8 Simple Laundry Solutions That Work
Laundry doesn’t need to be dreadful or drawn out. These great ideas will help you keep it under control.
Here is a little secret…I kind of enjoy laundry. But, as a professional organizer in people’s homes, I have seen that laundry can be the most overwhelming, despised task of all time. Today I share 8 simple laundry solutions that work in our home in hopes that one of them will help you with your laundry.
1. Place a donate bin in the laundry room.
Placing a “donate” bin in, or near, your laundry room will reduce your laundry and help in all areas of home organization. Let everyone know they can put their unwanted clothes (and other things) in the bin. Take it to donate when it’s full.
2. Do each person’s laundry in one load.
My daughter washes ALL her own dirty clothes in one load. Yes, whites and colored clothes together. My other daughter started doing the same thing. It’s amazing!
3. Hang as many clothes as possible.
I hang all my boys’ t-shirts. As I fold clothes I lay the shirts over the dryer door. I quickly slide a hanger up the bottom of the shirt and hang it on the rod, one after another. This equals less folding, less wrinkles and less messy drawers.
4. Stay in the laundry room to fold laundry.
Stay IN the laundry room to fold and hang clothes. You won’t risk clothes sitting in a basket getting wrinkly. Your house appears cleaner because clothes aren’t in the living areas. Because you probably don’t love hanging out in the laundry room you’ll be more focused on your task so you can get out of there.
5. Develop a routine.
Once your laundry is caught up, try washing one load per day, no exceptions. Or, do laundry twice a week. Beware, you take a risk of getting behind if you miss one of those two days.
Create your new laundry habit by tying it to something you already do. Start a load every morning before coffee. Put a Post-it note on your coffee maker to remind you. Then, switch the load when you walk in from work. Place a Post-it on the door. Finally, finish up before you put the kids to bed. They can help. Place the Post-it by the toothbrushes. Adding a reminder to your phone works well, too. Eventually this will become a habit.
6. Remove laundry baskets from bedrooms.
My boys’ bedrooms are right by our laundry room. We do not keep laundry baskets in their rooms. Instead, we have two baskets in the laundry room, one for colored clothes and one for whites. The boys throw their dirty clothes in the correct basket. Their rooms stay clean (and less smelly) and it’s easy to start a load because the clothes are sorted.
My friend combines #5 and #6. She doesn’t have baskets in ANY of her children’s rooms. Her kids put their dirty clothes at the top of the stairs each night. Every morning she grabs the clothes and starts a load before work. She dries them when she gets home. All clothes are put away before bed. Now that is a beautiful routine she’s used for years!
7. Pray for the person who’s clothes you are folding.
How can you despise laundry if, as you are folding or hanging each piece, you are lifting that person up in prayer? Hang a scripture verse in the laundry room to remind you.
“…we have not ceased to pray for you, asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, so as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him: bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God;”
Colossians 1:9-10 ESV
8. Use vinegar and baking soda to cut through mildew.
Do you have stinky towels or have you left a load of clothes in the washer too long? The one solution that’s worked for me is to wash the load with one cup vinegar and then rewash the same load with a half cup of baking soda, using hot water if possible.
Read more laundry secrets of mine that will help you conquer laundry once and for all. I’d love to hear your laundry tips in the comments below.
Blessings,
