This is a continuation of yesterday’s lesson about laundry.Yesterday I went over every senario you could face where laundry is concerned. Today we focus on getting laundry done at home and how to deal with family laundry and what to do, especially if it falls on your shoulders.
The Basic Daily Laundry System
Here’s the foundation of the method:
-
Put a load in the washer before bed.
-
First thing in the morning, switch it to the dryer.
-
Set a timer for 1 hour.
- Move on with the rest of your routine
-
When it goes off, take the clothes out and fold them or lay them flat.
- Then put them awasy (If you lay them flat put in your routine when you will fold them and put them away)
Today we’ll adress what happens when you’re not the only one in the house?
You Can Stop Doing Everyone Else’s Laundry
This plan makes it that you no longer do everyone’s laundry. Each person gets their own hamper in their room. Even your partner. Even your kids.
If your child is old enough to reach the knobs on the washer, they’re old enough to start learning how to do their laundry. You don’t need to do it for them, but you do need to train them. That’s part of our job as parents.
NOTE: Any child that can not reach the controls, that would need to stand on a chair to do the laundery SHOULD NOT do laundry. This is dangerous, a child could fall iin head first and drown. DO NOT allow them to do laundry alone. They should however do laundry with you. You can teach them, they can take clothing and put them into the machine, They can help with detergent. They can help you get them into the dryer and out of the dryer, they can help you to fold them, or lay them flat if that is what has to be done. It may seem like its more trouble than it’s worth, but believe me it is worth all that trouble. Not ony will you be spending quality time with that child but it will save you years or work once they grow tall enough to do it themselves.
Make it something you do together at first—joyfully, not like a chore or punishment. Turn it into a treasured memory, not a power struggle.
“But My Kids Just Drop Stuff Everywhere…”
Teach them the new rules:
-
The habit: “It Goes Where it Goes”
- Dirty clothes go in the hamper
-
Rewearable clothes get put away.
-
Pajamas leave the bathroom with them after a shower/bath
-
Towels get hung up and washed every 3–5 days (You will have to remind them).
No more clothes on the floor. No more mystery piles.
What If Their Room Is Still a Mess?
You might still be working on dejunking their dressers and closet. That’s okay. Have them fold their laundry and keep it in a couple of baskets until their drawers are ready. It’s a temporary fix to avoid what becomes a, “clean but unwearable” wrinkle mess.
What About Grown Children or Your Partner?
If you’re sharing a home with a grown child or a significant other, expect them to do their share. Anyone who is capable of doing their own laundry should be doing it from now on— Assign a laundry day for them and they can do laundery that day the same as you do. In the washer before bed, in the dryer first thing in the morning. Set a timer for 1 hour, do their morning routine and get the clothes out when the time comes.
Set a Laundry Day for Each Person
To keep the flow smooth, give each person their own laundry day—Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday, etc. They follow the same system: put it in at night, dry it in the morning, fold it (or lay it flat) and put it away.
Redefine the Role You Play
If you’ve always done everything, it is time to reassess. Even if you doing laundry out of love— it does not serve your children. When they go out into the world they will not be prepared. They will thank you later. We don’t need to be a martyr to be a good homemaker.
Remember that we teach people how to treat us. Just because things have always been a certain way doesn’t mean they have to stay that way. It isn’t a life sentence.
Do you need help? Are You Ready to Take the Next Step?
This post was based on a clip from The Tidy Tutor Masterclass—and it’s just the beginning.
Inside my Tidy Tutor Inner Circle, you’ll get:
-
Full access to the Masterclass
-
Live weekly coaching
-
A library of over a dozen workshops
-
And the support you need to keep going
The doors are closing soon, so if you’re ready to finally take control of your home, click here to join now!
