Marla,

I just wanted to tell you that I am loving the August habit, and it came along just in time for me.

I used to do laundry a couple of times a week, and NEVER had all the laundry done, NEVER had the laundry baskets free, etc.  I would do 5-7 loads of laundry a week, but in one or two exhausting sessions, and still had clothes to put away, clothes to wash, clothes in the dryer, and occasionally(ok, regularly) had to re-wash a load that got left in the washer too long. I had to do a lot of work, and it was still a mess, and a good portion of the time we would dress out of the laundry baskets, as the most I could do was to separate our clean laundry by person into their own basket.

I am beginning to see what you mean about making it automatic, one load of laundry a day or every other day takes about 2 minutes to put in washer, 1 minute to put in dryer, and maybe 15 or 20 to put away.  I started noticing that for myself and my daughter, we wear the same items over and over each week, so I realized I could clean out both our closets, getting rid of over half the “clutter” clothes in each, and have a lot less to have to keep up with.  I think both of us had so many clothes that weren’t just right, that we would try on, then change into something else, and in the laundry they went, never really worn, but getting washed over and over. That is a lot of extra work, and unnecessary!

I got rid of all the clothing that was torn, stained, or the wrong size. The clothing that was left I put in the closet backwards, with the hook of the hanger facing out.  When we hang laundry up after wearing and washing, we turn the hangers with hook facing in. We are moving in a month or so, and what we don’t wear in between now and then will still have the hooks facing out, and we will donate them instead of taking them to our new house!

In the moving process, I am using your advice, and am decluttering as I go.  I am determined to start off the right way in our new house, and clutter has no place in it! We will not be taking things we do not need, use and/or love!

Thank you, Marla for all your teaching and encouragement!

Carrie in Texas