5 Tips for Taming Horrifying Laundry Piles...
The cycle of laundry piles that families deal with can be horrifying and exhausting…
Dirty piles
Clean piles
Unfolded piles
Sorting piles
Folded piles
Piles to put away
With 6 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 5 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 help put 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! Give them one day a week that they can use the washer and dryer. Make sure it does not interfere with your laundry days. Once you have taught them how, then they have graduated out of your laundry responsibility!
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 chose 2-3 days a week to do laundry. This meant smaller, more manageable loads and piles.
Others I have known opt to do a load each day.
Keep the sock style the same.
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 loose one in the wash, the leftovers can be paired up together.
I am not a neat freak, so I say, just put the loose socks in a drawer and if they are all the same, then the kids just 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!
Less is more.
Less clothing is 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 one kids needs for a week or two? If you were going on a trip, what would you pack them for a week or two? Use that as a guideline for how many clothes they really need.
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?
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 to try!
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