I don’t know if the scene is the same at your house…but laundry really is one thing that I am not good at. My mom, well, she’s an expert. She loves laundry. In fact when we were waiting for our house to be finished last spring, we lived with my parents for about a month and she made the deal that she would do all the laundry if I would do all the cooking. Score! (She thought she had the better deal…but no way, I totally had the better deal!)
I have tried so many different things, one load a day on weekdays, one full blown laundry day…and many others. It still is one thing in the art of homemaking that hasn’t clicked for me (yet!). But I have made a goal that 2015 is the year! Here’s what I have decided to do…
Oh laundry…
Especially the folding part. You see I can put the clothes into the washer, moving them is usually not a problem, but the folding—now there’s the bad part. What usually happens is I ask one of the kids to take the laundry basket of clean clothes and put them on my bed (or the loft couch when our laundry room used to be upstairs)…and then I would go up to bed late at night and find 1 or 2 or 4 loads of laundry waiting for me. Talk about depressing…
So, this year I have set a goal to fold it once. Right when it comes out of the dryer. No longer am I allowed to put a heaping pile of clothes into a basket to get the next load going. By golly, it’s going to be folded! (See how I am trying to talk myself into this new goal 😉
And I am hoping this time that laundry may click into the “liking phase.” (I can dream, right?)
But I do know that walking upstairs to bed late at night without 1 or 2 or 4 loads of laundry will feel good. Even if I have to “not-love-the-folding-during-the-day.”
Any laundry tips for me? How do you tackle the folding?
~Elizabeth
I try to do it as it comes out of the dryer. But it usually gets shoved on my bed for me to find when I am very tired. But I have found that if I get up when my hubby does to go to work, and he leaves at 5:30 and put a load in and take the load out of the dryer from the night before, I get it folded. I take it into my room with no lights on except for my computer and fold it as I look at blogs/email/news. If I can’t see how big the pile is, it is less intimidating. Some days it works well, other days not so much.
Good luck!
I fold the washing as I take it off the line and I usually take it off the line in the order of: husband first, myself, my boys and daughter last. Then I can take the piles out of the basket and give them to the relevant family members. I always try to put a load on at night and set the washing machine timer to start early in the morning. It done when I get up then. Cheers Katrina
We don’t use our dryer. Instead, we put wet shirts and dresses on their hangers to drip dry and pants, socks etc are hung on racks. When the shirts are dry, they just need to be hung in the closet (or ironed, dh does that since it’s always his shirts that need it) and clearing racks is kinda fun for the 8 year old.
It’s better for our clothes, means less ironing overall, it’s much better for our environment (and our electric bill!) and the extra moisture in the air means we don’t need to run a humidifier as much, especially in the winter. I know it’s not for everyone, but I’d at least recommend trying it with anything you normally hang on a hanger.
I am by NO means an expert in this area, but one thing that helps me is that there are a lot of things that I lay flat in the drawers instead of folding. Underwear, workout clothes, all kids clothes. My four-year-old has taken a sudden interest in getting an allowance, so one of her chores is to put away her clothes and the towels. She can match and fold socks too. Getting a little help with the putting away helps make the folding go easier, and she gets to feel like she’s contributing.
I LOVE this idea!! The shirts straight on hangers is genius! Now I’ll probably “fluff” the pants in the dryer so they aren’t stiff. Thanks.
I was able to switch over to liking laundry (instead of dreading it) last year when I bought new baskets…that’s all it really took, how simple! I had been using these huge wide baskets that took a bunch of space, so instead I bought tall skinny ones that only fit one load and are easy to tuck beside a dresser or in a closet. Whenever I notice a basket that’s full, I do the load. No more “whites on mondays, kids on tuesdays…” or any kind of schedule or plans. And what helped me with the folding was to time myself…it really only takes like 4 minutes to fold a load, so I make myself do it so I can enjoy having an empty basket for a little while :).
I sent my child to school in dirty underwear this morning, so clearly I’m no laundry goddess.
I actually love folding laundry in one big mountain. Maybe because it’s so mindless, it’s almost like a break (almost. It’s still a chore, but I love the feeling of accomplishment at the end!). I put on a movie and try to knock it all out in one sitting, either while my son is napping, after my hubby comes home or after I put kiddo down to bed at night. I like to have the bit of “me” time to watch whatever I like, and still accomplish something!
I think we have all been there 😉 At least we can laugh about it….
Rachel,
I need you at my house!
Fabulous idea! I am trying the lay flat thing with my four year olds clothes!
Last summer I wanted an outside clothesline so badly…and didn’t do it. You have motivated me though 😉 I don’t do jeans and my husband’s shirts in the dryer either….I think they last longer (especially those jeans!)
Maybe I need to start earlier in the day….great suggestion!
I bring the dry clothes in baskets into the living room, and fold it when the kids come home from school. It gives me something to do while we talk, and I can watch over what they’re doing with the computer. Sometimes they even help fold, though despite my excellent teaching, they don’t do it very well. When it’s all folded, I put the stacks in the baskets for the kids to take up to their rooms–and hopefully they put the clothes away before the next laundry day!
Oh, do it! You won’t regret it and there’s nothing more motivating than having your laundry flapping around in plain site when it needs to be dealt with 😉
I hang everything except underwear, socks, and pj’s. As I pull it out of the dryer, I hang what needs to be hung and throw everything else in a basket. I put it on the couch to remind me it’s my lucky day to watch a show and fold before bed.
I have laundry days–Thursday and Sunday. Sunday is a lighter day but I can still get a dark, med., and light load. (And Friday is sheets day, and Tuesday is towel day– when the cleaning ladies are cleaning the bathrooms) I like to have certain days. I do well. However, I find that I pull from the dryer, shake out/lay flat on my folding table and find by the end of Thursday or Sunday that I have run out of time to fold it (before my 1 hr. of wind down time). So today I still have Sunday’s pile to fold. One thing that helps me, is to look at the clock (right there) and set a time to get it done. Then you see you are not taking more than say, 15 minutes, and you are more focused and work faster to beat the clock. I also don’t hate laundry–that helps. I DO HATE cooking! Baking yes, cooking NO!!
one load a day washed ,dried and put away. This is the only thing that works for me. Towels and sheets are done on the weekend
Haha love this! I think most people struggle with laundry. I am like your mother, which is like my mother… she loves to do the “warsh” as she calls it. I also enjoy laundry, but still struggle with the time management of it. Whenever I do laundry and it is out of the dryer… I have to fold or hang up 5 items from the load… then I can do something else… then I have to come back and do 5 more… eventually that load is done before I know it and then no more. I usually only do one or two loads at a time so I don’t feel like I am doing that all day, too. You’ll find your mojo though!
HEHEHE Anne, I just read this.
Simon wore two different socks because he didn’t have two that were clean that matched….
-liZ
My mom’s solution was generally to have me do it! It was one of my regular chores, and I didn’t mind having an excuse to enjoy a TV show or two while I folded (or ironed, when I was older) a big pile of laundry.
What a wonderful way to look at folding laundry…..connecting time. I totally needed that. Thank you…really.
e
I love that it’s “me time” I think I just need an attitude adjustment 😉
I wish you were my neighbor…I love baking! It would be a good trade–laundry for baking (although I think I would get the better deal 😉
Thanks for your vote of confidence in the laundry dept….I need it!
We need to be neighbors 😉
I should try that!
This is how I do my laundry also. It helps with the humidity too since our Woodstove keeps the house so dry. I had a clothesline installed this summer and Love to hang my clothesoutside (mind you, as a child in my mother’s house, I hated the job of hanging out our clothes, possibly because we hung outside year-round.)
I start the laundry on Tuesday and put 2 loads through. Then I finish on Wednesday, doing another 2-4 loads. Then after the kids go to bed Wednesday night we watch TV and fold all the laundry at once and put most or all of it away. This really works for us and makes the folding more fun. The best part is that if I’m not home, my husband will fold it all by himself!
I don’t know if its been said, but I “treat” myself to some TV watching while I fold clothes so I wait til I have a basket or two full and then get to watch Downton Abbey, Call the Midwife or one of my favorite youtube channels like Becky’s Homestead of Tiny Houses while I fold all that laundry. It really does feel like a treat because I’m otherwise washing dishes, vacuuming or playing with the little one (no TV if I can help it) so I don’t “allow” myself TV during the day unless I’m folding or its after bedtime 🙂 Good luck!
One thing that helped (and was totally by accident!) was buying smaller laundry baskets. I don’t wait anymore until the loads a massive and the folding is way less daunting with fewer items to fold. My hardest loads to get done are my kids clothes (so many little clothes) but I have come up with a system with them. My four year old does the socks and underwear and my five year old puts the rest of the clothes away as I fold them. She has made it into a fun gamr by tryingto hide behind the couch after each trip to her room and laughs every time I catch her back there. It makes the folding go so much faster and is a little fun. Hope that helps!! Love read this blog. You ladies are fantastic. 🙂
Fold on a day when your kids aren’t too busy. Then, have the kids fold everything of theirs. I fold all adult laundry and the kids fold the rest. The littlest get to fold towels and washcloths and sort socks and underwear. The older ones can do shirt and pants. I usually dump out a load or two and sort according to who folds what then the kids do it. My boys started folding when they were 3-4 (as soon as they understand the concept of “in half” and matching) my 8 year old folds like a pro. Good luck!
I put a closet bar in my laundry room above the washer and dryer cause half the thing that’s horrible about laundry is most of its not going in drawers it’s being hung up. Folding it just makes for a useless chore when u get it to the right rooms just to unfold it and hang it up. So, dryer is done I have the rack of empty hangers I just hang up most of it and everyone takes what is theirs to their room. Easy peasy
I hang all my shirts, sweaters, etc. on hangers as well. It is better for the fabric and look a lot nicer longer, meaning they last a lot longer. I do dry my towels and socks,etc. which pile up. I am so glad I have a ton of socks as I usually have a bushel to match. Every bushel I say I will never do this again, some how it keeps happening. I think I need to do what Elizabeth is doing, fold it and match socks as soon as they are done drying.
After 25 years as a homemaker I finally figured a few tricks and laundry is my specialty….
I have 5 boys and 3 are doing their own laundry now…. they do grow up 🙂
1st – Keep a basket in each bedroom.
2nd – When its time to do laundry only wash 2-3 people at one time – divide by lights/whites and darks and brights
This makes the folding so much easier because you only sort into 2-3 piles and put right back into the basket from the bedroom where the laundry originated.
Like so many things less is more…. less clothes in each load means more likely to get back to their room within 24 hours. I do adult laundry one day and kid laundry on another day and towels etc. as needed.
3rd – Keep all shirts on hangers in their closets. I keep 1-2 doz. hangers stored in my laundry room and hang up all the shirts right out of the dryer. That way they look good from the beginning. I keep a spray bottle with pure water handy to spray t-shirts that stayed in the dryer too long and got wrinkled. They just hang dry and look so crisp – magic!
Good luck ladies…