How do you do laundry? (Have I asked this before??) I can't get a routine down with laundry and it's driving me nuts. I've tried the following:
1) Having a "laundry day" where I do all the laundry in one day.
I like the idea of this but the reality is that I get beat down at the end of the day and I loose the energy to put laundry away so it sits around in piles in baskets or on the couch all week. I usually end up leaving the last couple loads in the W/D so it never really gets done.
2) Doing a couple loads a day (or every other). I usually get all the steps completed (wash, dry, fold, put away) but the organized person in me hates not having everything clean. And I feel like I'm always doing laundry.
I am the type of person who likes to have order and routine with my tasks. Any ideas that have worked for you?????
The Magnificat
1 year ago
10 comments:
For a while, I was really good about doing light-colored stuff on Tuesdays (start them in the morning before work, dry, fold & put away in the evening) and darks on Thursdays. (We have the luxury of having room for three laundry baskets in our closet!) I'll do the gentle cycle stuff, most of which doesn't get dried, whenever it's full enough for a small load. My husband helps with the lights and darks, but knows not to touch the other stuff!
Now, however, I'm not as strict as to which day I do what because our Life Group keeps meeting on different nights and messing up my routine. :-)
I'm a Monday laundry person. On a good week, the stuff is actually put away before we go to bed on Monday nights. The other 51 weeks a year, I feel like I've accomplished something if the pile is off the sofa before we go to bed on Tuesday, and the piles (now transferred to the bedrooms) are put away before Thursday. :)
BUT, because I don't always have the same size of each type of load, and there are some clothes that can go in different loads without problems, I kind of like doing it all on one day. That way I can tweak the loads based on what needs to be washed that week - it just feels more efficient that way.
I DO lose a whole day to laundry, but I'd rather do that than feel like I was ALWAYS doing laundry (which is how I'm sure I would feel if I spread it out). Plus, since I'm washing a load of diapers every other day, I don't have to worry about whether the washer or dryer is ready for them any other day of the week! :)
Hey, Jaime,
What works best for me is doing laundry every day. I like gathering it all up in the morning and starting a load first thing....then when I need a break from running around, I stop, turn on something interesting on TV(like Frasier reruns) and fold laundry. Lately I've been carrying the laundry up after I take Conner home and then either put it away before I go to bed or in the morning. I do feel like laundry is a large part of my life, but it is better than it used to be when I had all four boys and the two of us to do laundry for. Then laundry WAS my life! :)
I try to have everything clean for the weekend. Maybe not folded and put away, but at least on the floor in a big pile in our bedroom. :) That means I usually start laundry on Thursday morning and work as much as I can until Friday afternoon. Once Peyton gets home from work on Friday, I'm off work too. Monday is a big cleaning day for me. After watching everything accumulate all weekend, I'm usually on fire to get everything done (even the remaining laundry) by Monday morning. It's amazing how quickly chores get done with a little ambition and motivation
i'm probably not one to ask... laundry is the one chore i love to do. i just do it when it needs to be done. :)
When my kids were little, I used the couch all week to hold the folded laundry. Since Bradley was three though I had him put away his own folded laundry. He would (still does) hang up his hanging clothes too becuase there was a short hanging bar in his closet. Now I usually do laundry all day Saturday or Sunday and throw it all on the couch until the evening time and then fold it all that night and everyone puts their stuff away and has clean clothes for the week.
P.S. My BIGGEST problem with the laundry is getting everyone to put the dirty laundry into the baskets they belong in and not all over the bathroom, bedroom, and living room floors!
I too am very anal. Monday is the only day of the week we don't go anywhere, so I do all laundry on Monday. Usually is about seven loads. I fold all the laundry on our bed, but only put it away when laundry is totally done. That way we can't go to bed unless I put the laundry away. I must confess though, I see Monday laundry as a challenge and I feel a great sense of accomplishment when I finish. And I love knowing everything in the house is clean, at least for five minutes before Anderson spits up on himself AGAIN!
I have tried both having a "Laundry Day" and doing a load everyday. Right now I am trying to do a load everyday - it works if I am super house woman and stay on top of it (which is hardly ever). I just think laundry is hard at this point in our lives - my Mom never seems overwhelmed by the laundry, but I am sure that when she had 5 people in the house instead of two she was. All my friends with two or more kids hate the laundry. As my very wise Grandmother says "this too shall pass". :)
I have experimented with all ways to do laundry & I finally decided that a little everyday helps me not get behind. I have a large bin with 3 compartments & I have a system for where everything goes. When one bin gets full, it gets gets washed. Things with spots go in a different place...that's where I get overwhelmed. With little ones & a husband (!) we seem to have lots of messes.
Anyway, a friend of mine does it this way & I finally embraced it. Just a couple of loads a day & they can get washed, dried and put up usually before late afternoon! When they come out of the dryer, I try to immediately put them in piles of where they go or who they belong too, & that helps not have very much ironing & and I distribute them quickly to the right person or room. Then sometimes later that night, maybe during the first part of bathtime, I'll put everything away real quick.
I feel better even physically when the laundry is caught up & the dishes are clean!
Good luck! I love seeing other people's thoughts on this.
Post a Comment