Being a Mum of three kids and I family of five means I’m going to have a lot of laundry between us! We get through 10 socks on a normal every day!! So over the years, I have had to think about ways to stay on top of the laundry so I don’t become overwhelmed by it, or run out of clothes!
Ways To Stay On Top Of The Laundry
Routine
Having a routine for the washing sounds so boring doesn’t it, but once you get into it you’ll find it doesn’t become a routine it’s just a habit. A habit of putting on a dark school wash on a Saturday and a white school wash on a Sunday. I then make sure I wash a dark wash or two depending on the number of clothes we’ve worn during the weekdays, along with a towel wash and a bedding wash during the week. This means it leaves my weekend washing free for the school and work clothes ready for the week ahead.
Dirty Washing Area
Having one space that all the family put their dirty washing in means everyone knows where to put it and you hope you don’t find it dotted around the house! If it doesn’t get put in these areas to be washed, then it won’t be washed. But it has become second nature to them to automatically put it in this area.
Separating Washing
In this dirty washing area, you want to have at least a couple of washing baskets. I have two, one for darks and one for lights. I’ve taught my kids from the moment they take their dirty clothes off at the end of the day that they take it to the dirty washing area and decide what basket it needs to go in. They’ve been really good at deciding what basket and any unsure moments they ask and learn what basket that item will go in, and remember for next time. This allows me to easily pick out all the washing for that wash, without having to sort out each time. They’re also learning a life lesson for when they do their own washing!
Have All Your Detergents In One Place
Having everything quick and easy to hand makes your job quicker, pick a cupboard that everything goes in which is near the washing machine. Placing them in nice storage containers makes them nicer to look at too!
Washing Labels
Try not to purchase items that require any special washing guidelines, like handwashing. Or if you do make sure you wash these items together in one wash. If you haven’t got a lot of these items then it’s not very eco-friendly to wash one or two items on their own each time. You can purchase a little washing label chart to go near your washing machine to easily refer, I think they look so cute too!
Traditional Washing Line
Does anyone remember the old fashioned tall washing lines? I had one that was still in the garden when we moved in and I haven’t taken it down, I have even designed the garden so I can still use this! I think every house should have one of these as it means my washing dries so quickly as it’s higher up and in a line rather than clumped together. They’re easy to put on together if you want one by concreting a scaffold pole into some concrete, then rigging up a pulley system each end to support the line.
Sort Out Straight Away
Once everything is dried, put it away straight away! Then a way I make sure I do this is when I bring in the washing, I chuck it on my bed so that I cannot go to bed without sorting it first!
Sort Socks Easily
With 10 pairs of socks, every day all I’m doing is sorting socks each wash!! That isn’t without the cosy socks that we might wear in bed or on our walks. Now my son is getting bigger he is getting similar-sized socks to me and Kev which makes it really hard when sorting through them. So pick a design that is only that person! Kev has stripes on his socks, Tyler has plain chunks of colour! Kev has socks with faces on, Tyler has ones with Simpsons faces on!
Get Everyone Putting Away
I will sort through everything and put them into people piles! Then I will take them to their bedrooms and they can put the clothes away in the designated areas of their wardrobes. I really do believe in getting the kids to help out with things like this, as it teaches them life skills they will need to learn and if they do things gradually when they’re younger, then it’s getting easier and easier.
Make Ironing Nicer
I have a basket that is an ironing basket when I’m sorting out the washing if an item needs ironing it can go in here. When it’s school term I keep up with the ironing more as the school uniform needs ironing more often, but school holidays this job does get left a lot longer! To make it nicer when I do come to ironing is save a favourite programme to catch up on and pop this on with a nice drink and watch the programme whilst doing the ironing. I did 2 hours worth of ironing yesterday whilst watching Escape To The Country! Said I leave it to the basket is overflowing in the school holidays!
Get Someone Else To Do It!
If all else fails and you’re too busy to keep on top of the washing, then how about a laundry service like Laundryheap that gets all your clothes washed and tumble dried and back to you within 24 hours! I am a great believer in prioritizing your time and if you can afford it then having a service like this will make life much easier for you and have more time to spend with your family.
Laundryheap have offered you £7 off their services for your first order only with code ‘BC7BB’
Also check out Tayla from Motherhood The Real Deal as she has some fab ways to help to stop doing laundry all the time!
16 Comments
I don’t mind washing, or drying, but I HaTE putting it away! I tend to do a wash and dry every morning before school, then everything gets put away on a Monday when I have the day off. As for ironing….. I say nothing!
Yeah things have to look really bad to be ironed in my house!!
We don’t have a dryer, so my biggest challenge staying on top of laundry is actually getting things dry quickly enough (we have a pulley on the kitchen ceiling ti hang our washing) in time to get the next load done, before the washing basket takes over a life of its own.
Yes drying during is a pain, especially during the Winter
I love these tips. I don’t have two baskets simply because we don’t have room so always have to separate. And thankfully I can hang my washing outside 99% of the time thanks to sunny days in Portugal. Its a big advantage to living here. No more clothes horses…
You can find one that is one basket but spilt into half so it doesn’t take up any less room, but wahoo to the all year sunny weather! Yes please!!
I tend to do a load a day with 6 of us. I am quite good on keeping on top of the actual washing. It is the folding and putting away that tends to get left!
I hate leaving it, hate dealing with it the next day!
Oh man! I hate washing! The washing part is fine it’s just the putting away that drives me nuts!
I’m going to try these tips though and hopefully make life easier for myself!
It’s the drying I hate when it’s winter!
Needed this! Our laundry has been through the roof the last few days with back to school and a trip back to glamping. I agree it’s good to get everyone helping – and putting on music while you put it away really helps!
Oh yes, music is a great motivator!
I have separate baskets for our clothes and Erins. It really helps to make things easier and to keep on top of it all.
It’s about finding those little ways that work for you isn’t it
Wow lots of helpful tips here 🙂 I need to get better at checking the washing instructions prior to buying clothes, as I accidently buy hand wash only items sometimes which is too time consuming really!
Yes it’s annoying when you come home and find it’s hand wash only!!