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Solving the Laundry Quandary - Part
1
"All of us have to do laundry, some only
a couple of loads a week, while others have a dozen. It affects us
all the same way, we put it off till it gets to be such a big job
that we are paralyzed by the thought of it. You know exactly what
I am talking about." - FlyLady
So, where exactly do all those missing pairs of socks end up?
How do you keep your laundry from becoming a huge monster that
slinks around the house leaving piles in the corners, on chairs,
and under the beds until you don't know what is clean and what is
dirty anymore? Until of course, your dear husband or dear child
yells "I have no clean underwear!". Then you know, the laundry
monster has struck again!
Blessing Your Laundry Room....Tips from our members!
- If the kitchen is the heart of my home, then the laundry room has to be the second most important in mine. How can I bless my family by providing fresh, clean clothes if I am in a cluttered, messy room? On my Monday House Blessing, I always start in the laundry room. A tidy laundry room inspires me to keep the laundry piles moving!!
- I keep my washer & dryer looking like new by simply 'swishing & swiping' it
right as i'm doing laundry, keeping a few old wash cloths nearby to wipe up
any spills & be thrown right in the next load. I also keep a small
wastebasket nearby to collect dryer lint, fabric softener sheets, etc. And
finally, i hang up the laundry (almost everything!! okay...not socks!)...on
a collapsible garmant rack (in a different house, I had a rod between 2
cabinets in the laundry room...even a clothesline strung across a basement
works!) the MOMENT it's whisked from the dryer; yes, i am blessed with
plenty of closet space! I find this almost completely eliminates the need
to iron anything, and things seem so much easier to put away when you can
just hang them up, rather than trying to shove them into drawers. It's also
easier to see what you have when planning your outfit for the day, i sort
mine by color & sleeve length in my closet (does that seem like a bit
perfectionist?!)
excelling in a few scattered areas...
fairyfly
- My husband put a rod above my washer and dryer. I keep hangers on it, and hang my laundry as soon as I take it from the dryer. Everyone, later, picks up their hanging clothes and takes them to their closet. The articles that need folded I fold right on top of the dryer, and then immediately take them to the room where they belong. There is very little, if any, ironing needed in this process. I do laundry every day, so there is no pile up.
- I keep a little piggy bank in the laundry room...you'd
be surprised at the amount of "tips" I receive, at the
bottom of the washer and dryer, from my husband and 3
teenage boys. This money goes into our vacation fund.
- First, the laundry/back porch area used to be dark and dreary with ratty old
carpet that smelled like the previous owner's dog (yuck!). We pulled up the
carpet and lived with the ugly, but unscented LOL, linoleum until we saved
enough money to lay tile. A coat of fresh paint and a wreath on the wall -
instead of being a dungeon it's a delightful room to be in.
Second, my 20 month DS is my laundry sidekick! He hollers "ding!" when the
dryer finishes and helps me load and unload it (it's a game). He also puts
his own clothes in the drawer - so what if they are a little wrinkly, he
knows what goes where- and in the hamper when they are dirty. DS reminds me
to finish all the steps of laundry!
Third, we bought a three bin hamper - lights, darks, and towels/linens. I
don't have to rummage through the dirty clothes to see if I have enough for
a load, I just glance at the hamper! It was a great investment and has
allowed me to fling several laundry baskets because I don't do 10 loads of
wash all at once!
Flying high in Utah
- With 4 children, laundry is a HUGE part of my week. If it gets behind
then I have to tackle "laundry mountain." In order to make it a bit more
enjoyable, I make sure my laundry room is pretty. Even when my washer
and dryer were in the garage at our last house, I wallpapered the niche
with a bright, cheery floral and laid a bit of leftover vinyl flooring
under my machines. I even put a lace curtain and silk flowers in the
tiny window. I decided that I needed to make my laundry room a place
that makes me happy instead of feeling punished.
- from Southern California
- Doing laundry in a sparkling laundry room is the first step to enjoying doing it! When I first became a Flybaby, I tackled my laundry room and made it shine so now when I am in there it is a pleasant experience. I also bought a Bose Wave radio and put it in my tiny laundry room so when I am stuck folding clothes I can at least have wonderful music to fold to!
- Tampa FL
- Last summer when you encouraged us to work on our laundry, I organized my laundry room. I got rid of so much stuff and then painted it a beautiful color just for me! I did not ask anyone what they thought about it....It's just the laundry room right? I then made a curtain for the small window, sewing for the first time in 15 years. Do you know that my laundry room is now an inspiration? I get upset when the kids close the door instead of keeping it closed. It has only been out of order a few times in 9 months rather than all the time! Thanks for inspiring me to make a pretty place to bless my family.
- Hi FlyCrew!
Before Christmas (GAK! Before FLYlady) I reamed out my laundry room. It
has made a HUGE difference. Before I started, I stood in my laundry room
and tried to list all the things about it that bugged me. It did take me a
week, but here are the improvements I made:
Added a towel rail so that I could have a small towel to hand.
Added a useful sized (read smaller) wastebasket. Old one was too big, was
constantly in the way and falling over, spilling dryer fluff and garbage on
the floor. New one is one meant to go inside a cupboard and is screwed to
the wall at a convenient height.
Added a small wire basket meant to go inside a cupboard. This is also
screwed to the wall and holds my rubber gloves. No more gloves falling in
the sink and filling up with washer water! Now I actually use my gloves.
Funny about that!
Added a plastic soap holder for my bar laundry soap. It is dry now and not
slimey.
Added a wire shelf (plastic-covered, from Rubbermaid I think) over the
dryer. I picked it because I can just toss my lingerie bags on top and the
air can still circulate to dry them. It also holds a basket (in my
favourite colour) for my vacuum tools. Eventually, it will also hold a
green plant that can thrive in low light conditions.
Splurged on a thin piece of fibre board that is painted ? white on one side.
I had it cut to fit on top of the laundry room sink. I can fold in the
laundry room now. When not in use, it stands up beside the dryer. I had
previously indulged in a batch of SHEism, trying to figure out how to screw
it it the wall on hinges, so it would drop down. Sliding it beside the
dryer is a much cheaper alternative (also encourages me to keep the floor
clean!)
I also (mostly) decluttered (still need some help there). I moved the
vacuum from the basement landing to under the laundry room sink, and rehung
the hose-holder there. The basement landing is only down two steps, but it
always seemed a real chore to get the vacuum out. Now I just pull the
vacuum out like a doggie on a leash. Not to be believed is that I am
actually USING the vacuum on a nearly daily basis. How did THAT happen?
Washed walls, floor under the machines and sink, scrubbed the sink and
shined the taps. It is WONDERFUL in there now. It WORKS!!!! It is so easy
to do laundry in there now.
Laundry has been caught up since before Christmas until this week when my
washer broke down. It is fixed now and other than 2 beds, the laundry is
back to being caught up.
I still want to paint etc. but that will wait until I declutter more of my
house. Thanks to you ladies for keeping me going. Bless you all.
- in Ajax
- Would you believe, a paint brush helps me with my laundry. Yup, you heard me
right. You know what a shiny sink does for us to get us going in the
morning and throughout the day. Well a shiny washing machine does the same
thing for the laundry. I clean with a rag and then keep all the guck in the
hinge area cleaned with a paint brush. It gets in there a lot better than a
toothbrush (although I love them too).
I also keep one for the toilet crevices, etc on the outside of the bowl and
at the bottom. That is heavenly. When I saw what a great job these brushes
do, I took it a step further. Now I keep one in the car. Their great for
mop boards, t.v.'s, computers, fridges, toaster, stoves. Anywhere that
those wonderful feather dusters can't quite reach. In most cases, pastry
brushes work too. On some jobs, I cut the bristles shorter. I hope this
will help someone out there. Thanks so very much for making my life much
brighter!!!
- True confessions--I have gone from a laundry doing hater to a laundry doing "lover" since I've been flying (3 years now!). The one thing that most contributed to my transformation was organizing and beautifying my laundry room/space. Taking the time to lay out an efficient routine--having empty laundry baskets next to the dryer to receive folded laundry right out of the dryer, having a makeshift table available to hold supplies, setting up an ironing board to do quick presses, having a drying rack for non-dryer items makes doing laundry a no-brainer event, unlike before Flylady. I keep the space clean--put pictures of my favorite people and lovely things that make me smile around me. This space now welcomes me whereas before it was just a dingy, dark, dank corner of the basement.
One other tip that has "set me free" is to not get overly concerned about the order in which the clothes get into the laundry basket. Being the typical SHE perfectionist, I would try to fold everything "perfectly" in the right order and then set it in the laundry basket "perfectly" according to children/rooms etc. . . (No wonder nothing ever got folded and put away.) Now, I realize that getting clothes clean and folded AND put away is the main objective. And guess what?--putting t-shirts on top of socks, on top of a few pairs of underwear and then a few more pairs of socks and t-shirts on top of that really doesn't matter in the grand scheme of things!
Our clothes are meant to "serve" us not the other way around! The peace that comes knowing that everyone has clean clothes available to them WHEN they need them and right WHERE they need them has made the time it took to get organized and quit that silly (and paralyzing) perfectionist-tic "stinking thinking" worth it!
Flying and Folding and --PUTTING IT AWAY-- in Denver
- Hi I'm from california,
we currently have 7 people living in a 3 bedroom house - you wouldn't believe the laundry. I redid the laundry room - red gingham wallpaper - old washboard on the wall
tins for detergent and fabric softener sheets, had my husband enclose the shelves with awesome old fashioned doors with black tins handles - it makes going in there a pleasure because it has so many of the things I love in it. it really is pretty now!!!
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Laundry Quandry Surprise from the FlyCrew
Have you ever thought of "Blessing Your Laundry Room"?
It wasn't until I got rid of the empty bottles, the lint
piles, the rag box, and the laundry products that I never
used from my laundry area that I didn't dread "going to
the pit" (as my husband used to call the laundry area).
This is YOUR laundry mini mission. See if you can find 3
things to toss from your laundry area. You don't have a
laundry area? Look in the area where you store your
laundry supplies. Go, Go, Go. When you are done, grab some
window cleaner and give your washer and dryer a quick
shine! |
- Another profound thought...why have so many outfits for the children when ALL of their laundry is washed each week and ready to be worn again the next week? I have really put a halt to buying more needless shirts, pants, socks, etc. And on those CRAZY weeks where my day totally gets away from me...I sometimes skip the kids' laundry and double up the next week, because the truth is that they have more than enough clothes...despite my organized laundry schedule!
-
Flying in Indiana
- Get rid of the excess!
I have 5 children, ranging from age 17 years to 20 months. Yes, we pass
down clothes. But I have learned that the elastic does not hold up after
storage for a while, or after a few years. So I have become much better
about sharing the clothes with others of younger ages/sizes. And others are
quite generous with sharing with us! So I seldom have to buy clothes. (But
I like to sew so I am disappointed I don't get to sew more for my children
:-( :-) ) And with removing the excess and immediately passing on the
clothes that don't fit or won't be worn, I have less to fill my laundry
room. It has brought my laundry down from 4 loads a day to 5 a week, not
counting towels & bedlinens.
- Hi FlyCrew,
Well, I finally “caught up” my laundry. I have 5 children and thought it was impossible. I am embarrassed to say that I have even resorted to buying new socks and underwear when there was nothing clean. Here’s what I did:
My biggest mistake was having too many hampers. There was a large hamper in each bedroom plus one in the laundry room – that’s 5 hampers. If each one was full, there were 10 loads of dirty clothes. My second mistake was trying to catch up one family member at a time. As I was catching up 2 of the girls, everyone else’s laundry was overflowing. So, I started with my and my husband’s clothes. When they were done I moved to my son’s room. But…I also added anything dirty from my room. When his was done I moved on to the girls – there are four of them. As I worked on them everyday I added in anything from my room and my son’s room. Finally – it took over 3 weeks doing 3-4 loads a day I am “caught up.” But, instead of sitting back and relaxing I do one load a day. That’s all it takes. I alternate darks and lights, plus one day is sheets and towels. I cannot believe how much extra time I have now that I’m not doing load after load of laundry.
Finally, we are down to two hampers – one in my room and one in the kids’ bathroom. And, during the Super Fling Boogie we went through everyone’s dressers and closets and got rid of nearly 300 pounds of clothing. The funniest part is, they have their favorite outfits and pajamas that they wear all the time now – they don’t need all those drawers full of clothes. - Trust me FlyCrew – if I can slay my laundry monster anyone can.
Starting to flutter in NJ
- Drastically cut back on the clothes we have - I threw/gave away anything remotely stained/torn, too small, nothing to match with it. This is the hardest part. Once that was done, I had a clear look at the outfits they tended to wear over and over again, and got rid of the rest, with their permission. I was totally amazed when my 4 year old was able to part with 50% of her clothes with little more than a glance. She'd take one look and say "keep it" or "give it" and never had a second thought. It's not so hard to do laundry now when there's not piles and piles of it waiting for me to finish.
- Hi, FlyCrew:
The best idea I ever had for all the damp towels that collect in the bathroom is this:
Everyone (and there are seven here) takes their towel from the bathroom and keeps it on a hanger in their closet. This way, it dries!! while hanging, it can be found when needed-- no wondering "who's is this anyway??!", and it even serves to humidify the room while drying.
From Michigan
- I love to travel but hate hauling stuff around. So I pack very light. I've
learned how to dress comfortably in two basic colors that look great on me,
wearing durable but easy to wash and pack fabrics, and limiting my wardrobe
to the very basic items. (Just like the FlyLady recommends). I can travel
for 6 weeks with what I can pack into one medium carry-on bag.
So after my last trip, I stripped my whole wardrobe down with my "travel
lite" mentality. What I lose in variety I make up for in the ease of
laundering every week. What used to be piles of clothes all over the floor
and two full days of washing once a month (yes, I had that much underwear)
has become 1 1/2 machineloads once a week, which I can carry in one large
mesh over-the-shoulder tote bag. No problems hauling it around or finding
enough machines.
My deal with myself is that if I get really bored with an item of clothing,
I give it away and then I can buy something new. I only have enough
underwear for about 10 days. And I do wear things over if they are not
dirty.
Clean and Closet-lean in Colorado
- A few years ago, I was feeling overwhelmed and disgusted with the amount of laundry I was doing and the fact that it seemed to never be “done”. You see, I was of the belief that you didn’t do laundry until the laundry baskets were overflowing and you ran out of underwear. Of course, then it would take me days to complete and by then there was more. Then, miraculously, I had a revelation! I started my own Flylady type routine, although I was years from finding Flylady. “Do laundry on Mondays and Fridays whether it needs to be done or not” There is only 2 or 3 loads to do each of those days and the kids know that after-school, they are to grab their pile to put away on those days. If I happen to be out of the house on Monday – I do it on Tuesday, and if I know I’ll be busy on Friday- it gets done on Thursday. This system has worked so well for us that I’ve been able to clean out our dressers and closets of all those extra clothes that we stopped wearing because our favorite clothes are always clean. The few times I’ve neglected this routine wreaked havoc on our household and has taken weeks to re-coop. I’ve learned never to let the laundry pile get past what can be completed in a day. Now that I’ve found Flylady, I’ve added more weekly routines and my house is slowly, babystep by babystep, becoming a home I can be proud of again. I still have a lot of de-cluttering to do, but I know that it will get done, eventually, as long as I keep doing it 15 min. at a time. It doesn’t make me crazy anymore because, you know, “I’m not behind”.
- Flybaby in PA
- The absolute bestest way EVER to do laundry--is to declutter it first. Ugly
bras, holey underwear, things that are ill-fitting and uncomfortable and too
tight, things out of fashion, and colors that are not flattering--gone.
Laundry is a breeze now, and much less of it, too.
Dallas
- Hi FlyCrew,
My best tip has been to purchase a brand new, wheeled trashcan and place it between my dryer and my laundry folding table. As I remove clothes from the dryer I sort it into Give Away, (the trashcan) or Put Away, (the clothes from the table). When the trashcan is full, it's time to bag it and take it to the Salvation Army.
I removed 58 wash loads of clothes from my home this way last year! Workin toward a Home for Me and My Family,
-
Litchfield, NH
- My way of keeping up with the laundry is two fold:
-One is I got rid of at least 2/3 of my wardrobe and encouraged my two DS and DH to do the same. Two things happened:
1) It was very easy to organize the closets.
2) Because it was organized and there were fewer decisions it is easier to find clothes to wear; it was as if we
actually had more clothes though we had less.
-The second way is that I try and do at least one load of laundry a day. Even if it's just a small load. I never let
it accumulate like I used to. There were times in the past when I could have three or four large garbage bags
of laundry stashed by the machines waiting to be washed: most of the time I would never know what was in there.
Other things that have helped:
Sheets are taken off the bed once a week, replaced with fresh sheets from the linen closet and washed and put away on the same day (Mondays). Each bed has only two sets of sheets: that means I have eight sets of sheets.
Each person has their own two sets of towels of different colors and their own place to hang them. I do the same with the sheets, though I often wash them twice a week.
One of my daily chores is to walk through the bedrooms and take the laundry out of their baskets in the closet floor and take it down (if they have forgotten to do this themselves) and sort it right then: if I have a load or even 1/2 a load I'll start the washer right then.
I don't have a drier and so in the winter I dry things over the woodstove, in warm weather on the line; when they are dry I put them away, right away; no piles of clean laundry anymore; time was they had to go through laundry baskets to find clean clothes.
Hope that wasn't too long!
Love!!!!
- Hancock, MA
- After a shower, your body is clean right? So why wash every towel after every shower? My family is supposed to use a towel at least twice before sending it to the laundry room. This one rule has saved me many loads of laundry and many hours!
- from IN
Note from FlyCrew: In Part 2, we will be posting your tips
about sorting and adding laundry to your daily and weekly routines. Catch you
later. Happy laundering!
"Nothing says I love you
like clean underwear!" - FlyLady
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