Finding Sanity – Laundry part 3

if you missed the beginning of this series,
read all previous entries in order here

A few weeks ago I swapped the dinner preparation job with my 15 year old daughter for the laundry job.  Kait disagrees, but I definitely think I got the better end of the deal.  This switch not only relieved my daughter from a job she really disliked, but it has really shown me where I’ve been slacking off in creating and maintaining a smooth laundry routine.

Creating a laundry routine is essential when your goal is to form habits that don’t include letting laundry pile up in front of the TV (which, surprisingly, is where my clean laundry used to find itself). 
Laundry routines start with the people who wear the clothes.  That isn’t just you, but your kids play a role in this, too.

Put a dirty clothes hamper in an easily accessible place.  When you have young children in the home, having one place to deposit spent clothing may be the easiest way to go.  Not only does having one laundry depository make less work for me, but it also helps that I can look in one place and see how much laundry I have to wash.  This isn’t difficult – I’ve trained all my children (the nursling excepted) to put their clothes in one big hamper. 

Choose your laundry days.  I do one load, sometimes two, on an average day.  However, if you can’t wash daily, or simply don’t want to, pick out a few days a week as laundry days.  Getting into the habit of washing your family’s clothing on certain days of the week will take practice.  But with consistency you’ll be surprised how quickly a practiced routine can turn into a habit. 

Sorting your laundry as you go eliminates needing numerous hampers in your laundry area. Because I wash everyday it isn’t hard to sort and wash clothing in one load, towels in another.  The way I sort is a personal choice.  I have found that for me it’s not worth the added hassle of extra loads, to sort out colors, lights, and darks.  The simple act of separating out my towels from my clothing (which is a new habit for me) has made a tremendous difference in the feel and smell of my clothing.  And that’s enough for me.

Finding sanity in doing laundry starts with a simple routine.  Find one that works for you and stick to it. You’ll be pleased you did.

How have you simplified your laundry routine?  Tell us about it! 

Next up: Specialty loads.  Bedding, bleaching, diapers & bathmats

Tagged with: her job • laundry • things that work

Filed under: Uncategorized

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