Raise your hand if you hate laundry. *Raises hand* Raise your hand if you have to do it anyway. *Grudgingly raises hand*
Let’s face it. Laundry is a necessary evil. When I first started my Mayhem Management series, I posted one all about how I manage laundry for my large family. It was a system that worked for me for a very long time. Sure, I had piles of laundry from time to time, but it got done. Something happened after I had baby boy. For some reason, my system stopped working and I had permanent piles on my couch, floor and coming out of my ears.
It wasn’t pretty people.
So, I did some research and I have developed the ultimate laundry system. Seriously. I have been doing it for about a month and haven’t had a pile of laundry on the couch once.
And no, my solution was not to hire a laundry maid. Although, I did try that. And if she hadn’t been flaky, she probably would be my current tip.
Without further ado, my laundry system:
1. Make use of the space you have. I am lucky enough to have a nice counter space in my laundry room. However, it was previously cluttered with all the crap I didn’t know what to do with. I also brought up a section of shelving and used it in the space next to the washer and dryer so I could store my soap and two laundry baskets that live in the laundry room. The one on top is for wet towels from the kitchen. The one below is for all the miscellaneous clothes that seem to collect on the main floor.
2. Have a schedule. After much deliberation, I decided to try a room by room system. That has worked beautifully. I only do laundry for that room on the designated day. I posted the schedule on the door for everyone to see.
3. Have a laundry helper. My kids are required to fold and put away their own laundry. That hasn’t changed, but I now rotate through my four oldest kids for a laundry helper for the week. Their name gets clipped to the note on the door that lists their responsibilities. When it is their week, they are excused from dish chores. They thought that was pretty neat-o. For a minute at least. This, of course, only works if you have children old enough to help. Their responsibilities are to: help fold and put away the laundry, tidy laundry room, take out trash, and ask Mom if there is anything extra.
4. Deal with it as soon as it comes out of the dryer. If I take 5 minutes to sort the load into the kid’s baskets, or fold it, it doesn’t get out of hand. I am seriously amazed at how much less time I spend folding laundry. At least not all at once. And, my laundry helper puts away the folded piles for their chore. That helps tremendously.
5. Don’t let the laundry spill over into the next day. Sometimes, this is unavoidable. But, the great news about this system is that it doesn’t take as much time because the amount of laundry is less. Doing one room a day is totally manageable. Even with 7 kids.
