Laundry

Today I am going to share with you the most exciting thing there ever was to share when it comes to homemaking! Laundry! I say that half-jokingly because it has never been my favorite part of homemaking. In fact, when we got married, my husband and I decided that until I stayed home, he would do ALL the laundry, and I would do all the dishes. This was just the fairest tradeoff in my opinion!

I was just discussing with the other moms at school pickup the other day my laundry routine. The hardest thing for me is putting it away. I timed myself and it takes less than 5 minutes. Every time. It is probably the easiest part of doing laundry, but I will let it sit in the basket until the next laundry day. Alas.

Many people will say to combat laundry fatigue, you should keep up with laundry and do at least one load a day. DO THIS IF IT WORKS FOR YOU! I actually do this, but not in the way that they do. I think if I had to do a load from start to finish and put things away in every room, every day, I might actually lose my mind.

Instead, I will share with you some tips I have found that make doing laundry work for me. I hope you find some little jewels of knowledge from this that will work for you as well.

Laundry Inspiration

Honestly, the first blog post I wrote was about laundry. Then I read it and I decided to delete it because, quite frankly, I did not want to bore readers to tears! I am finally ready to revisit the subject.

Currently I am reading “The Quotidian Mysteries: Laundry, Liturgy, and “WOMEN’S WORK””. I have not finished it yet, but obviously from the title, part of the short book is about laundry. In it, the author, Kathleen Norris, mentions that she once submitted an essay to The New York Times. It was an ode to laundry. She thought that they would reject it as anti-feminism fodder, but the reaction she got was positive and it was published. Not only that, but it inspired people in the NYT office, as well as those who read the article to think of their laundry routines and the sacred laundry routines of their childhood.

I was inspired to read the article, so I found it. It is entitled,”It All Comes Out In the Wash“. It is a bit of a tear-jerker and is as inspirational as she claims.

I’m reminded of the days when I lived overseas, and part of my laundry routine was hanging things to dry, I loved the ritual of it, and it was something I longed to continue when moving back to the States. The practicalities of a dryer have won, but I am never without some sort of drying rack or line in my backyard. What a calming thing it is to be outside while doing my work. It can also be a good practice to meditate while doing it. I am glad spring is upon us, maybe it will bring a seasonal change in how I do my laundry.

Routine

I have a different load or different loads for each day of the week, that way laundry does not build up and I don’t experience (as much) overwhelm.

It ends up looking something like this:

Monday: Towels (usually 2 loads)

Tuesday: Boys’ Laundry (3 loads)

Wednesday: Parent’s Laundry (2-4 loads, depending on the season)

Thursday: Make-Up, Special Day (Sheets, Floor Mats, etc.)

Friday: Towels (2 loads, kitchen/rags and body towels washed separately)

Saturday and Sunday: None or extra loads like Karate uniforms

Practicalities

Let’s start with the beginning of laundry. For me, that starts with the laundry baskets. Each person (aside from my husband and I, who share) has their own basket. This is key to my system because this way, instead of sorting clothes and putting away everyone’s clothes, it takes some work out of the equation.

I will take one basket and wash it once a week. For my boys, this means their clothes get washed, separately, on Tuesdays. They know their day is Tuesday, so if they tear through their clothes, they are prepared to throw in a load themselves. Because I wash their clothes separately, there is no sorting the clothes afterward.

Second step is placing the load in a basket and plopping it in my boy’s rooms. They put their laundry away. They either fold their clothes, or don’t. I still put away my youngest child’s clothes and most of the time opt to not fold and use the time I would have taken folding to do something more pressing (in my opinion, like feeding my family, for example). You can decide for yourself if this is something you would like to do, but when I realized children’s clothes didn’t need folding, it was 100 percent freeing.

Before you mention to me that kids need to learn this skill for adulthood, I completely agree. I have taught them to fold, and I have them practice every now and then, but I have more important battles to fight!

For towels and adult clothes, I will actually take the time to fold them, and usually, this is done while watching TV. in the evening with my husband (who helps fold). This makes the job a little easier for me to get through. Then they go in baskets and (eventually) get put away.

Have a basket for Dirty Towels

Because I only do the towels two times a week (when I have a full load of kitchen and cleaning towels), I have a special bin for dirty towels, where hand towels and kitchen towels go every evening and cleaning towels go when I am done cleaning with them. I always wash body towels and wash cloths in a separate load. I also have several bins for clean laundry only.

Laundry Products

My favorite products are few as I do not like to use fragrance in my clothes. Here they are:

Favorite Stain Remover: Shout Advanced.

Detergent: All Free and Clear OR Kirkland Free and Clear from Costco (whichever is on sale).

Wool Dryer Balls help clothes to dry a bit faster.

Vinegar- I use it as a fabric softener on occasion and in stinky loads.

Baking Soda- I use to deodorize any stinky clothes or loads.

OxyClean Powder for when I feel like the laundry could use a little boost.

Bleach- rarely and for the dirtiest of jobs.

It is also important to keep your machine clean for maximum efficacy, so I will run it on occasion with affresh