Mastering the Laundry Chaos

Laundry. It's one of those never-ending chores, like cooking and cleaning the kitchen.  Everyone needs to do laundry,  but once you have a baby the amount of laundry grows like crazy, because not only do they get their clothes dirty, they get your clothes dirty too!  And I've found that the more kids we have, the more out of control the laundry seems to get.

As I sit here, there are six--wait, make that seven--piles of sorted laundry on the floor of my dining room, waiting for their turn in the machines.  That is a pretty easy laundry day for us right now! Last week I did nine loads on laundry day.

keeping it real!

I don't think there is (unfortunately) any one tried-and-true solution to the laundry chaos.  Over the years I've tried a few different strategies to try to keep up, each having its merits and being effective for a time.  So I'm offering you the various methods I've employed at different times, hoping someone might find it helpful.

Regardless of our the laundry strategy I'm using, I always have a missing sock bin. Usually, as I fold laundry, I toss all the socks directly into the bin. When I'm done with the rest of the clothes, I dump the socks on the floor and have the kids help me find pairs. We call it the sock matching game and they love it!  You could even make it a competition to see who can find the most pairs.  Then, of course, all the socks without a pair go back into the bin.

Along with a sock bin, I also have a bin for each child. As I fold clothes I immediately sort them into the bins as I go, so they are ready for the kids or I to take to the bedrooms and put away. If I am only washing a load or two at a time, I leave the bins in the laundry room and put clothes away once they're full (after a few days). In the meantime the clothes are still easy to find if you're looking for something. 

Sometimes I have tried to wash only one or two loads a day and fold each item as I take it out of the dryer. This keeps me from even getting started with the dreaded clean laundry pile (which in my house sits there forever before getting folded).

I have also tried to immediately sort but not fold clothes as I remove them from the dryer. I put them into the kids bins,  and when a bin gets full, I fold it as I put it away in the bedroom.

Currently, I have a big laundry day once a week. I gather and sort it all and keep the machines humming pretty much all day long. It usually takes me 7-10 loads!  As they finish in the dryer, I make a massive pile of clean clothes on the couch.  The pile is rather daunting, so I often would enlist Stewart's help and we'd make an evening of it. However, for now, I have a friend who has offered to fold laundry for me once a week (I call her my laundry fairy). I work to get it all washed and heaped on the couch, and she folds and puts away.  (She is a huge blessing,  especially in this season of four little ones!)

the massive pile :)

My final laundry strategy is to only fold what's necessary.  That said, in my opinion, almost all clothes fall into that category.  However, I generally do not fold kids underwear, cloth napkins (I can fold them as we use them if it's a special meal or for guests - see this post), or rags.

As my kids get older, I plan on teaching them to each do their own laundry. My oldest is almost five years old, so the day that I am back to being responsible for only the laundry for Stewart and I is a long way off!  In the meantime, I've found it helpful to intentionally pick a strategy and try to stick with it for a while; it helps me feel like I have a plan of attack and am not just constantly swimming upstream.  :)

Do you have any laundry tips and tricks?  I'd love to hear them! Leave me a comment. 

--
I have learned many of these ideas from other moms, including:
Lindsey Edmonds at Passionate Homemaking (specifically this post)
Mary Ostyn in her book A Sane Woman's Guide to Raising a Large Family
Michelle Duggar in their book The Duggars: Twenty and Counting
My good friend, Cherilyn, mom of seven kids