Laundry- The Mountain of Madness

Tracy, I've been trying for the past 7 years to get my life in order, it has been a quest and I've been making baby steps towards it, but I don't know if I'll ever reach the summit. I've read 100 books about housekeeping- mostly because I would rather read about it than actually do it.

I've tried different systems, but what I've come to realize is:

1. that my household is unique, just like yours, and I need to create my own unique system for running it.

2. when we get good at something, we enjoy doing it more. I'm trying to learn the best ways to do things (folding fitted sheets, ironing mens' shirts etc.) so I won't hate it so much.

3. We have to create things spiritually things before we can create them physically. Just like the world and everything in it was created spiritually before it was physically, so does most things in our lives. Like the budget: spend all your money on paper before it ever leaves the bank. We need to plan our weeks, our cleaning schedules, our meal plans. So many things are a bazillion times easier if we take just a few minutes to plan.

One of the mountains I have been focusing on lately is the Mountain of Laundry.

I actually like doing laundry, so I thought this would be a fun one to work on first.

Here is the little plan I wrote down and keep in the inside of the cupboard door in the laundry room:

I try to get everything washed and folded on Monday, and then everything Ironed and put away on Tuesday.

1. Gather Laundry

don't forget-

hand towels

bath towels

sheets

hangers

dust mop top

2.Sort into colors

3. Have a basket for each person, ironing and socks.

4. Wash-

whites

ragslights

darks

4. Fold, Hang, Sort

Pretty obvious, but I still always forget to bring hangers down. I hope it will become a habit so I can save myself another trip upstairs.

Here are some pics of my Laundry room:

1. A place to sort clothes into. (piles on the floor work too:) I always have little helpers too.

2. I keep the little wooden box for rags. They gross me out, so I don't like them mixed in with the regular laundry. I have one in my kitchen too. The blue basket is for Andy's and my clothes. I have 2, but I had already take on upstairs.

3. A place to hang clothes: Ironing on the left. Clothes to hang in the closet on the right. I don't have a drying rack, so most of the drying is done on hangers on that rod. Maren's basket- all her clothes get hung upstairs so she can easily see and choose what she wants to wear. She is in charge of putting pj's, socks, and undies in her drawers. The wicker basket is for ironing. (I'm not planning on ironing my pink sequin slippers, I just wanted to be sure they dry all the way. For some reason, slippers and Worcestershire sauce don't mix well)

4. A little bin to put socks in as I pull them out of the dryer. I try to fold socks after each load. Dallin's basket. I don't fold or hang any of his clothes, Just a pile of shirts and a pile of pants laid flat in his closet.

p.s. I fold t-shirts the Martha way: http://www.marthastewart.com/article/how-to-fold-a-t-shirt

As I pull clothes out of the dryer, I make a pile of t-shirts and Andy's undershirts and fold them all the same way at the same time. Once you get the hang of it, it's way faster and makes them a nice size to fit into drawers.