I used to be the worst at accomplishing laundry. There it would sit, staring at me in the face, daring me to even try to stay on top of it. It was normal for somebody to say, “Um, Annie. I’m wearing these pants again today. Can you please wash some jeans?” (The fact that he never started the wash himself was an entirely different post topic. Let’s just understand that I am the only one in charge of this chore.)
What changed? I asked for a few tips from my readers, and actually put them into practice! And I began to use a more efficient washer and dryer. I can seriously leave my clothes in my Whirlpool Duet washing machine and push “FanFresh” and I don’t have to worry about them smelling mildewy if I forget to take them out immediately! This saves me so much time since I am not washing the same load of towels two or three times.
Another thing that helps is learning all about the laundry language. What’s that? Read all about them and tell me what you think!
I compiled my seven tips – please tell me your tips for staying ahead of the laundry game! I still struggle with folding and putting them away. Sometimes we pull clothes out of the clean basket.
L – Let the little ones help – It is so frustrating (and quite a time suck) when I am trying to get laundry done and my kids are messing it up. Or getting into stuff they shouldn’t. Or screaming at each other. I’ve noticed that when I get them involved in the laundry with me, those problems are solved! Ok, so my 3 year old and 21 month old are not exactly poster children for efficiency – it does take longer when they help vs. if I just did it myself in an empty house. However, I do save time in the long run. I give them small handfuls of clothes as I find them. “Here Lucy! Put this one pair of socks in the sock drawer!” Off she runs. “David! Go run and put these 2 washcloths in the towel drawer!” Zoom!
A – Always put a load in the washer/dryer first thing in the morning- The way I always fall behind is when I think I am finally caught up. In my family of 5, I cannot relax and take a break from laundry. So I always make sure to put a load in as part of my morning routine. It is a no-brainer activity that wakes me up and gives me a fab start to my day.
U – Understand your bottleneck – There is always something that slows down the efficiency in your laundry. What is it for you? For me, it is hanging clothes up in the closet. That extra step of putting them on the hangar and hanging them up just takes too long for some reason. So I have this hamper sitting at the foot of my bed, full of dress shirts and skirts. I know this is my hangup and where I get stuck, so I can devise a plan for accomplishing that goal. Or just leave it. They don’t get that wrinkled.
N – Notifications are a must! Like I said above – for some reason I always forget to move clothes from the washer to the dryer. Then I used to have to re-wash them. My Whirlpool Duet washing machine has a cute little song it plays when the wash cycle completes. It alerts me to go and get that moved now. I need that audible reminder. If yours doesn’t have one, set the microwave timer. Or an egg timer. Whatever you have.
D – Delegate! – If you try to do it all by yourself, God bless you. I just can’t do it. I had to ask people to help me out! His job was to move the clothes from the washer to the dryer so they wouldn’t mildew. But with Fanfresh, I don’t have to worry about that anymore. His job now is to start a load of laundry. My Whirlpool Duet also has precision dispense, so he doesn’t have to put a single bit of detergent in.
R – Remove extra steps – I borrowed this idea from Roo. She doesn’t put laundry into piles before putting them away. She folds, hands it to her toddler, and puts another away at the same time. Another friend of mine hangs clothes up directly out of the dryer. Any way that you can take a step out, will save you time!
Y – You should always keep it fun! Who wants to do laundry if it is a dreadful chore? I like to turn on some pop music (gotta love Disney songs) and sing and dance as I put laundry away! Don’t laugh – you should try it! Or, make it a racing game! My 5 year old is always “winning” and it makes me giggle as she runs from bedroom to kitchen, shoving rags into the drawer.
One more tip to tell you, if you are too busy to handle your laundry, try looking for a laundromat near you just like the Stockridge Launderland services.
Your turn!! What are your time-saving laundry tips? Please share! I really really need more ideas!
I wrote this review while participating in a blog tour by Mom Central Consulting on behalf of Whirlpool and received a promotional item to thank me for taking the time to participate.
I am not sure I have any time-saving tips …. I almost always have one load of laundry in the machine. Sometimes it’s one load a day, sometimes it’s three loads a day. I like your tips, though!
Seriously love the way you did this!!! I’m not sure what I did before those washer and dryers!
Annie, these are great tips! I will have to keep these in mind as Gabriel gets older. My problem is folding and putting away, too. It’s almost a routine to rummage through the basket to find something I can wear that hasn’t become too wrinkly. One thing I did (before Gabriel) was one load a day-washed, dried, folded, and put away. Now, it’s two loads a day and it doesn’t get done. Please share the solution when you find it!!!
I have a lot of the same problems. You’re totally right that everyone has a laundry bottleneck. Mine is putting away the clothes once they’re folded. I found I was doing too many loads in one day, so I created a laundry schedule to help space things out and relieve the bottleneck. Check it out: http://www.realmomofnj.com/?p=351
Thanks for the laundry tips!
Hey Mama,
I started working night shift (ugh, I HATE nights), but I don’t have to get a sitter for my 94 year old Dad, and I’m home when the kids get off the bus at 3:45. Sleep is another issue. I have 5 to do laundry for as well. I did NO laundry last week (got a little sleep) and was buried TODAY under piles and baskets! I spent 4 HOURS at the laundromat today to get caught up. I still have another 2 loads to complete my laundry. I too, have to do a load (or 2) a day. I have found a GREAT TIP for socks, undies, jammies and other misc. items is to get 5 stacking baskets . . . place the name of each family member on the basket (mine says MOM) . . . when I’m done with a load, that persons misc. clothing items (see above), go into their basket. The kids (6 and 8) LOVE to play the match game with their socks! All my little boy’s socks are black (for obvious reasons), my little girl’s are bright colors, hubby’s are grey, Dad’s are white, and mine are trouser socks or anklets! I have a drawer for my boys drawers and socks, a pretty basket in a bathroom cabinet for my little girl’s undies (and one for mine), and a drawer for hubby’s socks and underware, same for Dad. This is kept my sanity as I used to HATE to sort and match socks!!! Hope it works for YOU, too. Sounds like we’re in the same boat, I mean, laundry tub. Funny: One day I decided to pull out granny’s wringer washer to get caught up-not a very bright idea! DO NOT TRY THIS AT HOME!
Simply wish to say your article is as amazing.
The clearness in your post is just excellent and i can assume you’re an expert on this subject.
Fine with your permission allow me to grab your RSS feed to keep up to
date with forthcoming post. Thanks a million and please
carry on the enjoyable work.