Simplify Your Laundry: How to Keep Up With Laundry Forever
Learning how to keep up with laundry took me years.
I am a busy mom, and I do not want to spend my precious time doing laundry for hours, I don’t think anyone does.
You do NOT have to do laundry everyday.
Here are my top tips to simplify your washing and keep up with your laundry.
How to Keep Up with Laundry
Here are some of my favorite tips to help keep on top of laundry.
1. Rewear Items
I end up doing lots of “costume changes” as I call them during the day.
Need to make a video or important video call? I’ll throw on a nice shirt.
Cooking dinner? I throw on a not so nice shirt so I don’t ruin it.
Other? I just wear some lounge clothes.
I don’t throw these right in the laundry! I’ll wear my nice shirt a number of times if I’m just wearing it sitting at my desk for a few hours at a time.
My cooking shirt? I’ll wear it few times.
If you don’t spill anything on yourself and don’t stink or sweat, consider hanging up your shirt at the end of the day instead of tossing it in the laundry basket.
2. Plan Outfits
Planning anything can always help minimize. Plan outfits for you and your family. This will help you get into a routine with clothing and laundry. Don’t let the kids change their clothes 3 times a day and leave clothes on the floor.
Okay okay, is it really worth the fight to not let your kid change three times a day? Probably not, so just don’t throw things in the laundry if they’ve been worn just a little while.
3. Wear Multifunctional Clothes
Having clothes with multiple purposes and functions will decrease the need for wardrobe changes. Dress up a casual work outfit with a different jacket or some heels to go out later.
Pick versatile clothing that can be styled differently for different purposes or weather.
4. Let Toddlers Eat Shirtless
Eating is the messiest part of my 2 year old’s day.
There is no way he is getting through a meal without food on his clothes. So I just take off his shirt. Maybe it’s not the best table manners, but I do half as much laundry for him if I just let him eat half naked.
5. Reuse Bath Towels
I think we were washing towels every single day in our house. I would use two towels at a time (one for hair and on for body if you were wondering) and just I would create a whole load of towels a week!
We reuse our towels in our house. I know some people who only use a towel once before throwing it in the laundry.
Can’t get behind that? Then cut yourself down to one towel, and repurpose.
For example, today’s body towel becomes tomorrow’s floor towel so your bathroom doesn’t look like an undersea adventure.
If you want to keep up with laundry better, learn to reuse towels. If you use a towel for 2 showers instead of one, you’re already cutting down your bath towels laundry in half.
6. Minimize Laundry Baskets
Having less laundry baskets will encourage more frequent washing. Letting laundry get backed up is really what keeps people from being able to keep up with laundry. Often it?s not the maintaining, it’s procrastination that gets us into trouble.
Instead of 6 baskets, keep 2. And do laundry as soon as they fill up.
7. Own Less = Wash Less
If you own a ton of clothes, you are probably going to do a ton of laundry.
The only reason I want more socks is so I have to do laundry less. This is the kind of thinking that will get you into trouble.
Minimizing clothing is key in minimizing laundry. Again, we want to encourage frequent washing instead of letting things get backed up.
And there you have it. Those are my 7 simple tips to simplify and help you keep up with laundry. For other tips on how to simplify you life as a busy mom, check this out.
Finding the Motivation to Fold Laundry
Sometimes it isn’t so much the washing of the laundry that gets us, but the motivation to fold laundry.
We wash our laundry, then it piles up and before we know it, we don’t know what’s clean and what’s dirty.
I have one simple tip to help you find the motivation to fold laundry.
Use a stopwatch. Time yourself. See how long it really takes.
This seems crazy, but it works, and any smart phone has a stop watch. When you set a timer you’ll see just how little time it actually takes to fold your laundry. As a bonus, the kids can help, and you can all try to beat your best times.
The second bonus? You’ll know how long it takes you per type of load, and this simple fact makes it much easier to fit it in your schedule, and helps you find the motivation to fold laundry.
Third bonus? This is a great trick for unloading and loading the dishwasher too!
I hope these tips have helped you find new ideas on how to keep up with laundry! Be sure to share your favorite laundry tips in the comments.
