6 Tips For Taming Family Laundry Piles
I love sharing fun and useful products for parents! Some links I use are affiliate links including links for Amazon.com. I get paid a small commission without additional charge if you purchase from the links. The commissions fund this site to bring parents fun and helpful content! Thank you!
The cycle of laundry piles that families deal with is exhausting…
Dirty piles
Clean piles
Unfolded piles
Sorting piles
Folded piles
Piles to put away
With six members of our family, I figured there were 84 socks washed, sorted, paired up, and folded EVERY WEEK…and that was only the socks! Ugh!!!
Here are six laundry pile taming ideas to try…
Enlist the kids to help! Start young and get them in the habit!
Pre-schoolers can help sort clothes into piles, pair up socks, and even assist with putting laundry away in lower drawers with guidance.
Have elementary school kids begin folding and putting away their own laundry. Sort their clothes into a basket just for them. Then have them fold and put away their own clothes. You can even let them pick the color of their own laundry basket!
Teach middle schoolers to do their own laundry! Allow them one day a week to use the washer and dryer. Make sure it does not interfere with your laundry days. Once you have taught them how, they will graduate from your laundry responsibility!
2. Laundry day or days?
I always liked to try to get all the laundry done in one day. It never failed, however, that other things would come up, and I was left with laundry piles all over the house. This was not efficient for me, but if you are good about sticking to one day for laundry, this may be right for you.
I choose to do laundry 2-3 days a week. This meant smaller, more manageable loads and piles.
Others I have known opt to do a load each day.
3. Maintain the same sock style.
The more variety in colors and types of socks means the more torture you have over matching them up. (Older kids prefer mismatched socks anyway, so this may not be an issue for them.)
If you buy the same style of socks, and one gets a hole or you lose one in the wash, the leftovers can be paired up together.
I'm not a neat freak, so I say, just put the loose socks in a drawer. If they're all the same, then the kids can pick two socks off the top, and you’re set! Most people, however, prefer folded socks. Teach the kids to fold socks, and you are done!
4. Less is more.
Less clothing means more freedom from huge piles of laundry!
Less clothing makes the “What do I wear today?” decisions easier to make.
Less clothing saves money.
What is the minimum amount of clothes a kid needs for a week or two? If you were going on a trip, what would you pack for a week or two? Use that as a guideline for how many clothes they need.
5. Go through closets seasonally to weed out clothes.
I did this in the Spring and in the fall.
What doesn’t fit anymore?
Save it for a sibling?
Donate it?
6. The critical piece to staying on top of laundry is consistency and routine…
Stick to your laundry day or days routine!
Once the kids take over parts or all of their laundry, follow through with them and be consistent with that routine!
Consistently monitor the amount of clothes you purchase or bring into the house!
Hope you found some helpful tips! Share your best laundry tips!
Check out these posts:
Parenting Birthday Parties: 7 Tips to Help
Parents…Brush Up On The Safety of Your Family Social Media Posts
Tips and Discussion Questions for Discussing the Hypnotic Power of Technology
Cousin Camp! One Family’s Take on Traditional Summer Camp
Remember, Parenting is not about perfection, it’s about the POWER in your PLAN!
If you are ready to start creating your unique parenting plans, like the picture below, grab your copy of Noteworthy Parenting and BEGIN!
