Laundry Mondays......Getting Control of your Laundry - part 3

So far we have addressed the sorting issues here in part one, and the washing is getting done on a regular schedule here in part two.  Now we just need to get it all dried and put away.

If you are staying home all day or just arriving home from work its all the same.  Move the load from the washer to the dryer as soon as you have a few minutes. That's all it takes , a few minutes. 
Then turn on your dryer and let it dry. 

Some people use dryer sheets, and some use softener in the washer.  I use my reusable DIY dryer sheets.
I also use dryer balls.  These handy little items are so easy to make and they are a real workhorse in your dryer.  You canput a few drops of your favorite essential oil on your dryer balls if you would like your laundry scented.  I like to do it when drying my towels.

Drying clothes indoors is a big burden on the electric bill.  Using three dryer balls in your load helps with drying time.  I found that my clothes dry in about 2 thirds the time, thus saving me money.  Another perk is that they reduce wrinkles.  You can make your own, or purchase them.  They are just a tightly wound ball of wool that has been felted.  I will cover how to make them in another post.

Once your clothes are dry, if you have the time, just fold them right out of the dryer. This is the best way, eliminating nearly all wrinkles and any need for ironing.

More often than not this is the real scenario...Your clothes are dry, you heard the buzzer signaling the end of load a while ago but you were busy doing something else.  I hardly ever fold my clothes as soon as the buzzer sounds.  I end up doing the same thing every time no matter how good my intentions were.  I wait until all other chores are done for the day and then I go  and toss my dryer full of laundry into a basket.  I bring it to the TV room and fold while I'm watching.

 Once it's all folded I put it back into the basket to deliver to it's final destination.  If you sort items by person when folding then it is easy to just put each person's pile on top of their dresser. Make it their chore to put their own clothes away. Better still just  get them to take their own pile,  to their own room.

 You will want to put away for younger family members not able to do their own, There's nothing worse than rewashing items that weren't used,  so make sure it all gets in those drawers and closets. 


WOW
You Laundry is done, So lets do a recap.
-You've  set up a sorting station, and now your laundry is always sorted and ready for the wash. 
-You spent 5 minutes max to put a load in the washer in the morning. 
- You spent another 5 minutes max to move the clothes from the washer to the dryer.
- You spent about 20 minutes folding your laundry
- Another few minutes to put it away. 
If you can fit a half hour into your cleaning schedule you can stay on top of it, and unless you have a large family, you will find you don't need to do a load every single day.

This routine is just the one I follow and it works for me, you will need to figure out what works for you and your family.  However; If you get into the habit of following  a routine, even the largest family can have clean laundry on a regular basis and it does not become a daunting task that gets out of control.

In the future I'll  share some of the really easy DIY recipes I use to make my own laundry supplies.   As you can see from this picture I'm out of the powdered detergent so I will make a batch soon and share it.   Talk about saving money, and it works great.

I'd love to hear from you.

Please leave a comment and tell me

what you think of todays post.

Laundry Mondays......Getting Control of your Laundry - part 2 - Washing

Do you have a sorting station for keeping your dirty laundry under control.  If you don't  read this post and find out why it's a really good idea.

Once all the sorting is being done on a regular basis everything else is going to be really easy . I promise, and if your a working mom, like most moms, then this schedule will make things a lot easier for you. 

Washing:
























Before you are about to leave the house each morning, take the basket from the sorting station that has the most laundry in it and toss it into the washer.  Remember it's already sorted so just throw it in there. Add your laundry soap and turn on the machine.  Or get the last person to leave the house turn on the machine.  You really don't want the machine sucking up the water when someone is in the shower.

Now carry on with your day.  Take the kids to daycare or school, go to work, or whatever your regular routine is.  The clothes will wash without you watching the machine.  Doing the wash should take at most five minutes of your day.  Yep.. five minutes to take a basket of clothes , dump them into the washer, add detergent and turn on the machine. That's it.

The most you need to worry about is whether or not you are going to use cold or hot water. What type of detergent you are going to use, and do you need to  use any extras.  When you get the basics right your machine will do all the hard work.

I highly recommend you put washing directions for each basket on a label. Whether you keep the label on each basket or on the lid of the machine is up to you, but if the directions are right there anyone can do this part. For example, I have a sheet taped right onto the top of my washing machine. It has these directions:  Whites and pastels - wash in warm water
Darks - wash in cold water  and  Towels and Underwear - wash in hot water

TIP: Getting to know labels is a good way to keep your clothing looking great.  Teach your older children as well to help avoid laundry disasters. Manufacturers put those labels on for a reason, so if you want to avoid hand washing you should just avoid buying very delicate items.


























There are many different labels but most of them use the same symbols. This picture is just an example, but it might be a good idea to print out one from your computer that is easy to read. This will make it easier to teach your kids how to do their own laundry, a life skill that they should all have.

If you have put just one load into the washer, when you get home you  are going to have one load of  nice clean laundry and you have completed the next step in your laundry task. And so far it's taken you five minutes. I told you this was going to be easy.

Just like sorting your clothes keeps them looking new longer , so does keeping your washing machine clean.  I'd  like to share this post from  "A spark of creativity"  and recommend it as an excellent way to clean and maintain your washing machine. Treat your appliances well and they will last you a long long time.  Remember , they work hard too.

See part one of this series here.   and part three of this series here.

I'd love to hear from you.

Please leave a comment and tell me

what you think of todays post.

Laundry Mondays....Getting Control of your Laundry

I used to hate doing laundry and would leave it all to do on "laundry  day".  I always thought that was how it needed to be done because that was how my mother did it.   Of course when I first started doing my own I still had a wringer washing machine and a clothes line. It was supplemented with double laundry sinks though so I considered myself very lucky, but it still took a whole day to fill the machine and wash all those clothes starting from the whites to the darks then emptying and filling again to rinse.  Then sometimes it took a few days to get everything out on the line and dried. Of course all those wrinkled items needed to be ironed.  Does anyone else remember this.



Laundry doesn't have to be a monumental task.
Today I have a matching washer and dryer and it makes me smile when I go into the laundry room to put a load through. Remembering the old way always makes me very grateful for what I have now. 

Doing Laundry now
 

I guess if you never experienced a laundry day like that, you might not realize how easy it should be now.  Notice I say  "should be".  That's because I'm always hearing how people have let it pile up until they are overwhelmed with the task of getting it done.


If you want to get rid of huge piles of laundry you need to get get rid of laundry day. We create dirty laundry every day , but it doesn't take a whole day to get it clean.  Follow my laundry posts over the next few  weeks   and maybe you won't hate laundry any more either.  And on your day off from work maybe you can find something more enjoyable to do.

Lets start with sorting. It's such an important step. If you don't sort your clothes when you wash them, they will soon look dingy, colours will run or fade and that shirt you just loved when you bought it won't be so great any more.  A long time ago I just threw all my dirty laundry into one big pile and then it took ages to sort and made a big mess on the floor when I did the wash. Not any more. Everything is sorted all the time now.

This is what you need to do. Find a central space in your home to keep at least 3 baskets for continuous sorting. Ideally this would be the laundry room but the bottom of a small closet or a space in an upstairs hall will work if that is what you have.  Use one for whites and pastels (make sure nothing will run), one for darker coloured clothes  and one for towels,underwear and socks.  Do a quick round up once a day from bedrooms and bathrooms and toss items into the correct basket.  Better still get each family member to put his or her own clothes into the right basket.

Get the whole family on board by putting their own clothes in the bins

Now you have all the laundry sorted and you haven't even started yet.  See how easy this is going to be. Maybe not if you have  a mountain of laundry to do before you start your new system, but if you  do have a mountain of laundry that's a really good indicator that you need a new system.  Just saying.
























If you want it to be even easier , teach each family member to put their own laundry into the sorting station.  Of course older children should be doing their own,  but you will probably  have to help those little fellows for a bit until they get the hang of it, otherwise you might find a weeks worth of clothing under the bed or in the toy box. 



Here are a few laundry sorting stations that you might like, but picking the system that is easiest for you is the key to actually making it work.

With just a few shelf parts you can put together this simple system for your laundry baskets.


































A good simple and cheap system just using baskets and labels can be found here.
























This slide in system created by welcome to the nuthouse is really great because it doesn't use up a lot of space.   I would put castors on it though for easy moving.















OR
You can buy a six pack of these baskets from Amazon and create your own system.



or maybe this system from Vileda found here.

















Which ever system you choose, just remember that by using it faithfully you can  make your laundry task much much easier.

Find   Part 2 here to see what to do with your nicely sorted laundry.
and Part 3 here to see the finish line.


Update:  If you have a talented builder in you life you could build this  Dresser Sorting Station. Click on the link to get full instructions

I'd love to hear from you.

Please leave a comment and tell me

what you think of todays post.