I know that many of you do a load a day - and that's totally fine if it works for you - especially if you have nine kids. My friend, Becky of Clean Mama, highly recommends this way of doing laundry. However, it just isn't for me. You see, I'm ambitious and I like to have a goal and reach it and be done! I'm that way with projects and with laundry. Cleaning is different cause I HATE cleaning and would rather do as little of it as I can {that's why I clean for just 15-20 minutes a day}. I'd rather not think about laundry for a week, then do it all for a whole day and be done for another week! You decide what you like and do it! There's no right or wrong way - either way, laundry MUST get done! I've had to add one day a week to do two small loads, but otherwise I do it all on Tuesdays {during the school year} - which includes all the bedding and towels and such! I stay home all day {if possible} and work {blog}, do laundry, and vacuum {it's my chore for 15 minutes a day of cleaning that actually takes me about 30+ minutes}. On Fridays, I throw in a small load or two just to get by until the next week - but some weeks I'm too busy to even get to that so it just waits!
Let me start by telling you that I have a weird laundry "room". As one of the few Southern Californians to actually have a real basement, this is where I do my laundry. It's good and bad. It's good because it has lots of space. It's bad because I have to go up and down the stairs with loads of laundry - and yes, I fell down the stairs a couple of weeks ago and then fell UP the stairs a few days later. I'm so graceful, aren't I?
The day starts with one of my kids having to sort the laundry {each one alternates}. I taught them really young how to do this, so I rarely do it anymore {I think they were about three years old when they could do it pretty much on their own}.
I've also taught each member of our family {even my hubby does this} to put their hanger into their laundry basket if they wore something that was hung up. Then, as the laundry gets sorted, all the hangers get piled up neatly together and set into the side of one of the laundry baskets. When I take the laundry down stairs, I have a whole bunch of hangers now to hang the laundry back up on!
Since I don't have a closet rod down there, I just put a shower curtain rod and set it on top of the fridge down there and there is a piece of the step it sets onto for the other side. Not the fanciest set up, but it works!
Under where I hang the shirts and hangers I have a stainless steel kitchen cart {with wheels} that I use to fold my laundry {I got this at Ikea}. I needed something that could be moved easily since I have to get under the basement stairs occasionally. It's perfect for folding laundry. I used to have a fold up table down there, but I like this better because it has three shelves and can be moved in and out more easily. You can see on the bottom shelves that I have two {dollar store} baskets. I use one to throw socks into as I'm folding laundry and then pull it out when I'm done to sort through the socks. The other is for mending {when and IF I get to it}. It's a great system and works well for me.
I have a shelving system I got from Ikea a couple of years ago. I love it! It holds everything in this weird lay out of a space. You can see I even have a little TV - cause when I'm down there it's a dungeon. So, music or TV is nice to have while I'm folding laundry. My ironing board and ironing stuff is there. I have a dog washing kit next to the TV, since I wash the dog in the laundry sink.
Maybe you noticed my beverage containers? Well, I don't wash with conventional cleaners, for the most part. We use NO bleach at all in this house. HERE and HERE helped to convince me that I shouldn't use bleach - we have severe allergies in this household so I stopped using any bleach related products a couple of years ago.
I haven't used anything scented for at least ten years {probably more} and have found alternatives to freshen and soften my clothes in the washing machine and dryer. I'll talk more about this next week!
I also have these really neat stacking laundry baskets {just got these a few months ago} and they do a great job helping me to keep the clothes sorted and separate. I am able to fold and set the clothes into the basket for each person. The baskets can stack on top of each other so you can still put clothes in or sort them. Next week I'll show you my alternative ways for doing laundry and getting it clean and fresh!
That's pretty much it! My laundry day, once a week. Do you have any tips or tricks you use for doing your laundry?
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