By now we all know that my days
of focus came about because I despise cleaning. That's my main reason for
getting cleaning and laundry done on one day.
Seriously, though. For years it took me into the next day to truly get everything folded and hung up and ironed and put away. The more children we added, the laundry just kept piling up. What's up with that?!? ;)
I have
changed my plan through the years, but here are the basics:
My kids
help. Sometimes they fold with me; every time they put away all the
clothes. Everything. (Well, except I like my clothes put away a certain way, so
not mine.) It's awesome. I seriously could fold clothes for a few hours, no
problem, but the thought of putting away clothes starts a wave of anxiety
through me. I just don't like to put clothes away. Start
when they can only put away a few washcloths.
(This
year I actually set a goal to put away my clothes every week. Yep, I needed a
separate task to remind myself that I wanted to do that. I just really struggle
putting clothes away. )
Any clothes or rugs that need to
dry overnight get put away the next day by my kids. It's on their weekly chores. On Tuesdays they put away all those
things that were left in the laundry room drying.
I use my two oldest to help carrying baskets up and down stairs and change the laundry. If they are around, they can help for 2 minutes. All my kids have "put laundry basket by stairs" on their charts. Even my 3-year-old can put her dirty clothes away. We have a laundry basket in every room to encourage the pick up of clothes. If it's not in the basket when I'm doing laundry, you get to wash your own clothes that week.
Ironing. I didn't even let my
husband know that I could iron until our 5th anniversary. We were going to a
very fancy restaurant and I was feeling loving and kind and I ironed his shirt
at the hotel. He was shocked. That I knew how. (YIKES!!) And after that trip, he started
buying shirts for work that needed to be ironed. I cried. I ironed. I cried
some more. Then I stopped ironing. If I make it to the shirt on time, great.
Those that pull out of the dryer in good shape get hung up and the shirts that
need ironed, I iron when I have to. And truly, no one "has" to do
anything. So those usually wait several weeks.
And I stopped crying. (I have a very smart cousin who just sends the shirts to the cleaner every week because that works for her marriage.)
Do what
makes you AND your spouse happy. I
decided I can do what I can get accomplished in a day. If it takes longer, then
I'm becoming a slave to the laundry, and that's not where I want to be.
Next, I pile all the laundry on my bed. I'm getting really good at folding laundry before I crash into bed. And doing it as fast as I can. I stand up when I fold and usually listen to/watch something.
One more trick: I do not delete my "laundry" task until it's folded and put away. This reminder on my list helps me keep on top of changing the laundry throughout the day and continually keeping it on my mind.
A few years ago I heard a parody on "Climb Every Mountain" involving laundry by Hilary Weeks. I framed it and hung it up in my laundry room. Because sometimes it's good to remember that you are not the only woman in the world washing mountains of laundry, week after week.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x1Yj5Zykg9I
What is your greatest trick for keeping on top of the laundry?
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