Laundry is a job I love. Fresh, warm towels and clean clothes make my heart happy. I know I am a unicorn in this area of housework. I often get asked how I keep up with the laundry or what my laundry routine is, so in this post, I will share my entire family’s laundry routine.
I believe in systems and routines, especially for busy families. But if you have found yourself piled in laundry and using the living out of the basket/dryer system, it’s time, my mama friend, to create a laundry system that doesn’t consume you.
I used to be a weekend laundry mom when I was a working single mom because my apartment did not have a washer/dryer. Then we moved to a condo with a washer/dryer, and this is where the birth of my laundry system happened.
Simplify laundry sorting
This seems to be the most controversial topic around laundry. There are old mindsets that we must separate all colors and that we must create micro piles. But today, with modern technologies, HE machines, color catchers, and machines that adjust to load sizes, we can just do everything together.
I use and believe this method is by a person. Each person has a laundry basket in their room. But I feel I need to explain this a little more.
I don’t separate clothes by color, especially for my kids. Most of my kids’ clothes aren’t made of special materials and tend to be all colors.
I also learned a long time ago when my oldest was young and the mix-match sock trend started. The socks would be a pair but different colors. It was then that I tossed out the idea that first, kids needed to have white socks, and second, all grey was the way to go.
So this eliminates the white clothes issues; my kids don’t own many white things. I mean, kids are dirty creatures, why would we give them white anything? Lol
It was the same process even when my children were infants/toddlers.
Now, my husband and I only have one basket, and it’s been that way for years. But since the pandemic, he has worked from home most days of the week and no longer travels 60% of the time. We wear just dress work tops and comfy pants on the bottom. He uses the least amount of laundry out of everyone in the household.
The other reason for everyone having their basket is that I am no longer walking from room to room to put clothes away or sorting out piles to see who belongs to whom.
Once the load comes out of the dryer, that basket goes straight into the room it belongs to.
Eliminate sock sorting
I wrote a post about how to reduce your laundry piles by more than fifty percent, and one thing I do is no longer waste time looking for socks.
Doing each person’s load means the only socks that come out of the dryer should all match. Who has time to look for whose sock belongs to whom?
Another trick you can use is the mesh bag system. I used it more when the kids were little. Small baby socks get lost so easily. You grab a mesh laundry bag from Dollar Tree and place it outside each person’s laundry basket.
This way, all socks stay together. This especially works if you prefer to mix all laundry.
Create a laundry schedule
My preferred method of doing laundry is daily. As long as you have a washer/dryer, this works. My schedule consists of at least one load a day, but there can be more loads based on my daily cleaning routine of cleaning one room a day.
So, for example, let’s say it’s my youngest daughter’s laundry day, but I am also cleaning the kids’ bathroom. Well, then I would have more loads that day as I wash the towels and carpets for their bathroom.
I am also very strict about the number of linens I have, which I explain in my rule of two post.
Creating a laundry schedule is based on your daily routine and the habit stack around that. My habit stack is either in the early morning or evening. Using the delay start option on your machine is great if you are a working mom or busy.
If you are in the potty training stage with soiled diapers and soiled linens, it’s a must.
Assign a laundry day
Each day of the week, assign a day to each person. On those day,s each person’s laundry gets done.
Assigning a laundry day is the perfect way to start creating that habit stack for your kids to learn to do laundry on their own when they get older.
Get the kids involved
My kids help with the laundry. They are responsible for bringing their laundry down to the machine. Because we do laundry so often, their loads aren’t as big so that they can carry them down.
My daughter’s laundry basket has an eternal bag that comes out, and she can just pull it out. At the time of this post, she is 6.
My son grabs his basket and brings it down.
Start by showing them how to add laundry detergent and put their clothes in the machine with supervision. Repeat this process as necessary until they master the skill.
This is the habit-stacking method, the no-complaining method of teaching kids to do chores around the home, and it works.
Use the Nightly Laundry Routine
This system is a variation of the daily laundry routine. For this laundry system, you have one basket in which everyone puts their dirty clothes for the day.
You then start that in the evening and put it away in the morning/day.
It works for some families, especially when keeping loads down if you are short on time.
The point is to create an organized laundry system that works for your family, reduces the piles, and no longer consumes you.
Laundry Sorting Baskets ideas
Laundry room basket system
If you have a laundry room with lots of space,, you can create a bin system with a label system for towels and linens, such as dark, light, and white.
Then teach everyone to put those soiled items there.
Color-coded basket system
You can create a color-coded system inside an area of your home. Each basket color belongs to one person, or each color-coded basket system is assigned a certain type of laundry, such as a white bin for whites and a black bin for darks.
Centralized laundry system
If you like the idea of using the nightly laundry routine, you can create a centralized basket system inside your bathroom or a small area inside your home where everyone puts their dirty clothes.
I hope you found his post helpful in creating a simple laundry system that could change your life.
And that the easy steps for conquering your family’s piles of clothes, towels, and linens no longer consume your life.
Thanks for reading and supporting my blog.
Additional laundry resources
How to find safer laundry detergents