How to Keep up With the Laundry Once and for All
I've tried a million different ways to stay on top of the endless dirty clothes in my home. I finally found a super simple method that changed my laundry life!
by Kelly Pannullo
April 1, 2021
How to keep on top of laundry when you work, have a big family, or are just a really busy person? Read on.
It’s no secret. Dirty laundry is the devil. It haunts me. I walk past the (always closed) laundry room door and feel hot anxiety rush over my entire body. Sound familiar? Yea, I thought so.
For crazy-busy people like us, laundry is tough to keep up with. Every day, more demanding things are constantly pulling us away from ever getting to the growing mountain of clothes on the floor.
Well, that was me. For years, I was overwhelmed by laundry. I felt guilty when my kids would run out of clean underwear. I would freak out when my husband would ask where his guinea tees were (because, of course, he didn’t realize he just went 20 straight days grabbing perfectly folded crisp, white guinea tees one at a time until the pile was finished and he took the final one yesterday… yes, honey, it’s a complete mystery where all your guinea tees ran off to!). Or me, feeling like an unkempt mess-of-a-woman, pulling on and peeling off the same pair of jeans for weeks in a row.
News flash. None of these feelings are good to harbor. (Inner voice: Figure it out, girl. Figure it out.)
One day, I had enough. In the midst of the 2020 Covid-19 Pandemic, where everything felt like it was out of my control, I decided to take control of something that was, in fact, controllable — the laundry. I spent months running trial-and-error laundry methods until I landed on an extremely simple laundry routine that actually works. It honestly feels like it takes no time at all and my laundry has never piled up again. Not once.
I feel lighter. I have more time. I’m less aggravated. And, most importantly, I feel really, really proud of myself.
As silly as it sounds, the laundry problem was (for real) a big problem in my home. And it affected my entire family. Being able to solve that problem felt pretty darn good.
I want you to feel that too! So, here we go…
1.
Get Caught Up
You have to start with a normal amount of laundry – not a mountain. Do what I did. Commit to doing 2-3 loads a day (fully — that means washed, dried, folded + put away) until your mountain is gone and you are left with a normal amount of dirty laundry to tackle.
2.
Don’t Mix Family Members’ Clothes
Everyone gets their own hamper! This was a mic-drop moment for me. I used to just grab armfuls of mixed, dirty clothes and throw them in the washing machine. The problem? It was a pain in the neck to sort through the load after it came out of the dryer. Right now, my kids are so close in size! I found myself spending way too much time trying to figure out whose Elsa shirt was whose and it was driving my crazy! Now, when my older daughter’s hamper is full, I dump it right in the washer (adding nothing else). When my husband’s work clothes top off his hamper (he’s in construction so his dirty work stuff stays separate even from his regular clothes), I dump it in. Nothing gets mixed, ever. This completely eliminates the most painful part of the laundry process – sorting!
3.
One Load a Day
Yes. This is it, folks. If you do one load a day (fully — see definition above), you will NEVER get backed up with laundry again. Ever.
My family produces a ton of dirty laundry. There are times, here and there, when I have to do two loads in one day. But, there are also random days that I don’t have enough dirty clothes to do even one load!
4.
Have a Designated Day for Bedding (and keep the bed bare while you launder)
For me, it’s Sundays. Personally, I make sure I work my you-know-what off Monday thru Saturday (in all aspects of homekeeping) so that on Sundays, the only thing left for me to do is strip the beds, wash the bedding, and put it right back on the bare bed. Pay attention to that last part because it’s key! Using the bare-bed-technique eliminates the need to fold sheets, including the dreaded fitted sheet! (You’re welcome.)
5.
Prep the Dirty Laundry the Night Before
Before I put the kids to bed every night, I prepare the washing machine for the next day. That means I put in my eco-friendly laundry detergent, add the dirty clothes and keep the lid open — that’s my signal to myself that there are dry, dirty clothes in there.
If there’s a piece of clothing that needs TLC, I’ll spray or soak it in my slop sink overnight and quickly toss it in with the rest of the dirty clothes in the morning. Easy peasy.
6.
Get it Done Early in the Morning
My one daily load of laundry is washed, dried, folded and put away before my workday begins. For me, this is a must. And for you, my crazy-busy friend, it is more necessary than you realize. Just take a quick review of your current laundry habits. If you start your laundry later in the day, what happens? Distractions, right? You get pulled in different directions and the load may make it from the washer to the dryer, but it probably ends there, getting all wrinkly for the next day. And the “I’m so backed up on laundry” problem has officially begun… again.
I wake up at 5:00 a.m. every day and by 5:10, I hit the START button on my washing machine. I flip it, fold it, and put it away before I need to drive the kids to school at 8:20. This allows me to start my workday at 9:00 feeling good, knowing that the laundry is done for the day!
That’s it, friends! If you follow these steps, you will finally keep up with the laundry once and for all!
Easy Laundry Resource List:
- The best lightweight laundry baskets
- Beautiful woven hamper
- Safe laundry detergent powder that I trust
- Earth-friendly stain remover spray
- Safe oxygen whitening powder
- Dryer sheets you can use for the whole family (no gross chemical smell)
- Organic wool dryer balls (saves money, energy and time drying)
- Small woven baskets (good for separating dirty masks or microfiber cloths)
- My stainless steel slop sink
- My absolute favorite sheet set
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If this article helped you, please find me on Instagram at @cleanandtidylife for more tips, inspiration and motivation to get control of your homelife.
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