Conquer the Laundry

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Let’s talk about laundry. Specifically on how to conquer the laundry monster lurking in many of our homes. Do you have it under control? Or do you have what is often affectionately called Mount Washmore in your home?

If you have read posts relating to my past life (aka before marriage and children), you’d know I know nothing about housekeeping stuff. So when I got married and had to manage a home, learning to use the washing machine (and rice cooker!) was a mini-adventure. It is true.

Thankfully though, laundry is something that has been manageable even in our large family. After a few iterations, we have settled on what is largely a good system and routine. Yes, we have largely conquered the laundry monster. Thank God!

Washing Machine and Dryer to the Rescue

And that is largely thanks to the invention of the washing machine and our daily routines.

I really can’t imagine times of old where clothes were all washed by hand. A well-functioning and reliable washing machine makes life all the easier.

(PSA: don’t get an LG washing machine. Seriously!)

Just chuck everything into the machine, dump the detergent in, press a button or two and voila! clean clothes in as little as 30 minutes or as long as an hour – depending on the brand of washing machine and the cycle selected.

And if you have a dryer, drying the clothes is also easy. Just chuck the damp clothes into the dryer and voila! clean, dry clothes in about an hour or so, again, depending on the load and the brand of machine. If timed correctly, you may even skip having to iron many items when you remove them from the dryer.

Folding and Ironing

But folding and putting the clothes away. Ahhhh…. no affordable machine for folding our clothes has been invented for this yet! I said affordable because apparently there already is a machine that can fold your clothes available. Just that it costs thousands of dollars.

READ: This $16,000 robot uses artificial intelligence to sort and fold laundry

And so, human labour is still required to get folding and ironing done. And this is how Mount Washmore grows in size and height.

We pull the clean and dry clothes out of the dryer or off the clothes rack and then dump them somewhere. Those who are a little more organised will dump them into baskets which get pushed from corner to corner.

The rest of us will dump them on any flat surface ie sofas or beds. And this pile of clothes is then transferred from place to place because we need to use the aforesaid flat surface.

Not ideal at all because soon enough the clean clothes will be not so clean. So how?

Here are some things I do to keep on top of it. May they help you conquer your laundry.

Attitude

But first, we need to adjust our attitudes. A lot of times we make things harder for ourselves when our attitudes are poor.

[I am so guilty of this! But usually towards cooking, not laundry.]

Yes, easier said than done. But let us remember Colossians 3:23.

And whatever you do, do it heartily, as to the Lord and not to men.
Colossians 3:23, NKJV.

Do It Once a Week

If your family is small enough or if you have enough clothes, you can choose to do laundry just once a week. This means you can basically ignore all things laundry until that designated day.

But it also means that you will have to spend at least two hours getting everything washed, dried and put away (ironed or folded). And this also hinges on the weather if you do not own a dryer.

Side note: I once knew a family who would go and buy more clothes because mom could not keep up with the laundry. Do not be that family!

Do It Daily

If you have a larger family or own fewer items, doing your laundry daily may be more practical. Or if you can’t fill up a load, then do it two to three times a week. Fix the days and just do it. No excuses!

Put the dirty clothes into the washing machine first thing in the morning and then remove to dry them after breakfast – either by hanging them up to air dry or by transferring them into the dryer.

Remove the clean and dry clothes, immediately fold and put them away just before you start lunch preparations. Ironing can be done then too, or you can iron once a week if you do not have many items to iron.

The End.

The idea behind doing it daily is so that it takes a short amount of time each day versus accumulating the clothes which then result in you having to tackle this monumental task once a week.

Do It Twice a Day

But if you have a really large family, you may have to do it twice a day to keep on top of the laundry pile. That has been our modus operandi for at least the past 5 years or more.

It is just easier to stay on top of laundry when it is done twice a day than to do it once a day, or once a week when you have a larger than average family.

This way the washing machine also gets a chance to “rest” between loads and the clothes have enough time to air dry before the next load is done.

Just Do It

This tip is linked to the point on attitude above. Laundry, like cooking, is a necessary evil in my books.  It just needs to get done. So let us just do it.

And if you dislike it, then you must devise ways to get around it.  Moaning about it or worse, ignoring it will not make the problem go away.

Delegate

One way is to delegate this chore.

If you have children who can manage the laundry chore for you, more power to you!

But, if you want that to happen, you need to start training your children ASAP. Start by teaching them to put their dirty clothes into the laundry basket, not leave it on the floor or bed.

They can also help to put away their clean and folded clothes into their cupboards or drawers. Yes, it won’t be as neat and tidy as you like but they will not be all over the house. When they grow older and more capable, teach them to fold and put away their clothes neatly.

Our Laundry System

As I have shared before, I have one child who helps with running the washing machine and hanging up the wet clothes. She also takes them down when dry and then passes it to the next child who will sort the clothes into our individual baskets. Each of us is then responsible to fold and put the clean clothes away.

I do the ironing twice a week spending just over an hour each time.

Conquer the Laundry with Consistency

To me, the main tip to keep on top of the laundry is consistency. Whether it is done once a week or daily, you can conquer the laundry monster if you are consistent about it. Then it never gets overwhelming.

Fix a day and even set a time if necessary and just do it.

But just in case you think laundry is always done perfectly here, let me share this picture from my Instagram account to prove that we are all lazy sinful creatures. And things do get haywire every now and then. Some hollering needs to be done and then all will be fine again. Well, until the next round.

Don’t Pass Down Your Poor Attitudes

One last point.

I need to warn you that if the children know that you are farming out the task to them because you hate it, they aren’t going to be happy about it. And you will be passing on your poor attitude towards that chore to them too.

Remember, our children are watching and learning from us.

As you moan and groan about it, they will also moan and groan about it. And instead of seeing doing a chore as blessing the family, they may see it as a punishment. Not exactly what you want to teach, right?

Related Posts

Managing Laundry in Our Large Family
Cutting Down Your Laundry Load
Do I Have to Cook and Clean to Be a Good Mother?
It’s Pure Hard Work

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