Guest post from Jenae of I Can Teach My Child

Doing the laundry is one of my most loathed household tasks. Actually, I don’t really mind doing the laundry… it’s the folding and putting away that I especially dislike!

Laundry is also an ongoing task that never has a definite ending. By the time you have all your loads folded and put away, there will inevitably be another few garments waiting for you in the hamper.

However, laundry doesn’t have to be as complicated and time-consuming as we make it out to be. Here are three simple tips that have helped me streamline the laundry process in our home.

1. Find a laundry schedule that works for you.

I do laundry one day each week. I’ve found this works much better for our family to get it all done in one day rather than doing multiple loads throughout the week. Plus, since I need the dryer to do the next load and get it all done in one day, this holds me accountable to putting the laundry away immediately instead of letting the loads sit in the dryer for a few days!

I know many people who prefer to do a load of laundry once a day. If that works for you, great!

2. Use mesh bags for socks, underwear, etc.

More than any laundry-related task, I dislike pairing and folding little-kid socks! I began using mesh wash bags this fall with the advent of sock weather and it has revolutionized my laundry-doing life!

Now, I hang a mesh bag for each child close to his hamper. Instead of throwing the socks in the hamper with everything else, I put them in their mesh bag. When laundry day arrives, I secure the drawstring, throw it in with the laundry, and dump it into the sock drawer when clean. No pairing or folding needed!

3. Ditch the laundry basket.

When you remove clean laundry from your dryer and put it into a laundry basket, you are creating one more potential place for laundry to sit before it gets folded and put away.

Instead of using a laundry basket, grab the load with both arms and move it immediately to either your bed or the children’s beds. That way, the laundry must get folded before bedtime. Obviously, if you have to climb a flight of stairs to put laundry away, you’ll need to use a basket. Just make sure to dump it onto a bed once you get up (or down) the stairs.

These small, simple changes have made a huge impact towards my productivity when it comes to laundry.

What are your favorite laundry tips or shortcuts?

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