Stay on top of your laundry with these easy tips!
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When my twins were born, I was shocked at how much laundry two tiny people could generate. And now that they are rough and tumble, mud loving 5 year olds, it seems like the dirty clothes never stop.
Let’s face it, staying on top of laundry is downright hard. Making a laundry routine that actually works with your schedule is even harder. Being ahead on your laundry? It seems like an impossible dream. But it is totally doable with a little planning and few simple tips.
Well-established routines are the key to keeping your home life organized, and creating a laundry routine is no exception. If you can find a way to stay on top of your laundry, you will free up more time, keep your house more organized, and reduce some of your daily stress and frustration.
So what's the secret to creating the perfect laundry routine that actually allows you to stay on top of your laundry instead of being buried under it? I've tried a lot of different systems and these are the things that have worked for me.
How to Stay on Top of Your Laundry
Make a schedule
I'm usually very good about washing and drying our clothes, but things would get held up in the folding process and I would fall behind fast. By planning out my loads and doing one every day from start to finish, I'm more able to stay on track and keep the piles at bay.So how do I plan things out? First, I use the laundry checklist that's included in my printable cleaning planner.
The cleaning planner is an awesome tool to help you organize all your household chores. In addition to the laundry schedule, you'll find weekly and daily cleaning schedules, checklists, and more! Just click the button below to grab yours.
$2.49
I plan out which loads I will do from start to finish every day. I write the name in the "wash" column then use the "dry" and "fold" columns to check off when I finish each step. (You know you've forgotten to move the laundry to the dryer more times than you want to admit. It's OK. Me too.)
By having a schedule and a checklist to refer to, I'm able to stay on top of my laundry plan and remember where I am in the process each day.
Sort your laundry as you go
Save a step and sort your dirty clothes into designated baskets as you take them off. Then just grab the right basket on it's designated day to wash, fold, put away, and be done.Depending on your family, you'll need at least 3 baskets: whites, darks, and towels. You may also want a separate basket for each child (I wash all my boys' clothes in one load).
Use a laundry sorter to keep everything in one spot - check out some awesome options here:
Fold and put away as soon as it’s done
This is where I always used to fall apart when it came to getting the laundry finished. We get a little too busy, and before we know it, there are clean piles everywhere and you can't find anything you need. Save yourself the trouble and fold and put away the clothes as soon as they are done.I know this seems crazy, and I was really skeptical at first too. But once I got in the groove of doing it I found it to be so much easier and really made folding go a lot faster. And speaking of folding...
Don't fold what doesn't need to be folded
Socks? Underwear? Nope. You can stay on top of the laundry by taking a few shortcuts and not folding things that really don't need it. We use a sock bin (thanks to my friend Sharla for this brilliant tip) and I buy the boys multiple pairs of the same socks for everyday wear so matching is a breeze. When you have a bunch of the same socks in one bin you don't need to worry about matching and folding. Just toss them all in, grab two at a time and go. (Seriously, little boys do not care about fancy socks. It works for us.)
The same goes for our underwear - it just doesn't need to be folded. Stack it up, put it in the drawer, and you're good to go.
Teach the kids to put away their own clothes early
It is much easier to stay on top of the laundry when everyone is helping out. I organized my kids' dresser with super cute labels (you can get them for free here) so that they could put away their own clothes from an early age. Having help makes things goes much more quickly and helps to make sure that the laundry gets done from start to finish every day.
Creating your own laundry schedule and following these simple tips will get you out from under the mountain of dirty clothes in no time. And you will actually be able to find your clean clothes when you need them (imagine that?!). I promise it will make your days run much more smoothly and you'll feel more organized and in control.
What's your laundry routine? Leave a comment below and let me know!