Guest Blog: Let’s talk about laundry and why it never ends
This is a guest blog written by Valerie Recore from Stride Productivity. She is a Productivity and Time Management Expert and a Certified Fair Play Method Facilitator. Valerie works with overwhelmed and overcommitted moms. She’s been there. She gets it. She has 2 kids, a husband, her own business, and occasionally a social life. She too has felt like there’s too much on her plate. With a background in mental health and corporate training, she’s ready to guide you toward a better relationship with time. She loves to travel and looks forward to doing more as her kids grow. On rare occasions, you can find her reading a book on the back porch with a cup of coffee or a glass of wine. If you’re feeling pulled in too many directions, she’s here to help.
Let’s talk about laundry and why it never ends
Ever feel like you are always doing laundry? There’s always laundry. In the dirty laundry hamper, the dryer, and the clean clothes hamper. There’s probably a pile somewhere you’ve forgotten about.
“Laundry is cyclical. You’ll never really be done with it. And that’s ok. It means you can take a breath and maybe not be quite so overwhelmed by laundry.”
As long as everyone in your family has clean clothes every day (most days?) you are on top of your laundry.
When my oldest was born, I never folded my sheets. I washed them regularly. But the 2nd set was always shoved in the closet instead of neatly folded. I was too tired and did not care. No one was digging through my closets judging how neat and organized it was. And I figured if Martha Stewart visited, she could fold my sheets.
Let’s take a few minutes to talk about laundry and how best to feel on top of it.
Start by asking yourself the following three questions:
1: How often does laundry need to be done?
(One load a day?) (twice a week?) I wash clothes one day a week and sheets and towels on another day. I have a friend who does one load each day. Try different routines to see what works and feels doable.
2: How long does each step take?
Time yourself. Sometimes that laundry basket feels like a big project but only takes 5 minutes. How long do each of the following steps take:
Sorting
Putting in washer/washing
Putting in dryer/drying
Hanging up anything that needs to air-dry
Folding
Putting away
3: Who else can help?
Get Your Kids Involved! My kids are learning to do their laundry. My 11-year-old can do it herself without my help and my 9-year-old needs support. One of my kids lives out of her clean clothes basket because she doesn’t like putting away her clothes. She knows how to put away her laundry. She has no interest in doing it. My goal is not to require her to put away her laundry every week but to know how to put it away when she’s ready.
I prefer putting my clothes away the day I wash them because I dislike sorting through the laundry basket or dryer trying to find what I’m looking for. And, because I’ve timed it, I know I can fold a load in less than 10 minutes.
Get kids involved when they’re little. You don’t need to fold little kid clothes. Sort by type and put in a drawer. Toddlers can learn to sort laundry by shirts / pants / socks.
If you feel your partner can’t wash laundry because he’ll likely shrink something, separate your delicates from the rest of the clothes. I have a separate basket for things to hang dry. I have enough that I do a separate load of delicates. But if there’s not enough for separate loads, use a mesh bag. Everything to hang dry goes in the mesh bag. Your partner can learn that the mesh bag means items to be hung up to dry. He is capable of this.
Extra tips
You can also use mesh bags to keep socks together.
Don’t use hampers with lids. Make it as easy as possible to put dirty laundry in the hamper. Lids add an extra step.
If it is important to you and worth your time to have your closets perfectly organized and Pinterest-worthy, go for it. I’m going to suggest that you make it as easy as possible to put clothes away. Use baskets (without lids). Have a drawer for all your workout gear
I have one kid who prefers hanging up her shirts. My other kid does not. I’m not a fan of hanging up shirts. But I recently started folding my shirts Marie-Kondo style, so they sit like file folders on the shelf. It’s easier than I expected and my shirts stay organized.
There will always be laundry. So take some time this week to figure out how to make it work best for you and your family. It doesn’t have to be something that’s weighing you down!
