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Solving The Laundry Quandary - Part 2
"Laundry is a never ending cycle: Sort,
Wash, Dry, Fold and Put away. It is like a child that does not get
the proper attention. You can catch it hanging out in unsavory
places." - FlyLady
As promised, we are continuing along with our laundry tips from
members. Before you begin reading, grab a load of laundry and put it in the washer. It will be done before you know it! Also,
we have an interesting challenge for you later down in this list.
It is one of those "lightbulb" moments! - FlyCrew
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But First, A Laundry Quandary Surprise from the FlyCrew
Mini Laundry Room Safety Mission: First, when is the
last time you have cleaned the lint from your dryer vent?
Check the outlet hose, it should be clear of lint. Second,
don't run the dryer when you are not home. Although it may
be convenient, it is not safe. Many house fires begin in
the dryer. We had a close call a few months ago when the
heater element in our 15 year old dryer failed. While the
element was being replaced, I was able to see the inside
of our dryer. It was full of lint (and I clean the lint
trap with every load!) and some of it was charred black
next to the failed heater element. Yikes! Third, have you
ever considered a smoke detector in your laundry area? I
have added one to my grocery list for the weekend. Is your
laundry area safe? |
Sorting Out The Dirty Stuff ...
"I used to let the laundry just pile up until I had one last, lonely
pair of underwear left. Then, I did nothing but laundry all day! Now
I do it twice a week, and let myself watch a little TV while I fold.
Now, doing the laundry is an opportunity to relax a little, instead of
being an all-day slog." - Fluttering in Fremont, CA
- We use 3 laundry baskets, one is white, one is a medium color, and the third is a dark color. Family members put their dirty clothes in the corresponding colored basket. When a basket is full, it's time to do the laundry. So easy.
- I help to manage two homes. The one very simple thing that's helped
me handle the laundry in each home is to have a laundry bin for each
bedroom that never moves from that room. These bins only ever contain
*dirty* laundry. If it's not in the laundry bin it doesn't get
washed. I used to carry the dirty laundry bins from each bedroom to
the laundry room and get in a terrible muddle with which bins had
clean clothes and which dirty, and whether clothes dumped on the
bedroom floors were there because they needed cleaning and I'd stolen
the laundry bin. It's so much easier just to carry my one extra
basket around from room to room and empty the bins into it. Simple
and obvious but it took me 15 years to figure it out.
- in London, England
- Hi FlyCrew,
I have a wonderful laundry sorter with three canvas bags in it...it is so great, because now I don't have to get the whole floor covered in piles of laundry to figure out which load needs to be done next, I just see which bag is full and that's my load! That doesn't include towels and linens, I just work those in when they need it. I have three small children, so anything can happen, and often does! Which means I still get behind, but it is so much more manageable and it doesn't take me days to get the loads off of the floor! LOL
Fluttering in Houston
- First Off I have a two story --- so a hamper goes in the kids bathroom --- one in my bathroom --- and a basket inside my closet. As dh is getting in the shower --- I'm a swishing the toilet as well as pulling my basket from the closet. All dirty clothes come out of the hamper and dh deposits his morning towel as well as wash cloth in and hanging on the side of basket. I then deposit my towel as well as wash cloth in basket. Basket is then placed at the top of the stairs where my 13 y/o deposits her hamper clothes and also towels and wash cloths. By the time I have swished/swept/and swiped --- when I go downstairs I then carry only my basket with me. Now that his has become a routine I average 2-3 loads every other day. Hampers do not come down stairs because they never seem to make it back up!!! The basket is used to take folded clothes up.
Sorry not that short-----BUT I HAVE A CLEAN AND TIDY LAUNDRY ROOM-----ummm thank goodness you didn't ask about the laundry closet....../southfl/coralsprings
- Flybaby in New York here.
I use a 3 washer shared laundry room and do 8 loads a week
including 2 loads of diapers.
Each person in the house has their own laundry bag in their room.
I use long handled canvas bags so I can sling the laundry
over my shoulders and have a hand free to hang onto my
toddler :-).
I wash on Tuesday and Saturday so things don't have a chance
to get too full.
Tuesday's loads are Mom & toddler, Son, diapers, sheets & dishtowels.
Saturday I do Dad & toddler, Daughter, diapers, bathtowels & bathmats.
I put the sheet or towel load in after the diaper load to make sure I
leave
the washer as sweet as possible for the next user.
I leave the laundry sorted by person - not by clothing color.
I know this isn't the way Mama said to do it but we don't
wear special care clothes and it all seems to get clean!
Clothes get returned to each person in their laundry bags &
they put them away themselves (even the toddler).
I made this easy for the kids by labeling the drawers with
words and pictures (cut from catalogs). I've also learned to
keep the drawers decluttered so there is never more clothing than
will fit easily in each drawer.
Hope this helps someone - I've gotten so much help
here that it's nice to be able to give something back!
- Hi to all,
We have a fairly good sized laundry, which helps for this. My children and
I have laundry buckets in our rooms. We empty them each morning (yes, the
kids do it as part of their morning routine), and they sort their own
laundry (even my 3yo). We have four narrow baskets in our laundry -
delicates, towels, light and dark. When the bucket is full, into the
machine it goes! No gross sorting of piles of stinky washing! (Mind you, my
husband has yet to master which basket is for which! Oh well baby steps!
LOL)
Flying in Sydney Australia
- Years a go I set up a three basket system for our 6 kids. Next to the
washer there is a three compartmented basket. One for whites, one for
darks & one for bright colors. When the kids bring their dirty laundry
down they put them in the right baskets (most of the time!;) )
All I need to do is look to see which one is the fullest & that's the
load I do first. Not much sorting to do at all!
- flying in France
- Laundry in my house is separated and washed by the room it belongs in,
instead of by color. I just bring the basket into the room it belong to,
fold and put away on the spot. We have a very casual lifestyle. I
haven't noticed any problems with bleeding.
Thank you for freeing me from the tyranny of "momma's way." She folds
laundry in the living room while watching TV. Which works for her. We
were two. I have a family of five. I have my own way now. I'm no longer
living out of a laundry basket!
- I used to let my laundry build up until it was a big event, starting with
sorting and ending with putting perfectly clean clothes on the floor at
night because I did not want to put them away. As a added bonus, the
sorted piles of undone laundry sat on the bedroom floor until their turn in
the washer. The result was a confusing mish-mash of clothes that I didn't
know which were clean and which were dirty.
Several helpful hints from Flylady have helped me turn this around:
1. I bought three 97-cent laundry baskets from a local department store.
When I add clothes to the baskets, I put them in the proper basket for
whites, darks, or mixed
2. Decluttering has included my closet and dressers drawers. It's so much
easier to put clothes away if you are not tearing your cuticles attempting
to stuff clothes into already full drawers. Out came clothes too small,
stained & unwearable, out of style, etc. With these permanent removals, it
is so easy to put the folded clothes away. Same for the closet
3. Never underestimate the value of having a decluttered surface to fold
clothes. Since flying with you all, my bed has been made every day. So
onto the bed goes each basket of clothes from the dryer where the clothes
are easily folded. Before, a stray sock or top would find its way under
unmade and rumpled piles of sheets, blankets and comforters. Where the
only solution was to kick them to the floor when finding them at night
It's unbelievable to imagine the postive effect that shining your sink has
on doing laundry, but if you let yourself move in babysteps, it is really
true that the laundry does itself!
Laundry Stress Free and Flying in Columbus Ohio!
Scheduling Tips......
"I have adopted the motto: A LOAD A DAY KEEPS THE PILES AWAY! My husband and kids love it, and actually kick in to help get it where it needs to go now. Put it in in the AM, before school starts, move it to the drier when we arrive home before dinner, and then fold while watching the 11pm news, and heading to bed. It's part of the new routine! - Thanks FlyLady" - in Massachusetts
- I keep my laundry under control by keeping to a
weekly schedule:
Tuesday - towels
Wednesday - husband's clothes
Thursday - my clothes
Friday - baby's clothes
Saturday - towels
Sunday - everybody's clothes
Monday - catch-up
- Lakewood WA
- With a 5 month old daughter sometimes laundry is all I accomplish during the
day! We do it in small baby steps through the day, it takes no more than a
minute at a time and we can get through several loads every day. (I cloth
diaper to save us money so there are a few extra loads to do!) Even with the
baby in my arms I can run down to the basement and do a laundry step. Stuff
in the dryer comes out, stuff in the washer goes in and gets turned on. Then
we carry the basket upstairs. While she's playing on the floor next to me we
can fold everything (whether we do it right away or not!) and take it
upstairs. Our next step is to refill the basket - making sure we pick up
Daddy's dirty socks from under the bed! Then when we have a minute we run
back downstairs and shuffle. Even if you only do a "laundry step" every 2 or
3 hours through the day you can do a couple loads this way! I think if I
tried to do a whole cycle of wash, dry, fold, put away, gather up dirty
clothes all in one step I would be overwhelmed. This makes it easy and a
sort of a game for my daughter! - from Minneapolis, MN!
- I save laundry for StarGate Monday (Sci-fi channel). That is the only time I watch TV. I start it before the first episode starts. I sort the clothes into loads and put the first one in the washer. I check on it during commercials moving it from the washer to the dryer and then to the basket.
I bring the basket back upstairs and fold the clothes while still watching TV. At the next commercial I take the basket back downstairs and check on the remaining loads at that time.
I also do my ironing during the TV show setting up the ironing board behind the couch so I can still see the TV.
That way I can watch my favorite series (once a week) and not wallow in guilt over not being productive.
- To keep our laundry under control, I do one load every
day. By doing the laundry in small baby steps, it
doesn't become so large that it is overwhelming and an
all-day chore.
- CA
- This may not sound efficient, but give it a try and see how you like it. When you put in a load of laundry to wash, DO NOT start another load until that one is washed, dried, folded and put away. I know what you’re thinking. “I am not getting the most out of my washer and dryer if I don’t have them both constantly cranking away until the hampers are completely empty!”
I learned this technique when I went from having a huge laundry room complete with folding table to having a closet that held nothing but the washer and dryer. And it barely held them at that! I had no place to leave laundry strewn about waiting for me to deal with it. So I started this technique of doing one load from start to finish before starting another. It really does keep the laundry monster from taking over the house.
- in Texas
- Hi there
I have found by doing laundry daily (one or two loads) it makes it much easier. Baby steps, right? When the kids are done with baths, before we do stories we sort and start a load together. Then after stories and before rocking the baby, I put wash to dryer and start load 2. By the time the baby is settled, I'm ready to fold the warm clothes and dry the others. Before too long, I have finished my evening routine and the clothes are ready for storage, so when checking on the little people, I put clothes in drawers, tuck everyone up and off to bed I go. We wake up with clean clothes and empty washer/dryer! The school uniforms that need ironing are usually done while load 2 is in the dryer (be sure to put ironable items in load 1!)
When Monday was wash day, I was so crabby because with 6 people in the house the dirty clothes pile high and I hated it. Now by doing a little at a time, it's never out of hand!
Thanks
The Irish Washerwoman
- I wanted to let you know what is working for me and my family of 5 regarding the subject of LAUNDRY!! I make it a point to schedule NO laundry on the weekend, so I divide it up into reasonable amounts each weekday (M-F). Mondays are my DS laundry; Tuesdays are my two DD laundry; Wednesday is towels and whites; Thursdays are cold water wash; and Fridays are warm water wash, including all the sheets. I've tried various systems, but this works best for me. I am not overwhelmed with laundry anymore. It is very manageable and I know what to expect each week day. - Indiana
- Dear FlyCrew, Thank you thank you thank you! Thanks to all of you I have had the best time recently learning to enjoy doing laundry. I think you can learn to enjoy something if you feel good at it. I always hated laundry before because I could never finish it all the way through, which made me feel like a failure and it made my house look bad. With lots of tinkering around with what works best, I think I have finally found something that works!
I do sheets, towels, and pajamas on Mondays.
I do whites on Tuesdays,
darks on Wednesdays,
kids' laundry on Thursdays (I only have two kids),
and another white and dark load on Friday to get us through the weekend.
The secret? Lots of small loads! Drying takes a fraction of the time it used to, and so does folding! I feel like I have accomplished such a huge thing! I add "kitchen laundry" (dish towels, wash rags, bibs) to every load to keep on top of it and to keep my sink spa inspiring! Also, be sure to buy some great smelling detergent! That helps so much. I couldn't have done it without you! Loving Keeping on Top of my Laundry For Once in my life, Flybaby R in Charleston, SC
PS---I have a friend who doesn't have a washer/dryer at her house. She has started bringing it here. We either take the time to catch up, OR she babysits for free in exchange for the use of the machines.
- Hi FlyCrew,
I love my method for doing laundry!! I know it won't work for everyone, and it's not exactly babystepping, but here's what I do. First thing every Friday morning I head to the laundry room. My three DD's bring down their basket and we sort. I start with my sheets--to make sure they are back on the bed quick so I can have it made for the day. (I hate folding sheets--so I don't. They go right back on!) My laundry room is right off the kitchen and I keep the end of cycle buzzer going. My goal is to have everything folded and put away by the end of the day. I speed things up by doing the "fine washables" that don't go in the dryer (bras, hosiery, etc.) as soon as the washer is finished with one load. (My washer has a hand washables cycle. I love it!) My dryer takes longer than the washer, so this is like getting two loads finished in one!
I'm a homeschooling mom, so if we have activities planned away from home on Friday, I get a few loads started on Thursday night, that way I can still finish by Friday night. Just to let you know, there are 5 of us. The girls are 5,7 and 10. They are involved in sports, so we have extra clothes from that. I have a very large capacity washer and dryer and I do about 9 loads of laundry per week. That usually includes 2 small loads of "hand" washables.
What I like best about this system is that I don't have to think about laundry except on Fridays. Then it's done and put away--and out of the way!
Thanks for all your help in keeping me organized! I'm still fluttering along, but always improving!
- in Missouri
- FlyCrew,
Interesting Laundry should be brought up. Today I was talking with a high school friend who has two toddlers 14 months apart, just like me! She confessed that in her BC days (Before Children) she would let the laundry go about every 3 weeks, and then have a big Saturday Laundry fest. Well one kid came along, and Laundry moved to a once a week ordeal. Just like me, she would spend one whole Saturday doing 3-4 loads of laundry. Then the second kid came along, and the loads went up to 4-6.
Enough is enough! In my weekly planning I plan which loads are done on which days. I have six working days, so six laundry days. On Monday I do the whites, Tuesday the colored, Wenesday the darks, and then Thursday I start the schedule over again. Some days I might have two loads of laundry, but most days I only have one load. And once it comes time to fold the laundry, I let myself watch TV! That load of laundry is folded in about 10 minutes. In the commerical breaks I put it away. What a treat, to watch TV, just 'cause I'm doing what I need to be doing.
Flybaby in Dallas/Ft. Worth TX
- Since I retired the laundry is usually not a quandary. My laundry is in
the basement, it has a nice window in the wall as well as a window in
the upper half of the door. This makes it nice and light but also is
very cold in the winter. We use a wood burner to keep it comfortable.
This requires several cords of wood. We had a wet spring and did not
get enough wood cut and dried to keep a constant fire.
We choose the days to build a fire by the weather report. When it is
going to be below zero we build a fire, do the laundry, zone clean and
LISTEN TO A BOOK ON TAPE.
The basement is divided into fourths, zone 5 is the stairs, the small
bathroom/storage area under the stairs and fruit cellar.
Would like to THANK the Flybaby that gave the hint about putting a
night light in the kitchen to remind her that there was laundry needing
attention. My DH thinks that is a neat reminder also.
Looking forward to reading all the suggestions from other Flybabies.
Flapping in WV
Tomorrow, we will be adding your tips for handling laundry with
KIDS!!!! And how to tame the SOCK MONSTER!! Wahoo! Lots and lots of clothes to wash. Happy
Laundering! - FlyCrew
"As I leave my bedroom, dressed in the
morning I take a load to the basement and start the washer. Then I
set my timer for 35 minutes. By the time I have finished my
morning routine, the washed clothes are ready for the dryer. As
they are drying I, eat my breakfast and do my morning meditation.
After this, I take the basket of dry warm clothes to my made bed
and fold them. This way they are never put in the basket. I put
them away from the bed and put the basket back in the closet." -
FlyLady
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