If you ever feel like you are overwhelmed with laundry and like you just cannot keep up with it. You are not alone! This blog post will help you find a routine that helps make it manageable for you.
Our homes create a LOT of laundry.
I think all homes with children have a crazy amount of laundry, but caregiving homes have an even crazier amount.
Anest has multiple outfit changes as day and it can feel like there is a lot more people living here than just the 5 of us!
Firstly, we need to re-think about how we think about laundry.
We need to think of laundry as more of a routine or a cycle, rather than a todo list item.
It’s never going to be something we can tick off, it’s something that we just have to keep on top of with routines that support us that fit into our lives.
It is definitely something that can be managed, it’s just a case finding what works best for you.
Before we get into routines, here are some ways that we can make laundry more manageable.
Have less clothes
You don’t have go minimal, and have a capsule wardrobe.
Although, if a capsule wardrobe is your thing, then have a look at Courtney over at Be more with Less’s project 333 as a good place to start!
Having less clothes means having less clothes to wash.
If you have 45 jumpers, then it’s easy to put off doing the laundry a bit longer because you have other options to wear.
But then you have a serious mountain of washing to tackle.
Which is overwhelming.
So the less clothes you have, the less clothes you are doing to have to wash.
Once you have a simple laundry routine in place then you’ll be keeping up with your laundry and it’s not going to be an issue.
Storing clothes is easier too when you don’t have as many.
It’s not as much of an ordeal to put clothes away when there is actually space to put them away.
It’s easier to see what clothes you have and it’s just easier in general.
Laundry to let go of guidelines
Go through your wardrobes (and your kids!) and then for each item follow these guidelines:
- Don’t love it – let it go
- You don’t feel your best in it – it’s time to let it go
- If it’s a ‘I will fit into this one day’ item – we don’t need that sort of negativity in our lives – let it go
- Stained, or ripped or broken – time to go
- Too small, or doesn’t fit right – goodbye
- If you haven’t worn it in the last few months/last season – bye!
- If you wouldn’t be willing to be seen in public or have a photo taken in it – *waves*
We don’t need a lot of clothes.
I personally, especially with the kids, just make sure we have enough for a week.
It’s not exact, but it works.
If the washing machine broke down – we have a few days leeway.
Or if we go on holiday, we are covered for a week – other than a few extras.
Do what works best for you.
Get more clothes
Unexpected after the last paragraph maybe, but hear me out.
Some times our laundry can be overwhelming because we don’t have enough of something, or something needs to be constantly available.
As an example, everyday for school we need 3 pairs of trousers for Anest – one for her to wear, and two to go in the bag for school.
Most days all three need washing.
Which is fine, I don’t mind at all – but we only have 4 pairs of school trousers at the moment.
So that means if we had a busy evening, or there is something wrong with the washing machine or *insert thing here* – it can be a bit of a scrabble to get them washed and ready for school the next day.
There have been too many mornings where I am frantically trying to get her trousers dried so she can get on the bus on time.
It’s just unnecessary stress.
That is maybe an extreme example, but it’s the same with bedsheets.
We usually have to change Anest’s bottom sheet every morning, so having extra means that it’s just take it off, put a new one on and we have a couple of spares just in case.
It makes life easier and less stressful.
So buying more trousers makes life and laundry a bit easier.
(which I did this morning!)
There is less pressure on me and it makes the laundry just less stressful.
So if there is something in your home that you find yourself panic washing all the time – buy more.
Do at least 1 load of laundry a day
I’m sure you have seen this advice before, but a load of laundry a day really does work.
In our house, it usually looks like at least 2 loads because we go through a lot of clothes, and honestly some days it’s more.
Some days it’s definitely more if there has been swimming or illness or whatever else.
But in general 2-3 loads covers it for us as a sen family.
But as long as on the busy days at least one load went on, it keeps things going.
Even if, miraculously there is hardly any clothes to put a wash on – put a wash on.
Keep your laundry routine simple
My advice is to keep it simple.
We don’t need complex timetables to follow when it comes to keeping up with our laundry and it just sounds like something that is doomed to fail when life gets busy.
Only washing your husbands clothes on a Tuesday just sounds like setting yourself up for failure.
I know that some people swear by washing certain peoples clothes on certain days, but I just can’t see it working in our home.
Make laundry a part of your morning routine
Making putting a load of laundry in the wash as part of your morning routine makes life go a lot smoother.
Once it becomes a habit it’s something that you are going to do on auto-pilot as well and that is going to take a lot of stress from your mind.
If mornings are just too stressful to sort clothes for the wash, do it in the evening.
Get them ready to go in the wash, or put them in the washing machine ready and it’s just press start in the morning.
It is going to take less than 5 minutes, and it’s not going to be an ordeal – no matter what your brain tries to tell you!
Making a laundry routine, where you put one load on in the morning, every morning is going to seriously lighten your stress levels.
Then find a part of your day where it makes sense to switch the clothes to the dryer/peg out/whatever and make that into a habit.
Then fold and put away as part of your evening routine.
I usually do this when I do a quick check in the evenings to make sure everyone has fresh uniform for the morning, I just quickly put the clothes away at the same time.
The thing to remember is that you are doing it little and often, so putting clothes away isn’t going to be as much of a huge ordeal because you have less to put away.
Summer time tip
In the summer we tend to peg out, and on those days where it’s dry but not amazing weather (most dry days in the UK!), clothes can take longer to peg out.
So if they aren’t pegged out on the line early, they don’t always dry.
In the summer, it might be worth doing an evening wash and making putting a wash on after dinner a part of your routine.
That way in the summer you can just peg out in the morning.
If you wash a second load of clothes and get those pegged out and dry too – that’s a win!
Have laundry hampers
We have one main laundry hamper in our bathroom.
We did try having one in all the kids rooms, but it just didn’t work so we went back to our original one hamper household.
It makes doing laundry easier because everything is in one place.
I’d like to say that the kids are perfect at putting their clothes in the hampers – but they do it most of the time.
The rest of the time they have a corner they tend to dump it in their bedrooms and they usually bring it down at some point, or I just grab it while I’m potching around the house.
Again, do what works for your family.
I don’t mind doing this, I know a lot of families have strong opinions on their kids doing chores so do what works for your family.
There isn’t a right or wrong answer here.
But having the clothes in one central location makes sorting them for the wash easier, and it’s easier to keep an eye on the laundry situation.
If that basket is getting a bit full – it’s probably time to put an extra wash on.
My laundry routine
I love reading about how other people manage their homes, so if you do too this section is for you!
Typically, I sort our laundry into colours, whites, darks, jeans, towels or bedsheets.
I put a load on as part of our morning routine.
Once those are washed, I chuck them in the dryer and put a second load in the wash and repeat if there is a third load.
Then in the evenings when everyone is doing their own thing, I usually fold the clothes while Anest is playing at the table and then put them away when I get pyjamas etc ready for the evening.
I do prefer to put them away whilst everyone is in school in that waiting for the bus period, but our routine seems to have fallen into a I do it in the evening thing lately.
I think it’s because it’s something that I can do while everyone is around, and those things it’s easier to get done while everyone is in school take priority when everyone is in school.
The point is to find what works for you.
This is what works for our family right now, it’s not perfect, there’s always things that need washing – but it works.
Finally, Let go of perfectionism
It’s important to realise that, the laundry is never going to be completely done.
As soon as the wash basket is empty, within a few hours it will be full again.
We need to think of laundry as more of a routine or a cycle, rather than a todo list item.
It’s never going to be something we can tick off, it’s something that we just have to keep on top of with routines that support us and our lives.
The goal isn’t a perfect home, the goal is for the laundry to be manageable and not something that really stresses you out.
We have got to let go of this idea of perfection, it’s just making things more stressful for us!
I hope this helps!
Beth x
