Mountains of clean laundry all over!

**dancemommy** · 07-15-2010, 10:41 AM

I have no trouble getting the laundry clean. My problem is getting it put away. I've tried several different methods- none have worked well for us yet. What do the rest of you do? We have 5 in our family- all 3 of our kids are involved in activities where they require extra clothing every day (so 2-3 outfits per day) and 2 of our kids are now in adult sized clothing making the loads larger.

Thanks!

QM · 07-15-2010, 10:50 AM

While folding, I put the clothes in piles by room and at the end of folding put them in the laundry basket like that. In each 'room pile' from top to bottom, it's sorted socks & underwear, pyjamas, summer clothes then warmer clothes. That way it's easier to put away once I get the pile to the room.

My only advice is...just do it! It isn't fun putting away laundry, but it's such a wonderful feeling once it's put away.

**Mom2-3** · 07-15-2010, 10:59 AM

DH and the kids help. We all sort the dirty laundry. I tell the family what clothes are being washed next, if you have those, then put them in the washer. I wash and hang dry. It's DH and the kids job to fold and put away.

We usually will fold laundry and watch TV at night. One 1/2 hour show or part of a movie and the clothes are done.

**Molemommy** · 07-15-2010, 11:09 AM

I am in the same boat.... .I have room in my laundry room and have a basket for each person (4) and when clothes come out of dryer they are folded into the persons basket... that is usually as far as they make it... I hate putting laundry away... And when I do the kids are stunned as they come to laundry room looking for clean clothes...

**NikoSan999** · 07-15-2010, 11:30 AM

Could you do as molemommy does and put each persons in a separate basket and at some point in the evening tell each person to get their own and put it away instead of you doing it? I'm not one to talk..I put everyones away myself...or not. It's just one thing I wouldn't drive myself nuts over. If they wear adult size clothing they can fetch as well as you carry back and forth.

**Libby** · 07-15-2010, 11:59 AM

Growing up with 5 in our household - my mom would fold laundry at the base of the stairs (centre point in our house) and would place each person's clothing on a step. We were responsible for coming to get them & put them away once they were washed & folded.

I like the basket idea. You wash them all together to make fuller loads and save money but once washed, dried & folded it should be the responsibility for each person to fetch their own basket. For the smaller ones, maybe place the basket in their room(s) and help/supervise them putting them away properly.

**Neeley** · 07-15-2010, 12:15 PM

We are a family of four, all adult sizes. We do not wear anything more than once without washing, towels are washed after each use, sheets done weekly, even pajamas are only worn once, etc...Both of my kids are involved in HS Varsity athletics. They have morning workouts, afternoon practices, games, and so on. Both kids have after school jobs as well. They each easily go through three outfits a day, often times four. We do a minimum of twenty super sized loads of laundry a week.

My solution? Everyone in the house helps. Everyone helps wash, everyone helps load the dryer. When we fold/hang everyone puts their own things away immediately. The kids have been putting their own clothes away since they could walk. It was one of the first household duties they learned to do.

**TigerGirl1226** · 07-15-2010, 12:56 PM

My plan is simple: don't wash more until you've put all the clean stuff away. You know you've got to wash more which means you've got to put the clean away. Works for me.

**alarosalpn** · 07-16-2010, 12:25 PM

I think alot of people struggle with the "putting away" part.. When I line dry, I fold them as I take them off the line but then the basket usually sits in my kitchen for weeks...
As we speak there's 2 overflowing baskets sitting in there...
I have several baskets so I think I might try to do the "basket per person" method and see if it works..

**jantana** · 07-16-2010, 03:15 PM

We have a foster home and we are constantly washing clothes. Each child has their own hamper/basket for their dirty clothes --it sits next to their dressers. Each child has their own wash day. The older children wash, dry, fold, and put away their clothes as soon as it is done. The younger ones help me with their laundry day. It may be loading the washer/dryer or helping to put away clothes. Towels are folded and put away as soon as they are folded. They strip their beds on their wash day to do all their washing at one time. This helps tremendously because I hate putting clothes away also. I have to force myself to put away mine and hubby's.

**NewLeaf** · 07-16-2010, 05:49 PM

I use the one basket per person method. That way if they don't get put away, at least we can go to our own baskets.......

**baxjul** · 07-16-2010, 05:56 PM

Great hints. I hate putting them away also!

**Momto5RN** · 07-16-2010, 10:28 PM

we have a basket for each persion - it gets sorted as we take them out of dryer - once a week dh takes them to the kids rooms and they put them away .

to be honest i dont worry about it too much - worse come to worse they can go to basement and look in their basket for something clean if it didnt make it to their room yet .

Just not worth extra stress for me to fret about it too much -

if i had unexpected company they would never know if all my laundry isnt put away but they woukd know if i didnt get a chance to declutter or clean main areas of the house so i focus energy on them first and cooking and things that can save or make me $$ .

**Siebrie** · 07-22-2010, 10:02 AM

My system: I hang a load of laundry after I come home from work. The laundry rack hangs over our bedroom door. If I have a lot of laundry, I may have to use the foldaway standalone laundry rack in the living room.

Then I fill the washing machine again, but do not switch it on. We live in a big apartment complex and washing in the evening/night is forbidden.

In the morning, I add the detergent and start the machine.

Dh may take down the dry laundry during the day, especially if it's in the living room. Usually, it's me who takes down the dry laundry after I come home from work. Then I hang up the newly washed laundry.

After putting dd2y to bed, I finally sit down and fold the laundry while watching tv. I put the things away before I go to bed. I collect the stuff that needs mending and once a month (roughly) will mend.

Dh will iron anything that's in the ironing basket.

I can do this, because we do no more than 1 load per day, not every day. And we have a very dry house, so everything dries overnight.