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Organizing Your
Laundry!
Does it seem like your clothes are multiplying?
Fear not because you are not alone! Paper, toys,
and laundry are usually on the top of all my home clients’ list of causing chaos
and frustration. According to The Tide Clotheslineâ at http://www.clothesline.com
the average household washes 7.4 loads – about 50 lbs. - per week and the
average load contains 16 items. They go on to say that in a typical household,
more than 6,000 articles of clothing are washed each year!
I’d like you to ask yourself and answer the following
questions; I hope these will help you in evaluating your situation. I have added
suggestions and some thoughts for you to ponder on after the
questions.
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Who do you do laundry for?
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Who can do their own laundry?
If you’re washing for everyone in the home and you have
children/spouse that can reach the knobs on the machines, ask them for
HELP.
Teach them to be responsible for their clothing and show
them how to sort, wash, fold, and put away.
Post washing and drying instructions near the
machines.
Develop a schedule for family members that can wash their
own clothes.
What kinds of clothes are piling up—children’s, towels,
sheets, etc.?
What help can you get from others?
Assign and limit 1-2 towels to each family member per
week.
Wear clothes more then once.
If you have children that are too young to do their own
laundry, teach them to sort clothes and/or fold towels, underwear, socks.
Depending on their age, don’t expect it to be perfect but praise them for their
help.
Show children where "their folded" items go (make it easy
for them by storing those items in bottom drawers).
When do you prefer to do laundry?
When do you have time to do laundry?
Decide if you prefer to do laundry in the morning, in the
evening, during the week, or only on weekends.
Pick a day and time that you’re not going to be constantly
interrupted or tempted to "play".
Place yourself on a schedule and system if you can’t get
help.
Time yourself and your machines cycles; sort, wash, machine
or line dry, fold, sort and put away to help you determine how much time you
need for each load.
Wash, dry, and put away by person or room.
Sample schedules:
Stay at home two loads a day schedule:
If you stay or work from home try starting a wash load in
the morning while the coffee is brewing, throw that load in the dryer or hang at
lunch time, and start another wash load. Right before or after dinner, take the
dried load out and put the other load in. Fold while dinner is cooking, watching
the news, or waiting for pages to load on the Internet. Get the last load out
and fold before going to bed. Make sure you put each person/rooms in a sorted
pile to make putting away quicker and more efficient. (My mom use to use the
couch, bed, or a table to fold and sort onto, she would then pile the piles into
the basket by person and room and distribute them on our beds for us to put
away).
Away from home one load a day schedule:
If you go out to work you can try throwing in a wash load
before going to bed at night and tossing them in the dryer before leaving for
work. As soon as you walk in the door, get them out of the dryer and fold while
you’re checking your phone messages or email. Put away before retiring for the
night.
Where is your washer/dryer located?
Where does everyone put his or her dirty clothes?
Where do you like to or would like to fold clothes?
Your washer and dryer might not be located in a convenient
place, such as the basement. More and more builders are starting to place these
machines in hallways, kitchens, and even bathrooms. If you have the funds and
space, you might look into relocating your machines.
Install a laundry shoot in the bathroom closet or area that
is convenient for everyone to use. If that isn’t possible, designate a place for
everyone in the home to put his or her dirty clothes.
Find a place in the home where you are comfortable and have
plenty of room to spread out and sort/fold clean clothes.
Why are you responsible for everyone clothes? You are the
only one that can answer this one.
How often do you want to do laundry?
Decide if you want (I know, no one wants to do laundry) to
do laundry daily, weekly, bi-weekly, or monthly. Then ask if you need to or are
you able to.
How many articles of clothing does each family member
REALLY need per week, season, and special occasion?
This is the time to be REALLY HONEST with yourself and will
depend on your answer to # 11. How many articles of play, casual, dressy, work,
holiday, seasonal, and special occasion outfits does each family member need? If
they have too many, you will never stay ahead of the dirty clothes.
Recycle, sell, or donate clothes that aren’t being used or
that you have an abundance of.
If you or your family are putting on and taking something
off (and throwing it in the dirty clothes) because it doesn’t fit right, look
right, or you/they don’t really like it…get RID of it!
Laundry Tips:
Always try and wash a full load.
Wash hand towels and smaller items of same color range with
large articles, such as sheets and table cloths.
Make sure you and others know how to use the proper cycles
on machines to minimize wrinkling.
Put a clothes rack by the dryer and hang clothes as they
come out; put away by person/room.
If you can’t hear the buzzers on the machines or tend to
lose track of time, set a timer for the length of the cycle and keep near
you.
Clothes that need ironing should be washed first so you can
iron while the other loads are being done.
Wash delicate, underclothes, and hand washables while
taking a shower.
Please remember that anything you try you MUST give it a
chance to work, at least a month. If you find something not working, try another
schedule or approach for another month until your clothes stop
multiplying.
I hope some of these tips and hints will STOP the major
reproductive system of your laundry. Good Luck!
Smiles, not Piles,
Janet
Janet L. Hall
is a Professional Organizer, Speaker, Author and owner of OverHall Consulting.
Janet can be reached by e-mail at overhall@chesapeake.net. Janet has
written two booklets, writes for several Internet magazines, conducts
teleclasses, and has a FREE monthly newsletter, OverHall IT! To find out
more about her services and products, please visit her web site at http://www.overhall.com
Copyright Ó 2000 by
OverHall Consulting, P.O. Box 263, Port Republic, MD 20676. All Rights Reserved.
Permission is granted to reproduce, copy, or distribute so long as this
copyright notice and full information about contacting the author is attached
and article is kept intact.
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