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Solving the Laundry Quandary - Part 3: Kids
and Laundry (And the Sock Monster!)
"Clothes are invading your sanity! Too
much laundry to do! Not enough places to put them away! They are
on the floor and any surface or hook in your home. The closets are
packed full. When is enough, ENOUGH???? Are you sick of dealing
with this problem? Your skinny clothes keep you fat and your fat
clothes are enticing you to get fat again! Your children's clothes
are everywhere; you don't even know what they can wear or what is
to be handed down to the next child. People give you clothes and
you can't tell them no, because you don't know what you have...
Let go of this and save yourself a lot of headaches and laundry.
Are you ready to FLY with lighter baggage?" -
FlyLady
Note from FlyCrew: We decided that we would set aside a
whole page for your laundry tips that involve children. If you
have kids, you have laundry, lots of it! Keep this in mind, it
doesn't matter how old they are, your kids can jump in where they
are. If they are learning about laundry, let them take BabySteps
too. All the surprises on this page will involve you and your
kids. Have fun with it. You are teaching your sons and daughters
skills that will last a lifetime! - FlyCrew
Tips from our members....
- Hi! My DSs, 11 and 13, have been showing more interest in "how things
get done" now that I'm doing more, and more efficiently (LOL). I told
them that they could do their own laundry whenever they wanted to (made
it sound like a treat!) and made up little packets of laundry powder,
single-load size,and put them in a little basket with a 3X5 card of
step-by-step instructions on how to do a warm-water, mixed load -- wash
and dry. Then I walked each DS through a real washload of their own.
Now they have it on paper, and they know how it "feels" to do it -- no
longer mysterious to them, and they feel more independent. Hoping to
give my boys their own wings in Amesbury, MA!
- Here it is: I taught my kids to do their own. Imagine how much more careful they are about how many outfits they wear in a day if they are the ones that are responsible for washing them. From about age 12 on I start training them on sorting, etc. and doing their own wash. I do request that they save their whites for me. I know them well enough to know that whites would go in with everything else if it meant another load! LOL
As far as when they were younger, we would have a "Fold-A-Thon" when I did laundry. I would sit everyone down and as I pulled the clothes from the baskets I would throw them to their owner who would then fold and put away their own. I believe in training the kids for living on their own and both of these things have helped toward that goal as well as making things easier for Mom.
- in Cleveland, TN
- We have 4 children so I use a permanent marker to mark the tags with
"X"s. Oldest gets one and youngest gets 4. That way I or dh can quickly
tell whose item it is.
Also, I bought 6 small different colored plastic tubs w/ handles at the
dollar store. I hung them on the wall by the dryer with very large cup
hooks after writing our names on them with a sharpie. When clothes are
pulled out, the socks and other undergarments are sorted into the correct
basket. That makes it simple to grab the basket and it empty it in the
correct dresser drawer. No more huge mountain of endless small items!
FlyBaby in Oregon
- This probably ins't original but here's my laundry solution:
Each child (of 4) has their own basket. They are responsible for putting dirty clothes in their basket. Then each has a different day that its washed. We don't bother to seperate whites & darks, but their clothes are clean, I don't have to worry about items getting mixed up or to the right person. I usually fold them & the children put them into their drawers.
My children are 12, 10, 7, and 1.5. This has worked very well for our family for the last 5 years or so.
- in GA
- Hey, FlyCrew....
Here's the nuts & bolts of laundry at our house (DS 10 yrs. DD 8 yrs., although we started this a coupld of years ago).....
- Each child has a laundry "tub"
- "Good Morning Routine" = bring dirty clothes from the day before to the laundry room in "tub" (daily)
- "Afternoon Routine" = Mom does laundry and folds clean clothes into children's "tubs" (daily)
- "Before Bed Routine" = take tub of clean clothes back to bedrooms and put things away where they belong (nightly)
- Wake up, repeat "good morning routine"
We all keep up with small doses of laundry, making it much less exhausting. And they always know what they will wear the next day!!! (Flybabies in training!)
-Conquering the Laundry Quandary in TN
- In my house there are a total of 6 people (my self and dh, then two stepsons
ages 15 and 13, then the two youngest boys ages 5 and 3) who live here, 5
full time, 1 (the 13 year old) is here every other weekend and once a month
in the summer.
Laundry can get pretty crazy if even two days are missed. What I ended up
doing was going to the dollar store and bought one of the small round
laundry baskets (the 1 bushel size) for each person. Each person has their
own color and I used a Sharpie to write the person's name on it. Now, each
person knows where their dirty laundry goes and each person is responsible
for their own laundry, right down to the youngest two. Everyone knows how to
use the washer and dryer (I supervise the youngest two) and if they don't
have clean laundry, it's not my problem (I got tired of being told 11 at
night on a school night that someone didn't have any clean clothes for
school when said clothes wound up being thrown on the floor after i'd spent
quite a while washing, drying, and folding them). Now I've taken an idea
that someone posted on the FlyLadyMentors list and keep a box near the dryer
or wherever I am folding laundry. As I fold (or help the youngest two fold
their laundry) I sort through the clothes. Things that are too small or I
don't absolutely LOVE go in the box for charity, if it's stained, ripped, or
just worn out I throw it in the trash can also near my dryer.
- FlyBaby in upstate NY
- I have 5 kids and have finally managed to get the laundry situation out of control. Using ideas I picked up from other flybabies I've been able to cut down the amount of time I spend doing laundry to about 1/2.
1) I moved the kids' dressers into the basement near the washing machine/dryer. I match up outfits and hang them in the closet, usually have a weeks' worth of clothes ready at any one time.
2) 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.
3) I put a load of clothes in the washer at night, and then throw them in the dryer in the morning as part of my routines. If I'm going to be home for awile, I'll start another load while I'm there, but I try to leave the washer empty during the day if I'm not. Because the dressers are right beside the dryer, I usually have the clothes folded and put away within 2 minutes.
4) When the older children grow out of something like socks/underwear, I put a small 'x' or other mark somewhere so I can look at it and know it belongs to the younger kids now. I started doing this when I found out my poor 6 year old still had size 2 underpants in his drawer and they were leaving marks on his skin.
Hope this helps,
Flybaby in Sask.
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Laundry Quandary Surprise from FlyCrew
During the Super Fling Boogie, one of our members
suggested renaming the "give-away box" to a "blessing
box". This caught on! Here is your mini-laundry mission:
grab your kids and ask them to find three pieces of
clothing that they hate (and will not ever wear) or that
are too small for them. It is amazing how many infant and
toddler outfits can be found in the closets of school-aged
kids! If your children are not comfortable giving up their
favorite clothes that are too small for them, try
explaining how they can help another child in need. Join
in yourself, and see if there are three things in YOUR
closet that you will never wear. Remember to allow your
children the same BabySteps you took yourself. On your
next errand day, drop off the box at a Goodwill or family
crisis center. |
- I put a hamper in each kid's room and I wash only one person's clothes at a
time. I just toss everything together and wash on warm. When it comes out
of the dryer I dump it right on their bed. That child and I fold and put
away those clothes right there in the same room. It's amazing how much
faster it is to put away the laundry when you don't have to distribute it to
every room.
Now you're thinking that some of your clothes won't tolerate being washed in
warm water with everything else. All I can say is that piece of clothing
needs a Fling Boogie!
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Redwood City, CA
- Kids, from a very young age, can be taught to sort laundry properly. I have two boys, 5 and 8. They're expert laundry sorters. I actually think they do a better job than my husband. Whenever I'm ready to wash a load, I'll give them a small, round laundry basket and tell them to run to the hamper and pick out all the dark colors (or towels, or whites, etc...) and dump them in the washing machine. Having help with this one simple step really helps make the whole process move along a little smoother. Sometimes they even ask me if they can help. By the time they're ready for college they'll be laundry experts.
- My biggest problem with laundry has always been putting it away. With 3 kids and now a baby, we have lots of laundry. One day I got a wild hair and took my kids(4,4,& 5 at the time) up to their rooms and we drew pictures of socks, pj's, shorts, long sleeved shirts, etc. The kids had fun coloring them. We taped them on the fronts of the drawers they belong in, on the appropriate side of the drawer. For a few weeks, I put their clothes away with them, but now, they put all of their own laundry away. (We have removed the pictures now).This saves me a lot of time!! Every 4-5 months we go up and do an overhaul on their drawers to make sure all is well! Have fun!
Flying in small town Iowa
- Dear FlyLady,
As a mom of 12, I knew that I wasn't going to be able to keep up with laundry on a regular basis, and I also wanted to train our kids to do as much for themselves as they could. So, the flexible rule in our house is that when a child turns 10, they start doing their own laundry. I help where needed, but it's really up to them to make sure that they have clean clothes. I do have to keep after them at times, especially when I notice that someone is repeatedly wearing the same thing, but for the most part they do a good job. Those of the kids who room together usually end up doing laundry together as well due to the sharing of one hamper per room. One added benefit is that as the kids grow up and leave home (as five have), they take their laundry skills with them! (Plus Mom has a LOT less laundry to do per week!)
- from Montana
- I have my kids play three games. One they made up- who's in front- as they cart the laundry in handfuls to the laundry room. They run to be first to the bin and first to the kitchen.
Two- find the whites and seperate. Three feed the washer. the washer is most fun in that it's saying, "I'm hungry. Feed me. Feed me." in a deep voice. They laugh like crazy.
- in NC
- FlyCrew: The biggest solution to the laundry dilemma at my house has been training my kids to do their own as soon as they were old enough (6th grade). Suddenly, clothes that had been worn for only a couple of hours found their way back into the closet instead of the hamper when the boys had to wash, dry and put them away themselves. It took a few months of training, and a couple of years of watching them wear wrinkled clothing (left in the dryer overnight), but the payoffs have been tremendous. I sent my oldest off to college this year with 6 years of laundry experience. I didn't have to give him a crash course in washing clothes before he left. Right now, I am only responsible for 4 loads a week (one each of lights, darks, towels and sheets). I know that this solution doesn't work for families of toddlers that dirty everything, but at least those families can look forward to a time when laundry is not a huge commitment of time each week. If you adopt my solution here is one word of warning: Be sure to hold occasional sock and underwear inspections, so you know when it is time to buy new ones. Hope this helps. Nancy in Texas
- Hi!
I am a Flybaby from Tennessee. We homeschool our four children.....so you know we have a lot of laundry! Like a lot of people, I can sort and wash, but getting it all put away is sometimes more than I can do. So, in our house we invented the "Laundry Game." All of the kids get a basket, (except the baby who just runs around with excitement). I pile all of the clean laundry up and grab something off of the pile and I literally throw it into their basket they are holding onto. As I throw it I call out to which child the clothes go to and they have to make sure it falls into their basket. This only works with the clothes that are wash and wear and that are already wrinkled from sitting in the "pile" . We go through a lot of underwear, t-shirts, jeans, towels and bathing suits as my kids are on the swim team. When the pile is distributed, I set the timer to see which child can put all of thier laundry away first ( I help with the little ones). The first one done gets a to pick out that afternoons video to watch or some such privelege, (better than candy at our house!!).
Hope this helps!
Tennessee flybaby
- I have 3 kids - 5, 4 and 1. My laundry problem has always been how to put the clothes away. I can't do it when the kids are asleep, and i can't do it when the kids are awake. But guess what? the kids can put their own laundry away! Really, my daughter was 3 when we started this! i put the laundry on their beds, with like items together, and the kids know they have to put it away as part of their "bedtime jobs."
- in sonoma county
- I have four children ranging from 5 to nearly 18.
Last laundry challenge I went out and bought 5 laundry baskets which I
color coded to match the loads that go into the washer --- white, jeans,
darks, etc. All of my kids now put their dirty clothes in the laundry
room and sort them as they go. When a basket is full, Mom dumps it in
the washer. No more towers of laundry for me to sort! I fold the
finished load on top of the dryer and put them away from there.
I can't say it's always that simple, but we've come a long way from
dressing out of the clean clothes baskets on the way out the door.
Flybaby T in Omaha
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Laundry Quandary Surprise from FlyCrew
Are your children old enough to start doing their
laundry? Talk it over with your family and see if there
are things they can do to contribute to the laundry load
(besides adding dirty laundry LOL). Listen to their ideas,
your kids may have better ideas than you do! With your
kids, list out one or two BabySteps your family can take
to ease the laundry burden. You may just want to start
with sorting dirty clothes and putting away clean clothes.
Then, post these BabySteps where your family can see them.
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- My boys are 8 and 10. I started something at the beginning of the school year that has really worked! In hopes to end frustration of having to gather everyones laundry from their rooms (they each have their own laundry hampers), I have given them the total responsibility. I explained the "new policy" to them and enforced it immediately (rather than giving warnings or chances). Here's the deal: I tell them the night before or the morning of "laundry day", which is usually 3 times per week, that "If you have any clothes you want washed, today's the day!". I DO NOT REMIND THEM. If they put their laundry in the designated spot in the laundry room, I wash it. If they don't, they get to wait til the next laundry.
The beautiful thing is that I no longer "nag" my children to bring me their laundry, or throw another load in 30 minutes after I thought I was done, because they "FORGOT". I'm not frustrated about having to gather clothes from every square inch of the 10 yr olds room! If they want their favorite jeans to be clean, the ball is in their court. It has worked wonderfully!
ALSO - VERY IMPORTANT: I fold their clean clothes and leave them stacked on the dryer. Part of their before bedtime routines is to put their laundry away - properly! This cuts down on them carelessly putting clean clothes in the dirty laundry because it only makes for more work for themselves.
And the icing on the cake - they are beginning to FLY too!
Slowly but surely, flying in PA.
- When my kids were little and learning their colours and numbers, I had them help sort by putting things into piles of each colour and counting how many things went in each pile. They really thought they were a big help and it also helped their learning. As they got older, we revised into lights, darks etc and on the way they learned how to do their own laundry. Now one is away from home and the other leaving next year for university and I am confident they know what to do. Flybaby in Medicine Hat
- Hi. I have 3 boys and 2 girls, ranging from 16 down to 4, and they all help with the laundry at their level. Short and sweet...here are things I stumbled on that worked for us:
**As preschoolers they liked sorting with me by color/shade.
**From preschool on they like to 'catch' the laundry I toss them from the basket or from the washer and throw it into whatever machine it goes to next. (Except the 16 yr old) EXCEPTION-no underwear...I put that in myself.
**We fold it together while watching a short video or tv program...as long as it's done by the end of the show.
**If I do at least 1 full load (now 2) a day, we stay caught up.
****Being firm but not intense reaaaalllly helps me. "I know it's not your favorite job, but we need the clothes, so let's get it done and move on"
**Be sure to thank them for their help!!!
- My son, age 10, does his laundry on Monday. My daughter, age 12, does hers on Wednesday. They have been doing their own laundry since the age of 8, at first with some help from us, but now with almost none. They strip their bed and change their towels on their laundry day. I do one load a day of my husband's and my laundry on each of the other days and easily keep up with our laundry. As part of my Before Bed Routine, I sort off the load I'm going to do the next day, put it in the washer, measure out the soap, and the next morning on my way to the kitchen, I pop the button. - in Kansas
- Dear FlyLady:
Everyday our whole family has a laundry chore and a kitchen chore. My 4
year old sorts the laundry, empties the dryer, folds small towels and puts
his clothes away. My 7 year old washes one load MWF. Tuesday and Thursdays
are folding days.
When there is a lot to fold, we have a folding contest. I get 3 loads, he
gets one. Then we race to see who gets done first. That makes laundry fun!
Sometimes, in true flylady fashion, we set the timer, all pitch in and try
to race to beat the timer. "Loads" of fun.
- FLYbaby in Knoxville
- Hi FlyCrew
When my children became old enough to whine that they "didn't have anything to wear" (around age 10) I went out and bought them each their own drying rack and a laundry basket and gave them a lesson on how to wash clothes. They throw their dirty clothes in the basket in their room (rather than on the floor!!) and then they wash their own stuff at their leisure (or when they are out of clean clothes). We don't use our dryer very often (saves $$$), so they hang their clothes, either in their bedroom, or in the storage room in the basement. I no longer hear the whining and I have 1/2 the laundry to do that I used to!!
Flying in Cranbrook, B.C. Canada
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Laundry Quandary Surprise from FlyCrew
Do your children have an easy spot to store their clean
clothes? Or, are the hangers too high or the drawers too
hard to open? Ask your kids what is the most frustrating
part about putting away their clothes. Then ask them if
they have any ideas about how to make it easier. You may
be surprised by what they say! |
- We've lived in the same small apartment for almost 25 years,
raising 2 kids and hosting a constant flow of international students,
teenage homeschoolers from other families, and so on. We've always
gone to laundromats because it's actually much easier and if we owned a
washer/dryer, it would be in use about 47 hours every day with that
many people. This way they all have to go do their own laundry
however/whenever it suits them.
There are several things we've fine tuned that make it easier: a
few months ago, I put up 7 hooks in my DD 11 yr old's room and marked
them with the days of the week. When her clean laundry comes in from
the car, most of it goes straight onto those hooks. That way she
already knows what she will wear to school for the whole week -
hallalujah, no more "What are you going to wear?" at 7 am. No
overflowing drawers either, no more buying far too many jeans cuz "I
have nothing to wear, Mom!"
We also stick to a strict schedule (well, most of the time), doing
the laundry only every other weekend. So the added benefit of the
hooks is that she hangs her clothes up at night and wears them again
the second week. Okay, okay, so I am the one who usually hangs them
up... I think not doing laundry every day helps us take care of our
clothes a little better too.
The best labor-saving trick of all is that for years it's my DH
who has done all the laundry. We all gather it up, then off he goes,
just once every other week. He keeps the detergent in the car so he
can't forget it. He spends about $10-15 for everything and is back home
with everything dry and folded in an amazing two hours. He loves
having a little peace and quiet while the machines whirr and he sits
and reads his book. We save money by doing less laundry than most
folks we know, by not using our own water and electricity and by buying
fewer clothes (except we do all have 2 weeks worth of socks and undies,
naturally). Gotta go, DH and DD are back from the laundromat - and
they bought new socks on the way home. LOL!
Washer-less-by-choice in Massachusetts!
- Hello,
We have a way to have some fun with laundry. I'll read aloud from a big
book, one my kids wouldn't tackle on their own, while nursing the baby.
Then my DD (age 11) and my DS's (8 and 10) fold the laundry while listening.
By choosing a book slightly above their reading level, I'm there to help
explain new words or phrases. Many hands make the workload light, the baby
gets a nice meal, and I feel good helping my kids learn with an interesing
story!
Oh, and if hands happen to stop folding, I stop reading. I try to find a
particularly juicy part to stop in so they start folding again quickly!
Just Hatched in FL
- Dear FlyLady;
Yea on the laundry. I have four children and when they were in sixth grade they each learned to do their own laundry. It has made a world of difference in my laundry woes. They now iron their own clothes when needed, including starch. You'd be surprised how much fussier they become about their own clothing when they are responsible for it. They have assigned days to do their laundry so there aren't any laundry time problems.
This began when they were pre-schoolers and on Saturday mornings when they wanted to watch cartoons, their dirty sheets had to be off the bed and in the laundry room before they could do the cartoon thing. I taught them to take off their sheets, put them in the pillowcase and then put the pillowcase in the laundry room.
This was a tremendous help for me and was a goal oriented task for them as well.
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Last Laundry Quandary Surprise from
FlyCrew
Take your kids out for a treat! Have fun with them! |
Taming the Sock Monster!
Where do those single socks go? Personally, I think they like to meet up behind my couch and multiply into more single socks that look nothing like the originals LOL! All I know is, they only get a few washing loads and if no mate shows up, out they go!
- I always wash the baby's socks in a lingerie/hosiery bag. This keeps me from finding stray little socks all over the other clothes in my loads. Works like a charm!- Tampa, FL
- Put all socks in a mesh bag. If you need to, use a different bag for each member of the family.
- FlyBaby in Guelph Ontario
- Many years ago, I had trouble with my laundry, and it seemed like matching the socks were bogging down the entire process. I finally went to the store and bought my husband and son each a different type of socks, and about 10 pairs each of identical socks. I no longer matched them...just put them neatly in a stack on top of their laundry piles. I no longer had to stress about losing a sock, and when they finally wore out (always around Christmas!) they would get another set of new socks. When my husband got a different job and needed to wear dress shoes, I followed the same plan, and bought him 8 pairs of matching black socks. I no longer get backed up doing laundry!
- Hi! Better do this now while I have a few minutes!
A recent thing I have started...with me...but next I want to try it with the kids and DH....is to have a mesh bag for all my white underwear and socks. I don't have to sort it before or after that way from everything else. If you secure the opening you can wash them in the bag. Only problem is the mesh bags are too big...I want to cut mine down and make about four from the one I have.
Another time, we were desperate (pre-Flylady days)...we couldn't keep track of our socks! So the kids and I had a Great Sock Mystery Day and we hunted the house with ...I think...a magnifying glass and clipboard looking for them. LOL ...never did figure out where they went to, but it was still fun. Now, all of a sudden as we get control over the laundry (and I have pitched a LOT of old, unmatched ones)...a miracle seems to happen. We have plenty of socks...sometimes they even come in pairs in the same load! Amazing!
I keep separate containers for church teeshirts, swimsuits, etc. that are only used for certain occasions. Instead of putting them in the kids' baskets for them to put away, I put them in my basket and separate them out...that way the kids don't wear them around the house and they are there when we need them....beach towels come under this category, also. - Grubville, MO ( no kidding...well, its "down the street" anyway!)
- I have four girls and a husband that can wear more clothes than they can! One of the biggest challenges I had with laundry was the socks! With four girls, close in age, trying to match socks and get them to the rooms and drawers they belonged in was almost impossible!
I finally came up with a workable solution! I had everyone put their initial on the toe of their socks with a laundry marker and their name on a paper bag, then if there are any mismatched socks in the basket when I am done folding, they go into the the appropriate sack. At the end of everyweek I hand the "Sock Sacks" to each person and have them match them. If there are any left they go back in the sack.
This has been a life saver for me!! My family too!
Thank you for all you do!!
Sincerely,
"FlyBaby in Idaho"
- I used to HATE sorting socks after they had been washed. After all, I have six children so it was a lot of socks! A friend suggested that I pin my sock pairs together with #2 safety pins as soon as I take them off. It has worked like a charm! Now, laundry is a breeze and everybody has socks to wear. I wish somebody had told me about this years ago!
- I invented "The Sock Game" at our house to match up the single socks that
come through the dryer.
When socks come out of the dryer but don't match up, they go into a bag in
my laundry room. When the bag is full, it's time to play The Sock Game.
The family sits in a line or circle within reach of each other. One person
has the bag and takes out a sock. If it's not theirs, they pass it on to the
next person. The last person in line dumps into a pile anything that no one
claims. Meanwhile, everyone matches up pairs and discards the throw-aways
while the socks continue to be passed on down the line. (Try to keep up!)
It doesn't take long before the bag is empty. The abandoned socks that no
one wanted are displayed for any last-minute matches because sometimes one
slips by accidentally.
At this point, all single socks are permanently FLUNG, the empty sock bag
goes back to the laundry room, and the matched-up socks go into everyone's
dresser. - It seems to work for us! FLYBaby in Michigan
- Best laundry purchase ever: I bought a magnetic bowl that mechanics use to
hold nuts & bolts while working on cars. The underside is rubber to prevent
scratching cars, so I placed it on the front of my washing machine. It
holds the safety pins for sock pairing, so they are convenient for everybody
I still do most of the pairing, but it sure is easier to do it as I pick
them up around the house instead of after a whole load comes out of the
dryer! And no searching for the pins. As I put the socks away, it is
simple to place them back on the magnet for next time.
I bought a second magnet for nails, screws, etc that I am always picking up
while vacuuming. (We've been remodeling for a while...) Every so often I
send them all to their homes.
I am slowly getting my house back in control after two decades of CHAOS,
thanks to you!
(Ozark, Arkansas)
- The best tip I have is I have given a mesh bag to each family member. It hangs on the back of the door knob or the laundry basket, and it is for socks. I actually have two--one for white socks, the other for dark. Dirty socks go in the bag. The whole bag goes in the washer and dryer, and it makes it so easy to match socks because they are already sorted by person.
The other tip is to clean out the kids drawers. It is so quick and easy to put things away when you have room! No more washing folded clothes because they didn't get put away. My son actually hangs all his t-shirts which is so much faster than folding.
A Minnesota flybaby
- Here's how I battle the laundry quandary of unmatched socks... I use the "Buddy System"!
Remember going to Scout camp and going swimming? They use the Buddy System for water safety: everyone has a buddy that they must look out for and always be with when in the water. No one is allowed into the water without their buddy!
I do the same when putting socks in the washing machine: no one goes into the water without its buddy (the matching sock)!
It works! When that load of wash comes out of the dryer, I always know that every sock has a mate. This has helped me track down socks that would have gone missing for months in the bottom of comforter covers (clean) or under the sofa (dirty)!
Flying in Montreal!
"I am not behind - I can jump in
wherever I am. The trick is to make sure you jump!" - a member in
Canberra, Australia
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