type of load of laundry that you do, stored where it gets collected. Use a roaming laundry basket to store the active load. This basket can go collect the laundry, wait for it to wash/dry, and bring it back to the room to put away. While the loading is processing, you still have the laundry hamper to collect dirty items.
For clothing, consider split laundry baskets if you like to wash items separately (ex. White, athletic gear, work clothing). This will eliminate the sorting step if it is already separated and area waiting to be collected for their turn in the wash.
If you have dry cleaning, that needs a spot to collect - most likely near the front door, so you can notice when it’s time for a trip.
If you have items that require hand washing only, that needs a spot to collect - ideally next to where you would do the handwashing.
For the sheets, consider storing a second set of sheets in that bedroom, when you strip the bed, the next set is ready to go on before you even start the laundry load.
For household towels, like kitchen towels or bathroom towels. You may want to consider a centralized hamper for these to collect, or small bins near all your stations (ex. under sinks) that can be easily collected by your working baskets when its time to do the load.
Where you fold matters
Stop doing laundry in front of the TV, it’s making you touch the laundry more than you need to because you have to transport the laundry back to the room it gets put away. Instead, grab your device and headphones and folder the laundry in the room it is going to be put away in. Even better, fold it on the bed, so you have to put it away before you go to bed.
Your house, Your rules
I approach organizing any household as a unique experience, bringing my bag of tools and ideas to throw at the pain points and see what sticks. For some households this could look like:
Stop folding laundry - instead move to an open basket system, each basket for a type of clothing (socks and underwear, tops, bottoms, swim/athletic). Will it get wrinkled, yes. But if the pain point is getting the clean laundry away, this might be your saving grace.
Missing socks - a lot of households keep a pile of lost socks in the laundry room, which seems to grow and grow turning it into a big project to sort. If this is your idea of a fun family night activity, feel free to keep at it. Alternatively, when you put away the load and come up with 1 missing sock, just put it back in the dirty bin. Chances are the other one will reunite in the next load. You could give it a couple loads to find its mate or eventually toss it.
Set timers - If your paint point is flipping the laundry and it keeps getting stuck, set a timer on your phone or near you which will go off when you need to flip the laundry. This could also help with folding laundry, give yourself a timer of 15 mins to fold the entire load. Even if you hate folding laundry, tell yourself you can do anything for 15 mins and get it done!
Make it a project you enjoy - maybe it’s more realistic to do laundry as a big project, especially if you don’t have a laundry at home. Make it a project you enjoy by bringing everything to a laundry mat and doing all the loads at once, Still consider folding it at home so that you don’t end up digging through the clean loads of laundry in the basket for the next week.
Not dirty, not clean system - for those clothes that are to clean to go in the hamper, but too dirty to go back in the drawer, consider hooks in your room to air them out and hang out until it’s their time for the hamper.
Body Double - have a phone call with a family member while you fold to keep you on track and accountable to finish the job.
If you have any pain points in your laundry system, let’s connect and figure it out together.
Happy Organizing