Get these practical laundry tips for setting up your own laundry routine that’s simple and effective and will help you stay on top of all the loads!
Okay, I know we’ve all been there. The stage in life where we haven’t quite figured out our laundry routine. The hubby is upset in the morning because he can’t find his work clothes. The kiddos don’t have any clean PJ’s to go to bed in.
Does this sound familiar?!
OR there’s always the ‘procrastinate the folding and putting away by putting the clean clothes in a big pile on the dining room table and have everyone pick away at it until its gone….’ trick. Yes, even though any house guests will get a nice glimpse at your whole family’s laundry!
I’ve personally been through a lot of different stages with my laundry routine (all of the things mentioned above have happened to me!)
As we had more kids and life got busier.. and I dealt with the literal pain that came from not having a laundry routine or laundry schedule, I knew something had to change.
SO I started a super simple laundry routine, and its been a game changer! Here’s the thing, your laundry routine does not have to be complicated.
Unless you like complicated things, then of course you can make it more complicated. BUT if you LOVE simple, then this laundry routine is for you!
There’s just one secret to it. Be CONSISTENT. It won’t take a ton of time, and it can stay very simple, as long as you’re consistent with it.
I’ll get into exactly how to set up your own simple laundry routine below, but FIRST I have some quick laundry tips that will make your routine smooth sailing.
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Quick Laundry Tips That Will Help Your Routine
Before I let you in on how to set up a simple and effective laundry routine, I want to give you a few basic laundry tips that will set you up for success!
Take the dirty laundry from all around the house to the laundry room, every morning.
Routines are so amazing when you start doing them and you’re consistent. One way you can boost your laundry routine is by taking the dirty laundry from every room in the house, to the laundry room, EVERY day. I love to do this first thing in the morning when I’m doing a quick house pick-up. Don’t let piles of dirty laundry hang out in every room. Your home won’t feel clean and it can hinder your laundry progress.
Have a system for washing and drying that’s simple and easy to stick to.
Everyone does this a little differently. For example, I always wash darks, lights, and whites separately. I wash rugs from around the house in their own load (and other household linens) And I also wash my husband’s work clothes separate from anything else. Whatever your mama taught you, go with it! Just have a system and a plan in place already for how you want to wash and dry. You know your family’s laundry best!
Listen to a podcast, or audiobook, or watch your favorite show while folding laundry
If folding your laundry gets you hung up every time you think about it, then start to associate folding with something you TOTALLY enjoy! This could be anything. A yummy snack like some homemade popcorn, your favorite Youtube channel, or an inspiring podcast (my favorite). Decide on something that you LOVE and enjoy it while you fold. Trust me, you’ll be so much more excited to fold laundry and you won’t miss a day!
Have your dressers and closets organized so putting away laundry is a breeze
Before you start your new laundry routine, make sure all of the the areas where the clean laundry goes is organized and ready. Go around to each of the closets and dressers in your home, do a little sorting, and have a plan for where you want things to go. You want to have a spot for everything and to know exactly where all of your clean laundry goes. That way when it comes time to put away your clean, folded clothes, it will be quick and easy for you.
How to Set up a Simple Laundry Routine
Now that we have those quick laundry tips out of the way, lets talk about setting up a simple laundry routine!
Here’s the secret: you’re going to be doing something laundry related every. single. day. That’s pretty much the gist of it and the most important thing to remember.
Of course there will be days that you miss because life is life! But for the most part, you want to be crazy consistent about doing a little bit of laundry MOST days of the week. This can mean folding one day. Washing, drying, and folding another day. Putting away the next day. Having a whole laundry day! ETC.
One of the biggest reasons laundry can become such a hassle and nuisance is because we put it off. If you’re putting off your laundry for a week, OF COURSE its going to be a pain when you have to do seven loads in a day! Or the whole family is missing some kind of clothing they need during the week.
SO here is your super simple laundry routine, that includes a little bit of time in the laundry room every day:
Every day of the week (with 1-2 planned off days!) you’ll start a load and fold/put away a load. This means put some things in the washer, and take whatever was in the dryer out, and fold/put away.
For me this takes about 15-20 minutes TOTAL for the day. Because I’m doing laundry so consistently, my loads are never huge. This is actual easier on our washer and dryer and the laundry gets cleaner. And it doesn’t take long to fold and put away!
When you’re doing this, you’ll almost always have something waiting in the dryer for you to fold.
In the mornings I stick a load of whatever I have the most of in my dirty baskets (lights, darks, husband’s work clothes, etc.) into the washer and start it. Then I grab whatever was in the dryer and move it to the dining room table. When its on the dining room table, I have a constant reminder to get it folded!
At some point when I have a minute (almost always in the morning, don’t put it off!) I put on a podcast, and get it all folded. Then, I take a few minutes to put it away. Lastly, when the washer is done, I’ll transfer the clean laundry to the dryer, start it, and I’m done for the day!
If you aim to do this 5-6 days a week, you’ll be SO on top of your laundry! You’ll never be missing something because its stuck in a mountain of laundry, and you’ll never have seven loads waiting for you because you procrastinated.
Finally, the last part of your simple laundry routine, is to have one day a week that’s your Laundry Day.
On this day, you’ll do whatever extra laundry you can think of that will get you ahead. This ISN’T laundry that you need to do to make it through the week. You’ll still do your normal load in the morning. But once that’s finished, you’ll go around washing extra things!
This can be rugs that need cleaned, towels, curtains, bedding, etc. It can also just mean catching up on loads if you missed too many days the week before. Remember, these aren’t really necessities (like clothing) its just the extras that need washed occasionally from around your home.
Your every day laundry gets done in your routine during the week, and your miscellaneous extras from around the house get washed on your Laundry Day.
I personally don’t have a system for what gets washed and when on my Laundry Day. I just take a walk around the house and decide that morning what could use a good cleaning. If I’m cleaning a specific room of our house that week, for example the living room, I may wash something from that room (like the curtains).
How Can You Tweak This Laundry Routine?
Of course, everyone has different homes, different sizes of families, and different needs with regards to their laundry routine. You may find that if you have a very large family, you need to do more than one load a day.
On the other hand, if you have a small family, one load a day is overkill. If this is the case you can wash and dry one day, fold and put away the next, then wash and dry again. If you have a small family and not a lot of laundry to do, you could also ditch the Laundry Day and just get your extras cleaned in one of your regular loads.
Once you start this simple laundry routine, you’ll find out quickly what needs tweaked for you. Don’t be afraid to change things. My only suggestion is that you stick with the principle: a little bit of laundry every single day.
I hope this new laundry routine adds a little peace to your life! No more laundry stress, or missing clothes, or piles around the house. You’ve got this <3
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