They say nothing is certain but death and taxes, but to that, I would like to add: LAUNDRY.
Laundry is one of those seemingly boring topics that for some reason, I love to read about. Maybe it’s the nosiness in me, maybe it’s being a mom, but I love to hear how other people tackle laundry (all on one day? a load a day? washing all tops then all bottoms workout clothes separately?) their solutions for getting kids to put away their laundry, and other such minutia.
Here are a few things about my laundry routines (I have laundry routines, hai, could I be anymore lame?):
A week’s worth of laundry – minus diapers, towels, and linens. I separate the kids’ laundry from ours to make folding and putting away more efficient,
Doing laundry once a week to help with clutter.
I’ve mentioned before that I do laundry once a week and during the time, declutter the kids’ clothing. I was already doing all my laundry on one day when I heard A Slob Comes Clean podcast mention that would be a great time to declutter. So, on Thursdays, when their dirty clothing from the past week is being washed, I take a look at what’s left in the kids’ closet. Whatever’s in the closets during laundry day are the things I don’t reach for first when dressing them. I don’t just get rid of it all, but if the closet is still bursting at the seams, I remove whatever items I don’t find adorable or that Gabe doesn’t adore. Doing laundry once a week also keeps me from having piles of laundry all week around the house. I force myself to have it all put away by the end of the day.
Putting away kids’ laundry.
I used to store all the tops and bottoms separately in their closet, but I’ve learned it’s more effective for me to make outfits as I’m folding laundry and store them in the closet that way. It makes grabbing an outfit easier (no matching or thinking necessary) and helps me see if either of them has too much of one type of clothing (therefore, I can toss it) or realize if I can never seem to match a particular shirt to anything (again, toss). It also helps me to keep their wardrobe from getting out of control. At most, they need 10-14 outfits, so I can take stock when their clothing is stored as outfits instead of a stack of tops and a pile of bottoms. It makes our mornings so much smoother.
Making clothing last longer
Part of having fewer items of clothing in my closet is taking better care of the clothing I do have.
– Air dry clothing. It’s a little extra work to hang items, but doing it at least with your most delicate clothing will keep it from pilling and wearing out. This is easier now that it’s warming up (WOOHOO), but even in the winter, the dry air means a load of laundry I do in the evening is usually dry by morning. It also saves a bit of money and energy, which is a bonus. Take it down before it’s 100% dry to avoid that stiff cardboard feel from over air drying. Drying on low is the next best thing for your fabric.
– Only wash clothing when it’s dirty. Which, with kids’ clothing is usually every single time they wear anything. But I can get away with having just two pairs of jeans because I only wash them when they’re actually dirty. (Or stretched out. Why do jeans always do that?)
– Wash in cold water to preserve color. This also saves a ton of energy. 90% of energy used in running a load of laundry is used to heat the water.
Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to go sort my laundry.
The perfect follow up to our conversation yesterday. While I already do most of these, I am always looking to streamline and I love the ideas of doing the outfits to weed out the outliers. Also, 10-14 outfits really is the perfect day-to-day number. I need to revisit this. Thank you!
We do laundry every three weeks. We have to go to the laundromat though. So annoying.
I also always use at least a “warm cycle”. I feel like the cold water doesn’t get the dirt out… maybe I should try this detergent specifically for cold water ;)
In a perfect world I would do laundry weekly but between bad budgetting (spending too much on food) and the fact that I can’t reach the dryers in our complex laundry room I have to wait for payday or my husband to do the laundry. That last part is the worst, and by worst I clearly mean best. I wear my jeans many times before washing and have a ton of tshirts so I rarely am out of outer wear. On occasion I will hand wash my undies and a few pairs of my work pants which are mostly yoga pants and other workout type pants if I desperately need laundry and I know it won’t be done soon.
You have NO IDEA how much I needed to read this today!!! My kids’ cupboard is a nightmare. Not because it’s a mess but because they have too much. Unfortunately my youngest (5 months) seems to be suffering from reflux and can go through 3 outfits within an hour. But the eldest (2.5 years) really doesn’t need 7 jeans! I like your idea of decluttering the cupboard weekly. Thanks!
My son is allergic to regular laundry detergent so I do two loads of kids clothes/week, plus 4 of our clothes (2 light, 2 dark) AND one of towels. I feel like I’m always folding laundry! I love the idea of storing as outfits – partly to reduce the amount of clothing my kids have, but also to help my colour blind husband when it’s his turn to get them dressed :D
We do laundry weekly, usually, unless Knight is running out of workout clothes (a theme lately so I guess he needs more), and bi-weekly when the girls are here because they make SO MUCH laundry and I have to remind them not all things are dirty especially if they wore them for a whopping five minutes before changing outfits. Great idea on the decluttering during laundry day. I am sure I have far too many clothes in my closet that I don’t wear enough or at all, so I guess I could ditch some things! We have a washer that will do steam cleaning and while it takes a while it’s so effective at removing stains and smells and etc., and it uses so much less water, it’s amazing. Our clothes feel softer, too. I’m also queen of the line dry, so many drying racks :)
I try to do all my laundry just on a weekly basis which has made such a difference. I love the idea of putting clothes away in outfits, am so going to try that one! Thanks for that tip!!
Thinking about it, I guess I do laundry once a week too. I try to do our clothes on one day and then linens, towels, etc sporadically during the week. I have been putting outfits together for my daughter on hangers for a while now (mostly because if my husband is dressing her – it’s easier to just grab a hanger and go and he doesn’t have to ask “are leggings pants?” Ha!).
But, I do need to start going through my daughter’s closet on laundry day and weeding out the clothes she isn’t wearing – that is genius.
I try to do laundry two times per week in the summer and one time per week in the winter. Doing the laundry for me is one of the most pleasant house chores there are. I always feel so relaxed when I do it! :) Thanks for the post! :)
Great tips and guidelines on laundry. Laundry can be a very boring chore, so I always try to find the ways to make it more simple and enjoyable.