Welcome to Day #19 of the 31 Days to Professional Homemaking series. To learn more about this series and to see the list of topics, click HERE. Please know that I am not an expert in marriage, motherhood, or homemaking. I'm just a woman {who happens to be a wife, mother, and homemaker}, trying to figure it all out, by the grace of God. This series is just as much for me as it is for anyone reading.
Before we get started, I'd like to offer you the following button, in case you want to share this series with your readers:
For starters, let's just clarify the fact that laundry is a necessary evil; a curse of the fall. {Seriously, Adam and Eve were naked and not ashamed pre-fall... just saying!} I don't know anyone who particularly enjoys doing the laundry, but there's really no way around it. Hence, the "necessary" part of the phrase "necessary evil".
The only way to keep from having to do laundry is to simply buy new clothes instead of washing what we already have. But, that's really expensive and wasteful. So, it's not even an option, is it?
So, what a laundry-loathing homemaker to do? Yep, you guessed it: make a plan and stick to it.
Good. Now that we got that straight... go forth and launder.
Kidding, kidding. I'm not going to leave you hanging like that. Now, I can't give you some magic formula that says, "if you do this, this, and this, you will never fall behind on laundry, ever again...." But, I still planning on following through on my "super practical" promise by sharing some tips I've come across {some I use and others I don't, but I thought you might}.
TEACH EVERYONE TO USE HAMPERS
Hampers are wonderful tools for keeping dirty laundry corralled in one place, thus off the floor. The trick is to encourage your family to actually use them.
With my son {who is three-going-on-four years of age}, I have been teaching him to put dirty clothes in his hamper as soon as he undresses or after bath time. Sometimes he does it without me telling him and other times? Not so much.
Obviously, at his age, it's understandable that he hasn't quite caught on yet, but eventually we're going to establish the rule of "if it's not in the hamper, it doesn't get washed" and let natural consequences teach the lesson. When he doesn't put them in the hamper like he's supposed to, I'll start picking up the dirty clothes myself and "hiding them". Then, when he runs out of clothes or can't find a favorite shirt, I'll remind him of the hamper rule.
DO IT ALL IN ONE DAY
This is something I've just begun to implement in my home and I have to say, I'm kind of loving it. As soon as I wake up, I sort the hamper and start a load of laundry. Then, I set my phone timer to remind me to switch things out every hour. When it's time, I move the clothes from the washer to the dryer and then put a new load in the dryer. I keep this whole system going until I have a sofa-full of clothes. When the last load of the day is dry, I turn on the television and fold until it's all done. Then, I put it all away immediately.
Usually, it takes anywhere from 4-6 loads {depending on how "on schedule" I am} for me to get all of it done. This doesn't include bed linens, though, as I like to wait until I clean the bedrooms to wash those {which is usually on Wednesdays}. Other than that, though, every other piece of laundry gets washed: clothes, bathroom towels, and kitchen towels.
If you're behind on laundry, I would recommend reserving one full-day to the task and then doing a load or two the rest of the weekdays in order to catch up.
DON'T FOLD CLOTHES
Well, at least, don't fold them all. Really, unless your a perfectionist, things like underwear and socks really don't need to be folded. If you have to match up socks because you have twenty different styles and colors, consider simplifying: chose one brand/fit for and buy several pairs, buying only white, brown, and black.
WEAR THINGS MORE THAN ONCE
The germaphobes among us may cringe, but it is absolutely fine to wear some things more than once as long as they're not stained and they don't give off an unpleasant odor. Pajamas, jeans, and sweaters are great examples. As soon as you or your kids take off pajamas to put on day clothes, fold the pajamas and place them on top of your {or your kids'} pillow to put back on again in the evening. Same with jeans and sweaters... when you take them off, fold them or hang them back up.
DON'T OWN AS MANY CLOTHES
{a.k.a. get rid of back-ups}
Believe it or not, getting rid of the clothes that you no longer wear {either they don't fit or you just don't like them} can actually help you stay on top of your laundry. If you only have seven outfits and they're all dirty, you'll be forced to do at least one load of laundry so that you'll have something clean to wear. {Of course, the actual number of outfits you keep is entirely up to you.} When there are more clothes to choose from, you'll end up going to your closet and choosing something you don't even like just because you don't want to do any laundry. Go ahead, ask me how I know...
Today's Challenge:
Each day, I'll give you a challenge: one small thing you can do to apply each day's topic to your life and your home.
1. If you're behind on your laundry, your number one task today is to catch up as soon as possible. I know it's not fun, but you'll feel so much better when you're not stepping over dirty clothes piles mountains all the time.
2. If you are caught up, take this time to go through your closet and get rid of your "back-ups" - those clothes you don't even like but wear to avoid doing laundry. While you're at it, get rid of your kid's "back-ups", too.
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