Ah, laundry. Just when I think I’m finally caught up, I am suddenly overwhelmed with a mountain of clothing waiting to be washed, folded, and put away. If your laundry schedule is taking over your weekend, this post is going to help you create a laundry routine that is actually manageable. Yes, it’s possible!
I know because I was in the same exact boat. When I had two kids, there was a lot of laundry, but I could handle it. Then I had a third and overnight, it became tough to keep up with it all. After my fourth arrived? It was insanity.
I’ll be honest: I had no laundry routine, other than attempting to do it all one day of the week because I didn’t want it to take over my life. But that ship had long since sailed and it seemed like I could never get ahead.
I would get close to catching up, but with babies and small children, someone would inevitably spit up, make a huge mess, or wet the bed (often all at once) and before I knew it, I’d be back to square one with so much laundry, I could barely walk through our bathroom/laundry room.
It was even more complicated by the fact that at our old house, we had one bathroom that also happened to be home to our washer and dryer located smack in the middle. We literally had to step over laundry piles to get to the toilet. (TMI. Yeah, sorry. It was my life.)
When we moved in 2014, I was thrilled that we had three bathrooms, but our “guest” and main first-floor bathroom was also where the washer and dryer were located. And there was still laundry everywhere.
The Laundry Schedule that Changed Everything
I tried so many different things – even a designated laundry day, but nothing worked. Until I finally came up with a very simple laundry routine that allowed me to do laundry on a regular basis without it taking over.
I realized that instead of trying to wash, dry, fold, and put away everyone’s laundry in one day (that was my completely unrealistic goal), it would be better to split it up throughout the week.
While that may seem like a no-brainer, this combined with a regular schedule is what allowed me to finally get ahead of laundry.
I started our laundry routine about a year ago and it’s completely tamed the laundry beast. I still have four kids, a dog, cat, rabbits, and 27 chickens. We still have a lot of laundry. But I no longer have piles of laundry in the bathroom or bedrooms.
Quick Tips for an Easy Laundry Routine
Before I get into the actual laundry schedule, I want to share things that help me keep my sanity as I shove loads of laundry into the washing machine.
Don’t Bother with Separating Colors
I don’t separate our laundry into different laundry hampers by colors. There are no separate whites washed away from darks and colors in my house. Occasionally, I’ll run a load of whites for Nate and me, but that’s about it.
Our clothes don’t seem to be any worse for wear and the simple fact is, this is an unnecessary step I don’t have time for. I don’t want to be spending the entire day doing laundry in the basement. And since you’re reading this, you probably don’t either!
Enable Help
I don’t do all the laundry myself. Every single member of our family helps out. Since each person creates dirty laundry, each person has a responsibility to help.
If you don’t already have your family helping out, I encourage you to change that today. Even small toddlers can put clean dry clothes into a laundry basket; in fact, this is a chore they will love helping Mom with!
Young children can also do small tasks such as pairing socks, putting away underwear or folding dish towels.
Older children may be reluctant, but it’s an important skill they need to learn (both in learning to do laundry and taking responsibility for their own clothes.) They can even put away their own items with this easy way to organize kids’ clothes!
Even my husband gets involved too by carrying his basket to the laundry room and later, folding and putting away his clothes.
The Laundry Schedule that Changed my Life
Now, let’s dive into the schedule!
I use a Monday-Friday schedule with our laundry schedule. I’ve tried laundry on the weekends, but it doesn’t work well because we’re often too busy and consistency is key with a successful laundry schedule. Plus, I want to deserve my weekends too! 😉
Each member of my family has their own day of the week for their laundry.
Our Schedule:
- Monday – Nathan
- Tuesday – Emily
- Wednesday – Joshua & Luke (they share a room, so this is easier for us)
- Thursday – Nate and I
- Friday – Miscellaneous laundry (towels, sheets, etc.)
Each day, the laundry is washed, dried, folded, and put away. While normally that might seem like something from our dreams (before my laundry schedule, I never managed all of that in one day), when it’s just one (or two) small loads a day, it really can be done!
How to Make This Laundry Schedule Work for YOUR Family
There is no such thing as one size fits all when it comes to clothes and washing them.
- Pick the schedule that works for you. Consider a typical week and block off any days you do not have time to do laundry. If your Mondays are filled with dropping off your kids to school, work, appointments, then shuttling your kids to various activities until late in the evening, it’s probably not realistic to add laundry to all that.
- Assign 1-2 things per day. For us, we broke days up by people, but you may opt to do yours differently. If you have a massive load of bath towels on Monday, give yourself a break and don’t spend that day also folding kids’ clothes.
- Put the laundry schedule where everyone can see it. If you are assigning things out to family members, make sure you have a family meeting where you discuss it. Then, hang the laundry schedule up where everyone can see it. No excuses!
Laundry Schedule Free Download
I’ve made displaying your laundry schedule easy, so no worries! To make this more fun and “official,” I had a “Laundry Schedule” printable created for me and you!
You can print out this schedule and create a routine for your family! I hung ours in a frame like this I use an erasable chalk marker
to write in the names. You can also print it and laminate it, then use sticky tack to attach it safely to the wall.
A quick note: If you put your printable in a frame like me, you’ll need to trim the edges slightly to make it fit.
Download the laundry schedule printable here:
Of course, life happens and I have to run an extra load here and there, but with this simple routine, that’s the exception instead of the norm.
Try this simple laundry schedule with your family. It will help you take over the laundry in your house instead of the other way around, just like it did for me!
More Posts to Read:
- Organizing Essential Oils the Easy Way
- How to Organize a Small Closet with Lots of Clothes
- How to Disinfect a Sponge without Chemicals
- 5 Creative and Easy Tips for Organizing Kids’ Toys
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