Does anyone really love laundry?
I don’t, so hacks to manage it quickly & easily are definitely one of my home-keeping love languages.
If you hate doing the washing too, try one or more of these ideas to make it easier:
Declutter your wardrobe.
You knew this one would be on the list, right? if you only keep the clothes you love, you’ll have less to wash.
Small baskets for everyone instead of one big family basket.
When everyone has a small basket of their own in the bathroom or their bedroom, they’re more likely to manage it themselves. It’s not too heavy, and they mind washing their own clothes less than they mind having to do washing for the family.
Create a simple laundry routine.
A dedicated wash day for each family member, a day for towels and sheets, and a day for kitchen cloths. Each day you wash, hang and bring in the dry laundry from the day before.
Wet weather drying options.
if you have a dryer, great! If not, pop down to Bunnings for a couple of drying racks - a big one for adult clothes, towels, and bedding, and a small one for the kids to use. Put them up in your house, undercover space or garage on rainy days and keep that simple laundry routine going so you don’t have to catch up when the weather is nice again.
Stick to low-maintenance clothing.
Wash and wear - no dry cleaning, hand washing, or ironing - makes it so much easier to manage it all.
Wash less.
Jumpers can be worn more than once, so can skirts and pants. Jeans can be worn 3 or 4 times before needing a wash. As long as it still smells fine and you can’t see any stains, it’s ok to pop it back in the wardrobe instead of the washing basket.
Skip sorting.
If your clothes aren’t brand new, the colour won’t run and the fabric won’t shed. Skip the sorting and just wash it all together. You can also keep some colour catchers in your laundry cupboard if you're worried about the colour running!
Line dry on hangers.
Pop wet clothes onto clothes hangers, pop the hangers on the line, and when it’s dry, pop it straight into your wardrobe. No folding necessary!
Send it out.
If budget allows, send some of your washing out weekly and never worry about washing baby stuff/business shirts/linens/towels/cleaning cloths again! Most areas have a local pick up service now or you can drop off and pick up at your local laundromat.
I hope you found these ideas helpful! If you’re ready for next steps in making life easier as a parent, you might to check out my popular House & Family Binder. It’s a simple set of prints to help you reduce the mental load and streamline the running of your household, and I’m adding digital versions of each planning print too to make it even easier to use! Check it out here anytime.
x Marissa
