With all the constant revamping of everything else, laundry is one of those things that is still going well. We typically tackle it every Thursday, so that if we hang dry stuff, then it is all dry by the weekend. In the summer I like to use the clothes line (my quiet meditative time) and in winter we either use the dryer or a clothes drying rack by the wood stove, depending on the life situation of the day. I'm not going to say this is the only way to do things, just what happens to work for us. I know some people would rather throw a load in each day, and that's fine too. I like to get it done on a consistent basis so then I don't have to worry about anyone running out of anything. I also then know I only need 1 weeks worth of clothes for each person in our family. (We of course have more, but that is the minimum) So here's what we do:
1) Bring all the hampers to the kitchen where we sort it. Isaac (3) does this, and it's the perfect job for a sturdy little boy. I use these empty baskets to put all of the to-wash clothes into once their ready to go.
2) Elise (5) or Isaac (3) does the stain treating. We just use diluted Dawn dish soap in water for stain treating, which is cheap and quite effective for getting greasy stuff out (and fairly safe for little kids to be spraying around).
3) All kids socks go into a mesh laundry bag. Our washer eats socks, so this keeps them contained and easier to find all around.
4) Put on your kitty mask for even more effective and fun times. Next, move the sorted/treated baskets into the hall lined up for washing. That's our laundry hall you see back there.
5) Haul the empty hampers back to everybody's room. I have 6 of those matching, stacking baskets that are awesome for all kinds of tasks. The one in the picture was just used to clean out the van. We then read books on the couch all morning and have our focused reading day between switching loads.
6) After they're dry, dump the basket and everyone folds their own clothes and puts them away. Isaac needs some help and motivation, but he tries. I supervise and fold ours & Celeste's. The kids do the towels/wash cloths.
There you have it. I wash the kids all in one batch, then the dishcloths/towels/whites in one batch, then our clothes in one batch. I have a huge washer so this is what works best. Then if clothes don't get folded and put away, it's easy to find whatever you need if they are still in baskets.
My wise Aunt Susie (who has 7 children and many more grandchildren) told me that wherever she's been to help young moms, the biggest problem with laundry is that people have too many clothes which allows you to get too far behind. I tend to agree. Re-wearing clothes saves a ton of laundry. Reusing towels (with our names on our own specific hook) saves a ton too.
Buying used clothes is a benefit to laundry too. You don't have to worry about colors bleeding because they've already been washed. You don't have to worry about shrinkage, because if they are going to shrink they will have already done so. You save money by buying them too, and if they get stained and are not salvageable, you can throw them out without guilt.
How do you streamline your laundry?
