by Janet Hall
Does it seem like your laundry is multiplying:
Fear not because you are not alone! Paper, toys, and laundry
are usually on the top of all my home clients’ list of causing
chaos and frustration. According to The Tide Clothesline at http://www.clothesline.com
the average household washes 7.4 loads – about 50 lbs. -
per week and the average load contains 16 items. They go on to
say that in a typical household, more than 6,000 articles of clothing
are washed each year!
I’d like you to ask yourself and answer the following questions;
I hope these will help you in evaluating your situation. I have
added suggestions and some thoughts for you to ponder on after
the questions.
1. Who do you do laundry for?
2. Who can do their own laundry?
If you’re washing for everyone in the home and you have
children/spouse that can reach the knobs on the machines, ask
them for HELP. Teach them to be responsible for their clothing
and show them how to sort, wash, fold, and put away.
Post washing and drying instructions near the machines.
Develop a schedule for family members that can wash their own
clothes.
3. What kinds of clothes are piling up—children’s, towels,
sheets, etc.?
4. What help can you get from others?
Assign and limit 1-2 towels to each family member per week.
Wear clothes more then once.
If you have children that are too young to do their own laundry,
teach them to sort clothes and/or fold towels, underwear, socks.
Depending on their age, don’t expect it to be perfect but
praise them for their help.
Show children where “their folded” items go (make it
easy for them by storing those items in bottom drawers).
5. When do you prefer to do laundry?
6. When do you have time to do laundry?
Decide if you prefer to do laundry in the morning, in the evening,
during the week, or only on weekends.
Pick a day and time that you’re not going to be constantly
interrupted or tempted to “play”.
Place yourself on a schedule and system if you can’t get
help.
Time yourself and your machines cycles; sort, wash, machine or
line dry, fold, sort and put away to help you determine how much
time you need for each load.
Wash, dry, and put away by person or room.
Sample schedules:
Stay at home two loads a day schedule: If you stay or work from
home try starting a wash load in the morning while the coffee
is brewing, throw that load in the dryer or hang at lunch time,
and start another wash load. Right before or after dinner, take
the dried load out and put the other load in. Fold while dinner
is cooking, watching the news, or waiting for pages to load on
the Internet. Get the last load out and fold before going to bed.
Make sure you put each person/rooms in a sorted pile to make putting
away quicker and more efficient. (My mom use to use the couch,
bed, or a table to fold and sort onto, she would then pile the
piles into the basket by person and room and distribute them on
our beds for us to put away).
Away from home one load a day schedule: If you go out to work
you can try throwing in a wash load before going to bed at night
and tossing them in the dryer before leaving for work. As soon
as you walk in the door, get them out of the dryer and fold while
you’re checking your phone messages or email. Put away before
retiring for the night.
7. Where is your washer/dryer located?
8. Where does everyone put his or her dirty clothes?
9. Where do you like to or would like to fold clothes?
Your washer and dryer might not be located in a convenient place,
such as the basement. More and more builders are starting to place
these machines in hallways, kitchens, and even bathrooms. If you
have the funds and space, you might look into relocating your
machines.
Install a laundry shoot in the bathroom closet or area that is
convenient for everyone to use. If that isn’t possible, designate
a place for everyone in the home to put his or her dirty clothes.
Find a place in the home where you are comfortable and have plenty
of room to spread out and sort/fold clean clothes.
10. Why are you responsible for everyone clothes?
You are the only one that can answer this one .
11. How often do you want to do laundry?
Decide if you want (I know, no one wants to do laundry) to do
laundry daily, weekly, bi-weekly, or monthly. Then ask if you
need to or are you able to.
12. How many articles of clothing does each family member REALLY
need per week, season, and special occasion?
This is the time to be REALLY HONEST with yourself and will
depend on your answer to # 11. How many articles of play, casual,
dressy, work, holiday, seasonal, and special occasion outfits
does each family member need? If they have too many, you will
never stay ahead of the dirty clothes.
Recycle, sell, or donate clothes that aren’t being used or
that you have an abundance of.
If you or your family are putting on and taking something off
(and throwing it in the dirty clothes) because it doesn’t
fit right, look right, or you/they don’t really like it…get
RID of it!
Laundry Tips: Always try and wash a full load. Wash hand towels
and smaller items of same color range with large articles, such
as sheets and table cloths. Make sure you and others know how
to use the proper cycles on machines to minimize wrinkling. Put
a clothes rack by the dryer and hang clothes as they come out;
put away by person/room. If you can’t hear the buzzers on
the machines or tend to lose track of time, set a timer for the
length of the cycle and keep near you. Clothes that need ironing
should be washed first so you can iron while the other loads are
being done. Wash delicate, underclothes, and hand washables while
taking a shower.
Please remember that anything you try you MUST give it a chance
to work, at least a month. If you find something not working,
try another schedule or approach for another month until your
clothes stop multiplying.
I hope some of these tips and hints will STOP the major reproductive
system of your laundry. Good Luck!
Smiles, not Piles, Janet
About the Author
Janet Hall,overhall@publicist.com http://www.overhall.com/
The Organizing Wizard, Janet L. Hall, is a Professional Organizer,
Speaker, and Author. She is the owner of OverHall Consulting,
and organizing By Phone. Subscribe to her FREE organizing newsletter
at http://www.overhall.com/newsletter.htm
or visit her web site at http://www.overhall.com
