A few weeks ago, I reported in THIS POST that I was trying a new laundry experiment. Here are the results.
1. Resolve to do laundry once a week.
Kid you not. This is the best thing ever. I do three loads a week!
2. Remove out of season clothing.
No more sweaters in the summer laundry. Awesome.
3. Mark 8 complete sets of t-shirts, shorts, and undies for each child.
This is the best!!! My kids are really miserly about changing clothes now. Used to, there was one set for the morning, one after swimming, and one after a bath.
4. Banish socks for the season.
Who needs em? Crocs and flops, people!
5. Keep extra in-season clothing out of reach for them, but in reach for you.
Once in a while, we need an extra outfit or set of panties or we can’t find the Friday shirt. No sweat. I can get them, you can’t.
6. Organize the drawers by DAY, not type of clothing.
Where are my Saturday underpants? Enough said. the only caveat is not to be psycho about having every piece every week. If you can’t find the Thursday shorts, they might be under the couch or in the back of the minivan. No sweat. Just pull down a matching pair from the EXTRA’s basket in the top of the closet. It will surface.
7. Check their tags.
Littlest, (6) can’t do this on his own. But as long as he gets one outfit a day, I don’t care what day it was supposed to be.
8. If you need to buy, go for dark shirts, especially for baby.
YES YES YES. I now do three loads of laundry a week! For SIX people!!! But if it were all darks? If would be two.
9. Color-code the grown-up towels
Jeff lost his towel. I still have mine. But the point is, there is ONE towel for each parent that the kids are AFRAID to touch. Thank you, Jesus.
10. Cast an eye on your own closet.
I asked myself...if I had a weekly rotation, would this be in it? I have ditched SO MANY CLOTHES that didn’t fit or had a stain or, or, or….it’s glorious!
I implemented a good many of your strategies a couple weeks ago and am LOVING it! I knew the girls had too many clothes, but until I sat down with them and boxed up everything except their 8 outfits I don’t think any of us realized how bad it was. They were so overwhelmed with huge baskets overflowing with clothes that it was like pulling teeth to get them to put their laundry away. Now it takes about 3 mintues flat.
I also ditched all the socks, which was very freeing. LOL Flipflops are required in south GA summers anyway.
I’m still doing a lot of laundry (cloth dipes, doncha know), but it’s manageable now. We have been able to eat at our dining table every day for weeks now. Before your laundry strategies, it had literally been months since the table was clear enough to sit together.
You rock, ma’am.
Thank you, Elizabeth. Made my morning!
I have three full bathrooms. Towel solution: each bathroom has it’s own color towels. Never a doubt which towels go where on laundry day!!!
Have you read the book by Jen Hatmaker, “7: An Experimental Mutiny Against Excess”? I highly recommend it, and think you might like some of her takes on conquering the piles o’stuff!
ooo! I like the all darks idea! Since my daughter was born, I have seen a regular increase in the lights/whites load. I’m going to start eliminating light stuff first!