Laundry. The never-ending cycle of fabric chaos.
Just when you think you've achieved folding greatness, someone - usually a small, sticky-handed individual - decides it would look better as a Tracey Emin art installation.
Welcome to the eternal rotation of washing, drying, folding, and-if we're being honest-strategically ignoring the pile that's been waiting to be put away since Tuesday.
But fear not, weary warriors of the washing machine! With a little structure and a firm stance against laundry-based internal anarchy, you can wrestle this beast into submission. Here's how.
Acceptance.
Laundry is a part of life. Avoiding it only creates backlog. So it's either 30 mins daily or 3 hours at the weekend. Utilise the 'accept and JFDI' (just fkn do it) approach. Find the best 30 minutes in your day (or week) for laundry activities. Commit yourself to the process of perfecting your own system that works for you.
Systematic - not melodramatic
Create your system and rinse and repeat (sorry!) until perfect.
You may need to account for using a tumble dryer if you're in the northern hemisphere. It's a sad fact that anything wet simply stays that way if left out..and your house will never enter 'presentation mode'..
Example of systems could be a load a day, maybe it's by category (Monday: towels, Tuesday: children's clothes, etc.), or maybe it's by sheer necessity (if no one has underwear, it's laundry day). But whatever you choose, consistency is key. Habits and having a consistent method means your body has muscle memory and pretty soon you'll be doing this with your eyes closed.
Practice the system, adjusting it to suit your schedule/mental make up, until you don't have to think about it anymore. Hey, you might be able to listen to music or an audiobook while you do it. Make it as palatable as possible. It's a tough pill to swallow.
Delegate Like a Benevolent Dictator
Your household is not a hotel, and you are not the staff. Even young children can contribute-sorting socks is a perfectly respectable job for a toddler, and older kids can manage their own laundry with only minor supervision (and occasional damage control). Teenagers, as much as they pretend otherwise, are perfectly capable of running a washing machine. Give them responsibility and reclaim some of your sanity. If you struggle to engage your kids then see my post about utilising the internet to regain control of your house!
The Basket Brigade
Have a basket for each person in the house. They fill it. You return it.
Once clothes are clean and folded (or at least semi-neatly stacked) back into the designated basket, they become that person's problem. Will they put them away promptly? Maybe not. But at least your laundry room won't look like a clothing explosion. This chore can form part of a reward system too. Once all the clothes are away it's McDonalds time! I mean...if you already order takeout for your kids from time to time, you can start to set conditions.
One-Touch Rule: Fold It Now or Forever Hold Your Peace
The moment clean laundry leaves the dryer, deal with it. Folding immediately prevents wrinkles, reduces the chance of Mount Laundry growing to Everest proportions, and saves you from the dreaded "Where is my blue shirt?!" morning meltdowns.
Clothing Triage: Less In, Less Out
See that shirt that your kid tried on then threw on the floor? It's not truly dirty, don't make life harder. It could probably be tossed into the dryer with the next batch for a freshen up
Stain Treatment: Swift and Merciless Children are stain magnets. Keep a stain-removal spray near the hamper and attack spills immediately. If a mystery blotch goes through the dryer, it has essentially become part of the fabric's DNA, and you're just going to have to live with it.
Embrace the Imperfection
The reality is, laundry will never truly be "done." There will always be more. And that's okay. As long as everyone has something to wear, the system is working. Give yourself some grace, and if all else fails-blankets and pajamas totally count as daywear on laundry overload days. So go forth, brave launderer. Implement the system, enforce the rules, and remember: No one in the history of time has been on their deathbed wishing they had spent more time folding clothes. Manage the chaos, don't let it manage you,
Much love, Alison x
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