Last week was about closets. Now, Let’s tweak the laundry process! It seems appropriate, 
don’t you think? That before I sat down to write this article, I was moving our laundry through the process, too?!
At a recent presentation, we discussed how big projects are a series of small projects. So, let’s break the laundry process down.
- Put dirty laundry in basket / hamper
- Transport basket / hamper to laundry room
- Sort / pre-treat dirty laundry
- Wash laundry
- Dry laundry
- Hang up / fold laundry
- Sort clean laundry based on its owner / final destination
- Get clean laundry to its owner / final destination
- Put laundry away
Why break it down to such detail? So many of my clients tell me “Our laundry is out of control!” but being specific about what steps cause trouble helps find solutions!
Put dirty laundry in basket / hamper.
If this is where you struggle, start out with a new habit. Declare that daily (morning or evening), everyone’s dirty clothes hit the hamper. For example, first thing this morning, I unpacked from the weekend, putting away the clean stuff and putting the dirty stuff in the hamper. Bedroom is tidy, and laundry ready to wash.
I’ve recently realized that, in our house, every family member needs their own hamper and is responsible for getting it to the basement (see next step).
Get the dirty laundry to the laundry room. (I have laundry chute envy. Just sayin’!)
Make this a daily habit, too. If you have kids, delegate or take turns, and keep the laundry from piling up all over the house! Get it to the laundry room!
Sort and pre-treat your clothes.
I recognize that not everyone sorts their laundry. That, like so many things, is a personal choice. We sort.
To facilitate sorting, we have 4 hampers lined up in the laundry room, one each for Whites, Colors, Darks and Dry Cleaners. We sort the laundry as it comes into the laundry room, instead of accumulating large, random piles on the floor!
I admit, I’m inconsistent with pre-treating clothes. I believe each person is responsible for their own stains and pre-treat, since I have not idea what that red stuff on the shirt is, nor do I feel like looking so closely at every item before tossing it in the washer.
So, I’m working on it.
I just realized that I used to have stain sticks in all the hampers, and I’ve gotten away from that habit. Time to re-establish it, so folks can treat their own stains!
Wash a little every day, or do it all at once. When I’m at home, I set a timer for every 40 minutes (the length of the dry cycle) to keep me on track.
This is not the blog that tells you how to get certain stains out of such and such fabrics. Sorry.
Dry the Laundry.
Dry enough, but don’t over dry. To cut down on wrinkles remove laundry promptly from the dryer, or even when some items are still damp. Hang the still damp items to dry. Hang everything you can on a hanger immediately (fewer wrinkles and less folding!).
Fold / Hang the laundry
I’ve seen many strategies for this step:
Haul the clean laundry to the bedrooms, and fold it there.
Haul clean laundry to some other location in the house, and fold it there (risking that it may stay there or get strewn about before you can put it away).
There is also the “why fold? I’ll just live out of the laundry basket” strategy, which of course drives me crazy.
Let me suggest: set up a hanging rod and folding space in your laundry room, and sort your clean laundry as you hang or fold it. For hung clothes, we have different color hangers per person. Also, we have three baskets on the folding table, for each destination (master bedroom, boys’ bedrooms).
A few words on socks. We all like and need socks… until we have to wash and sort them. Don’t let them pile up. Keep a basket for unmatched socks, and spend time at least every week sorting and pairing them. This is a job to delegate, too, if your kids can handle it!
This fold / sort step also facilitates the Get the Laundry to the Right Location step.
Finally, Put the Laundry AWAY!!
Is this where you struggle? Look around: Are there things in the way, actual barriers to putting stuff away? Perhaps your laundry doesn’t have an “Away”. Or, it has a home, but the home is too full of other stuff?!?
You guessed it, make Put Stuff Away a habit, too. Designate a day or two a week to complete the laundry cycle, and relish the Done-Ness!