Taming the Laundry Monster

[RealLifeMama]

Washing is not hard at all! I can do that really easy. It is the backup that occurs after the washing that is tough!
I will never be one of those women who folds and hangs up laundry immediately. I just won't! Andit hardly gets put away, mostly it goes from basket to body to hamper! :rolleyes

DH decided to help by getting me 5 laundry baskets. One for each member of the family and then an extra for sheets/towels.
I am supposed to sort them as I remove the clothes from the dryer. Then at least when I go get the kid's or myself dressed, I go to the corresponding basket. It helps a lot!

Then, finding socks for my kids is the toughest task always! Especially the way they always take their socks off put them who-knows-where, and they never get washed as a pair. I got some lingere laundry bags, and I put the socks in there to wash and dry and they all stay together that way! It has really helped.

What tips have worked for you?

[Mothering by Heart]

This is the extent of my sorting:
whites
towels/jeans
mom/dad clothes(cold)
kid clothes(warm)

It is so much easier that way and I have had no problems with bleeding
As for socks, I am so glad it is sandal season. I hate socks :td
I have 4 laundry baskets on top of the washer and dryer. My four sorting categoreie go in each one and when one is full, I wash. I do still have aproblem with putting away though...

[Mamaka]

I'm not so good w/the folding/putting away thing either. :/ I've finally gotten to the point of washing all the sheets first, making the beds immediately, and then dumping all the rest of the clean clothes on our bed as they come out of the dryer. That way, I have to get everything folded before going to bed (and I force myself to do that instead of throwing them back in the hamper or on the floor). Plus it has the added bonus of getting my dh to help fold. ;)

[kalemommy]

I'm convinced I'll never get to the bottom of our laundry basket! On occasion, we get close...then it's time to take someone's dirty play clothes off and there we go again!!

[crunchymum]

*sigh* laundry. yuck. :P

for reals, the only thing that helped me was doing the flylady thing: wash, dry, then fold & put away right away. if i can't take the time to fold and put away, i don't put another load in. (or, i won;t take the load that's in the dryer out until i can put it away).

otherwise, i am up to my ears in clean laundry laying everywhere, and i never know what's clean and what's not. :rolleyes i actually found out it really doesn't take long to fold and put away 1 load....it's when it turns into 5 loads or so that it takes hours! :doh

[OnlyBelieve]

Add me to the list of those with laundry issues...one day they will label it a disorder of some sort.
I will wash but I will not fold or put away. It has been that way forever....but I am believing God that things will change.

[Mothering by Heart]

One thing that has been helping me is to put the laundry in when I go to bed. I have atimer on my washer so I set it to be done at 8 am. Then in the am all I have to do is put it in the dryer and put it away and I am done with my load for the day :tu

If you don't have a timer on yours, you could probably still put it in when you go to bed. It's just that if it hot where you live, they might smell in the morning.

[Gailmegan]

I thought I was the only one living out of clean piles! So glad I am not alone! I don't have extra baskets though, the clean clothes go in a pile on top of each person's dresser. Thankfully everyone is good about putting dirties in the hamper, so we don't get the two mixed up. Maybe someday I will fold and hang things in the closets....or maybe not. :shrug

[Oliveshoots]

Last Thursday night, I had the 6 loads of clean laundry piled on the bed issue. DH was so proud of himself for washing/drying it all, but stupid me volunteered to put it all away if he would wash it. (I honestly didn't htink he would wash ALL SIX LOADS, but he did, and I was standing there warding off a tired toddler while I frantically put away clothes at 10:00 at night.

I had an epiphane (sp?) right then and there...looking at that huge pile of clothes....

Do we really *need* ALLLLLLLL these clothes? My answer was, no.

So I'm tempted to just give away everything but maybe 10 outfits and a couple of dresses for church.

Is that silly? A friend told me not to do that yet, because there may come a time when I go for 2 weeks without having time to do laundry, and the 10 outfits won't last me long enough.

But seriously, I'm trying to reduce the amount of clothing we have. It's not like we NEED a different outfit on the baby every day of the month. (TBH, most of the clothes are hand-me-downs, so I'm not complaining, but it's just alot to keep up with!)

Like my mom always said, "the more you have, the more you have to take care of."

She's SOOOO right!!!!

But then in the middle of folding all that laundry, I said a special thanks to God that we are blessed to have 1) a bed to pile it on 2) the clothes themselves 3) a washer and dryer to do the laundry 4) water included in our rent and 5) 2 beautiful kids and my dh to WEAR the clothes :hearts

[mom2_AthruZ]

Do we really *need* ALLLLLLLL these clothes? My answer was, no.

See, I have asked the same question. Dh and I don't have that many clothes but the kids do. The biggest problem I have is I have multi-changers. The older girls change often and I am not always able to stop the change.Sometimes it is needed but sometimes it isn't. If they only had "x" number of outfits then I think I could tame the laundry monster.....maybe :shrug Has anyone else found a solution to the multi-changer problem? I like the idea of having a basket for each person. We have enough to do that the only thing is the oldest is famous for putting things in the laundry basket that doesn't belong i.e. apple cores, dirt clothes, her shoes. :doh

[Jillian]

Oh, I must be Queen of Mount Washmore...I have every issue stated on this thread :O

Right now, we actually have three baskets next to each other in the kitchen, overflowing with clean clothes and a pile of dirty clothes on the laundry room floor (since the baskets are taken up with clean clothes!). I, too, have no problem washing but just can't seem to get them folded and put away.

In my defense, it doesn't help that the weather is nice one day, cold the next...so we have a mix of winter, spring and summer clothes out.

When we went away for a few days, I only brought a few outfits and actually looked forward to folding the warm, fresh smelling clean clothes right from the dryer - I remember when it we only had one kid and I actually looked forward to doing laundry! Over that get away weekend, I also had the realization we don't need as many clothes as we have. My goal is to get to the point of having all our clothes clean, then sorting through, picking out 3 everyday kick around clothes and 2 nicer outfits. I know I could handle that! And I'm not really worried about not having enough clothes if I get behind because it I know its super easy for me to catch up doing even just one load if we all only had a few outfits.

I seem to be able to maintain...if only I could somehow get ahead, then maintain from there I'd be in great shape :P

ps...I forgot to say I can relate to apple cores in the laundry, readingmama! Did you ever wash a banana peel?!?! eww...

[jghomeschooler]

for socks I only allow white socks for each person, NO colored socks (dh has to have black ones for work, but that's IT) The hanes socks now have color coded writing on the toes, each size has a certain color. So all of ds's socks have green writing, dd's have blue writing, etc. That has really helped ALOT. hth

[kalemommy]

Last Christmas I joked that we didn't need to buy a Christmas tree...that I could just string lights around the mound of laundry instead. Of course I was joking, but I really have despaired about laundry ever since we became a family of four. When we had only three it didn't seem like much more than doing laundry for two .But four is so much. I can't imagine how people manage who have more than four in their families.

And most of the clothes we wash belong to our children! In fact, the greatest number of clothes belongs to our toddler. She is one messy child!

Oh yeah, and we went without an electric dryer for about two years. We hung every single thing we washed all year round on a metal rack that we kept in our kitchen. I felt like I was going to go crazy, looking at that rack of drying clothes every single day. No matter how hard we tried, we always had more to put on it to dry. I'm so thankful that we once again have a working electric dryer!

[crunchymum]

yup. i've thought about giving all our clothes away, too. :O (well, not ALL, but...) i HAVE given away quite a bit, that does help.

joanne, how old are your multi changers? depending, i would have them do their own laundry. it may give them an idea of how much work it is and be more conservative.... i know that helped me when i was a kid. just a thought. :shrug

[tree_hugger]

DH decided to help by getting me 5 laundry baskets. One for each member of the family and then an extra for sheets/towels.
I am supposed to sort them as I remove the clothes from the dryer. Then at least when I go get the kid's or myself dressed, I go to the corresponding basket. It helps a lot!


That sounds like a great system, but I have found the oppostie to work for me. I have one basket only. My system is:

1. One hamper in my room and one in the boys room.

2. Used towels go in the laundry sink while they are waiting for washing, and nappies in the nappy bucket.

3. When hamper is full I do the wash and use the basket to transport to clothesline, and then back in again when they are dry.

4. Clothes have to be folded and put away before I can do the next load.

I think if *I* had 5 baskets they would all just be overflowing all the time. :O

[mom2_AthruZ]

ps...I forgot to say I can relate to apple cores in the laundry, readingmama! Did you ever wash a banana peel?!?! eww...


I told dh this and we were both relieved to know we aren't the only family with laundry/fruit combos!! :grin I have to say I can see where a banana peel would trump the apple core. ;)


joanne, how old are your multi changers? depending, i would have them do their own laundry. it may give them an idea of how much work it is and be more conservative.... i know that helped me when i was a kid. just a thought. :shrug


The multi-changers are 9(10 next month) and 6.The 9yo knows how to operate the machines. I worry though about her doing her own because she is ummm easily distracted. I could see vast amounts of laundry soap spilling out over the top of the washer etc. :eek Still it might be a self esteem booster for her. :think I will have to think on that one and run it by dh. :tu

[lenswyf]

We have three laundry baskets in our closet -- one for whites, one for darks, one for in-betweens. When they are 2/3 full, it's a full load and I do my best to get it in the washer right away when it hits that point.

Ds has one basket, and I just wash all his clothes together since his tend to be similar color tones. Same deal -- when hits the "line", I wash it right away.

I fold laundry on my bed, and if it's still there at bedtime, I do my best to discipline myself to put it away. It does, on occasion, go back into the laundry basket (still folded) to be put away the next morning.

Dh and I have talked about getting a full-sized washer and dryer set that stacks, and putting it in the linen closet in our bedroom. We live in a townhouse, with the laundry appliances in the basement, and I confess that when laundry piles up, it's sometimes because I just don't feel like hauling it up and down the stairs. :O Then again, I often put in a load at night, which moves to the dryer in the morning, and I probably wouldn't be able to do that if it was in my bedroom. Also, there are many days that I come downstairs after getting dressed and don't go back upstairs until bedtime... Maybe we should put this stacking set in the coat closet on the main level!

[crunchymum]

The multi-changers are 9(10 next month) and 6.The 9yo knows how to operate the machines. I worry though about her doing her own because she is ummm easily distracted. I could see vast amounts of laundry soap spilling out over the top of the washer etc. Still it might be a self esteem booster for her. I will have to think on that one and run it by dh.

:tu

yeah, i think 9 is old enough... actually, i think the 6 year old could do it, too, just with supervision. i guess the point they could learn is, unless it gets washed, you won't have anything to wear! and SOMEBODY'S got to wash it! :-) i let my 4 yo help with the laundry, like sorting, putting them in the machine, and pushing the quarters in (coin-op). then she can help put them into the dryer, take them out, etc. she even folds, now! ok, so it's not perfect, but i would rather have her help than not! :cool

[Oliveshoots]

In my defense, it doesn't help that the weather is nice one day, cold the next...so we have a mix of winter, spring and summer clothes out.



I feel ya.....
I think everything will be much easier when I can put the winter stuff away FOR GOOD. Right now, I don't even bother hanging my spring clothes up, becuase the closet is stuffed with winter clothes! Ugggghhhhh.....

[Havilah]

joanne, how old are your multi changers? depending, i would have them do their own laundry. it may give them an idea of how much work it is and be more conservative.... i know that helped me when i was a kid. just a thought.

I second this! I'm sure I was doing laundry by nine. Mom thought that if we could reach the knobs we could do laundry :)

[RealLifeMama]

4. Clothes have to be folded and put away before I can do the next load.

I think if *I* had 5 baskets they would all just be overflowing all the time. :O


Yes, I agree. I never do put the clothes away. They go from dryer to basket to body. But it is an improvement because I know where everyone's clothes are at least.
We have seperate hamper for dirty clothes. We have a 3 bag hamper from Target ( socks and undies, lights, and darks go there) and then a seperate spot for dirty towels and sheets,

So I guess it goes Body, correct spot in hamper, wash/dryer, basket, body.
How sad! You know it is bad when DD gets up in the morning and heads to the laundry room for her clothes!
*sigh*
One day we will get there!

As far as winter, spring goes, I don't bother putting the clothes away much because the closets and drawers not only have winter clothes in them, many are from Last winter, and last spring/summer! :blush

[snlmama]

Not sure if this would help or not, but I like to watch TV after the kids are in bed and I've found if I sit and fold while the show is on and put a pile up during each commercial it gets done. Takes about an hour a night, though. :eek