Or Not to Sort
Some families have eliminated the sorting step altogether. Sara Sinani, mother of three, skips sorting her children’s clothes. “I wash all my kids clothes without sorting. Each kid has his own basket that way I can keep their socks separated.” Mom of three, Angela Leever, uses the same method. “Every kid has a hamper in their own room and I wash everyone’s things separately. It goes from their own basket to washer, dryer, and I put it right back in their room.”
Sorting the laundry into piles based on color, then back into stacks for each family member takes a lot of time. By implementing this method, families can eliminate the frustration of making sure things are returned to the proper owner and shorten the time they spend handling the laundry.
Assign Laundry Days
Some families prefer to set aside one to two laundry days a week like Julie Keller, mom of three. Keller says “I do three big loads and fold them as soon as they are dry. I try to get it done on Friday so my weekend isn’t spent in the laundry room.” Larger families may benefit from doing a load or two every day, like mother of seven, Krystal Laws. “Two loads of laundry each day is much easier than 10 in one day.”
The key is to choose which method works for your family and stick to it. Having a set laundry day (or days) frees up time for other chores or more enjoyable pastimes.
Sock Solution
Where do all the socks go? Sherrie Hoffman, mother of two, may have found a solution “I put a name on a zippered lingerie bag and each person puts his or her socks in that until I do a load. I only have to match the pairs that are in the sack when the laundry is done.”
Wear it Again
While it may sound simple, only wash clothing when it is dirty. Reuse towels and wear pajamas more than once. Jeans and sweaters can often be worn several times before washing. These small changes can make a significant difference in the size of the laundry pile.
Get a Head Start
Put a load in the washer before bed and when you wake in the morning, move the clothes to the dryer and start another load. When the dryer is done, fold and put away laundry and move clothes from washer to dryer. The faster it moves, the sooner it will be done.
Go Commercial
Michelle Hupp of Omaha, NE has a tip for when laundry gets really behind. “If I’m really overwhelmed, I go to the Laundromat and do it all at once.” Take advantage of the commercial sized washers and dryers and use several machines at the same time. You will be able to do multiple loads in the time it would take to do one at home.
The challenge of taming “Mount Laundry” is a problem that will never go away but with these tips you should be able to stay on top of it rather than buried under it.
