Laundry, it seems to be the dreaded task of any household. It is a monster that can’t be tamed. The mountain that can’t be climbed.
Just when you think you have finished there is more, it’s the unwanted gift that keeps giving.
It’s time to learn how to stop letting laundry control your life. Over the years I have had different routines that I have followed different methods for doing laundry. With each phase of life it has changed.
Routine
1. Once a week laundry
This was the method I grew up with. It worked great for my mom, it still does. Everything was washed on one day. That night we folded all the laundry while watching a movie. The next day the house was vacuumed picking up all the lint and stray tissues because someone always forgets to take that one tissue out if their pocket.
Perks
- It all done in one day.
- You can have awesome laundry folding parties with the family
- You don’t have to worry about it till the next week.
- No laundry piles sitting around for days on end.
Cons
- With babies and toddlers (or just really messy kids) you WILL run out of things.
- Diapers, family cloth and cloth pads should not sit around that long.
- You spend the whole day focused on laundry
- If you line dry you might run out of space
2. Daily
This seems to be the prefered method of many young mom’s. You can throw a load in the wash first thing in the morning and have it folded and put away by mid morning.
Perks
- You can be done with that one load by mid morning.
- You never have to spend a whole day on your laundry
- It gives you the pleasure of having a simi easy task to check off your list each day.
- If your kids have an extremely messy day you can throw it in with whatever is going to be washed.
Cons
- If you don’t keep up you will be overwhelmed the next day.
- You are never competly done with laundry
Reader Tip:
Amy Williams: A load a day keeps the mountains of laundry away
3. Teach your “big” kids to do their own laundry
Each member of your family can have their own day. Start teaching them to do their own laundry as soon as you think they are responsible enough to do it. This maybe as young as 7 in some families.
Perks
- Less work for mom
- LESS WORK FOR MOM 🙂
Cons
- Water and electricity maybe wasted on smaller loads
- You kids might mess up some cloths in the learning process
4. Get “Taming The Laundry Monster”
Taming The Laundry Monster is a wonderful ebook written by a Angi Schneider, a blogging friend of mine. She has so much wisdom and advice on how to tame your own laundry monster. If you are feeling at all overwhelmed you should check out her book, it’s only $3.99. For an amazing deal on Angi’s book along with another laundry help scroll down to the bottom.
Laundry Baskets
1. Family basket
Everything gets thrown in one basket and sorted when ready to wash
2. Color coded baskets
Have a set of baskets in the laundry room where your family sort their cloths each day. An example would be, light-colored cloths, darks, denim, towels, ect.
3. Each person has their own basket
I personally love this method. As cloths are being taken out of the dryer or off the lines drop it into their personal basket. If they are old enough they can fold and put away their own cloths.
Reader Tip:
A Gypsy’s Herbal: In or beside the laundry basket, keep a smaller cloth bag. Whenever putting dirty clothes in the laundry basket, simply put the whites in the bag. Makes it faster and easier to throw a bag of whites in whenever you’re ready to, instead of having to sort them out! Other option for multiple baskets -say for darks v colors: keep a couple laundry baskets, make your own sorter, or buy something from IKEA.
Natural (Green-Living) Laundry Solutions
A couple years ago I wrote an article about natural verses harsh chemical laundry detergents. If you have been around Nourishing Simplicity any length of time you would know that I am against any harsh chemicals in my food, in/on my body or on my laundry.
Some amazing bloggers provided me with some links that will get you started making your own detergents, bleach alternatives and fabric softeners.
What more could you want?
- DIY Fabric Softener from Live Essentially
- DYI Laundry Detergent (Powdered) from Live Essentially
- Nature’s Bleach from Holistic Homemaking
- Natural Stain Remover from It Takes Time
- How to Make Your Own Washing Soda from It Takes Time
- How to Make Powdered and Liquid Laundry Soap from momsAWARE
I was making my own soap for awhile but a tried and true favorite is always soapnuts. They are eco-friendly, frugal and so easy to use. If you use only cold water you have to soak them in hot water for about 10 minutes before adding them to the machine.
A new favorite of mine is Disovle Strips. I have been using them for about a year now. They are strips of almost paper like detergent. You place one per large load and you are good to go.
Keep an arsenal of white vinegar and baking soda in your laundry room.
These are a must have for any green-living laundry people. I buy them from Costco in bulk.
Reader Tip:
Natalia Gill: Add 1/2 – 1 cup of baking soda and 1/2 cup vinegar to loads that need a fresher scent. Like towels and little boy clothes!
Grace
Give yourself some grace. Find a routine that works best for you but don’t stress out when you fall a bit behind. As my “kindred spirit” Anne Shirley would say. “Tomorrow is a new day with no mistakes in it.” Or as Miss Stacy would add, “No mistakes in it yet.”
If you are an avid line dryer, use your machine instead. Once in awhile or even all the time may be worth saving your sanity. If you are are be sure to use wool dryer balls instead of dryer sheets. You will have static free cloths, that are soft without the added chemicals.
Leave a Reply