Making Laundry Manageable

Laundry is a continuous chore. In my household, there is only myself and my three year old daughter, but sometimes I feel like I am washing for a family of four. Laundry is a housekeeping responsibility that you want to keep manageable. It only takes a few minutes to wash a load or dry a load, but when you add in folding clothes and putting them away those piles can eat up a whole Saturday.

Tips on how to keep your laundry under control

• Give each family member a hamper for their room. When each person has a hamper you are less likely to see piles of dirty clothes on the floor.
• Create a functional laundry room. Invest in installing some shelves and hooks, then designate an area for your laundry detergent, fabric softener, stain remover, irons and ironing board
• Schedule your laundry days. Let’s face it you may not always be able to do laundry on the days you plan, but if you can at least try to pick two days out of the week that work for you, your laundry will seem much more doable. I try to do my laundry on Wednesday and Saturdays. I set aside a few hours and then I am not so overwhelmed during the week.

Laundry day is here the clothes are in the hamper, the laundry room is organized and you are ready to go. Why not recruit your kids to help you out? Kids loved feeling involved and it is a great way to teach them responsibility. Even if you have little ones you will be surprised at how much they can actually help you out.

One of the simplest tasks for your child to participate in is separating the clothes. You can purchase hampers that already have a sorter, if not it is just as fun for them to put all of the colored clothes in one pile, the whites and the dark in another. If you have little ones this is a great way for them to practice their colors.

Once all the clothes are sorted it is time to put them in, your kids can do this along with dumping in the detergent. My daughter loves throwing the clothes in, so I got her a footstool so that she could reach the machine.

When your first load is out of the dryer, it is important to fold the clothes and put them away. If you decide to wait this is when the laundry can really pile up. Make this chore go a little quicker by having your children fold their own clothes or at the very least put them away, of course if it is age appropriate.

If you do your laundry at least twice a week you’ll discover that your piles won’t be as daunting as if you do it all in one day. Another good reason to choose two days to do your laundry is that it saves electric and water, rather than doing it every day or sporadically. Try to invest in energy saving washer and dryers, not only is it a great investment, but you will be helping out the environment that God has blessed us all with.

Copyright © Chere Williams, Moms of Faith, All Rights Reserved