We’re six kids in and we still haven’t developed a great rhythm for washing clothes. Some times, we do one load per day. Other times, we wait and wait and are eventually forced to do ten loads in two days. Chris and I have reached a point in our marriage where we’re pretty neutral towards laundry. We’ve each picked other chores to love and despise, so we stick together on this one. Our people’s clothes must be washed, and often. No getting around it. There a few tips I’ve found along the way, that make this ever-present chore more bearable.
Bottoms up. Lately, I’ve gotten into a habit of washing everyone’s bottoms together. I go through each hamper and pull out all of the shorts and pants. I find it makes the drying and folding process quicker and simpler. Likewise, a whole mess of t-shirts would be just as straightforward. Since I wash most items on cold, mixing colors doesn’t really matter here. When you know what you’re pulling out of the dryer, it’s possible to fold an entire load in a very small window of time.
Fold with a friend. Chris and I have found laundry-folding to be super healthy for our marriage. Some heavy conversations have taken place between us over a pile of fresh clothes. Eye contact isn’t required, hands are distracted with a menial task, and bottoms are forced to stay in the same room for the duration of the conversation. We’ve also had some great date nights at home with laundry. Finding a Netflix series on which to binge makes everything more fun.
Get it out of here. We make it a goal to put laundry away right away. There will be no pawing through baskets to find clean undies, or living off of piles of shirts at the foot of the bed. If we can’t sort and deposit items immediately (after bedtime, for example), then it gets done first thing the next morning. We’re doing laundry so often, it would be downright depressing to add to an already-present pile of clean clothes.
What about you? Give to me all of your washing wisdom!
5 Comments
Rachael, I loved this post. Although my husband and I don’t have kids yet, we still end up going through a fair amount of laundry between the 2 of us ( My husband’s in the Army so he goes through a set of PT’s, ACUs, and civilian clothes each day + regular work out clothes). We have both found this to be a neutral gender role for us, as well, even though it wasn’t in both of our families. Most of the time, he will fold (in the most impeccable, military- style way) and I will sort and put away. He enjoys folding because it gives him an opportunity to watch something on Netflix and still be contributing to the household chores! We work as a team and get the job done. If he is not around to help, I take the opportunity to listen to a sermon on my phone or turn on some tunes to make the job go by faster. Thanks for sharing!
sadly, we’ve had to paw through baskets because although i don’t muster up the energy to fold laundry. boo.
but when i do the easiest way is to let the kids do it. just kidding. i wish. i separate the piles by kid. once i’m done with my daughter, the boys’ piles are a breeze!
I have no advice. Laundry is my nemesis. My current method is my hubby telling me at 11pm that he has no underwear or work clothes for the following day, and then staying up until the wee hours washing, drying, ironing, and putting away…Oy, I need to learn how to be more organized!
We try to do at least 2 loads everyday . Not that it always happens but when you get behind it feels like you’ll never get caught up. My favorite tip is for each kid to have a lingerie bag and when socks come off your feet they get put in the bag TOGETHER. then once they are close to out of socks the whole bag goes in the wash and then you are gauranteed a match to every sock. I used to waste way to much time everyday just looking for socks!
I love that the two of you partner on the laundry! My husband has largely refused to help with dishes, which caused me untold amounts of mental anguish until I got smart and declared I would no longer do laundry. It works for us, because he actually prefers doing it all–I tend to shrink things and that makes him nervous :D