Two Fool-Proof Laundry Methods That Can Work For Anyone

How often should we wash clothes? Laundry is always a hot topic whether you think you have the perfect system or are desperately looking for a new solution to your piles-of-clothing problem.  

Simply put, your own personal work style is what governs when to wash. Weekend marathon washing does not work for me because weekends are either my work catch-up time or we are on the road for baseball. One load per day is what works for me. Someone else may not have enough time to wash every day and to do so would be a serious waste of water and resources.  

Here are two methods that really work. Try one or both to see if it makes a difference.  

But first some tips to make laundry easier whether you already have a good system or not.  

• Love your products.  Seriously. If you love the smell of your detergent and are confident in how it works, you will enjoy the process so much more. This is my favorite detergent. 
• Keep your laundry area tidy.  No one likes to work in a dirty or messy space. It helps even more if it looks cute. 
• Have what you need.  Having too few laundry baskets may be the cause of the piles on the bed, table, couch, etc. Having too many baskets may be the cause of baskets of clothes sitting all over. A good place to start is one basket per family member plus one for other items like towels or rags. Here is my favorite space-saving laundry baskets. 
• Enlist the help of family members. Teach kids and spouses how to help and then be thankful for the help. I am talking to YOU. Rather than being persnickety about how it is done, teach a better way and show your gratitude. A gentle and patient teacher is always the best kind!
  
  

Method 1: Laundry Day 
This is great for the person that likes to have all the laundry done at once.  If you have a busy weekday schedule, this is the method for you.  

This is a starting place for Laundry Day: 

1. Bring ALL of the dirty clothes into one place, preferably one close to the laundry room.  Put whites directly into the washing machine to get them started.

2. Sort what’s left into brights, lights, and darks. Towels and particularly dirty clothes should get their own piles. Option: wash each child’s clothes all in one load, separating out special items. 

3. While each load is washing and drying, fold, hang, and put away each and every load as soon as it comes out of the dryer. Depending on wash and dry time - and how much you have to wash, this will most likely take you all day long.

4. When laundry is done, run a cleaning cycle and leave the door open to dry.  Then you are finished.  

Method 2: Laundry Every Day 

If you are easily overwhelmed by laundry, doing a single load each day is really the way to go. I have already said that this is my preferred method, but we are all unique.  

This is the most efficient way to do Laundry Every Day: 

1. The way to make this work is to wash, dry, fold and put away one load every day. Some people complete all of those steps with a single load. I personally break it into two. 

2. Start by establishing a simple schedule. I wash first thing in the morning. I mean FIRST thing. Know when you can wash and work to make it a habit. I always start my clothes washing immediately after I start the coffee brewing.

3. Create an area for clothes that are not getting washed that day. It should be able to stay neat and tidy. I use extra baskets that are not in the way.

4. Start your schedule and stick to it. You might get behind and that’s okay, I do too. When that happens, do an extra load on weekend days. 

5. Sheets and other bulky items will have to wait for the weekend or when space is created for them during the week. 

Bonus

This is my personal system. It might not be what works for you, but maybe it will help to decide.  

1. Start a load of colors after I start the coffee brewing.  (I sort by blacks, whites, and colors.) Blacks and whites have baskets until they are full. VERY dirty clothes live on the floor and get their own load.

2. After starting the washing machine, remove yesterday’s clothes from the dryer and put them on the love seat in your family room. 

3. Fold the load of clothes.

4.  Put away all of the clothes before leaving the house for the day.  The whole process should take less than 10 minutes. 

5.  When the washing machine is finished, move the clothes to the dryer to wait for tomorrow.

It’s that simple. 

If you have piles of clothes all over, you might have too many clothes.  An excess of clothes allows you to wait a very long time to wash which makes it a real burden. Too many clothes also make it hard to put them all away because there isn’t enough room.

At the end of the day, it doesn’t really matter when or how you wash your clothes – as long as you do it regularly.