Quick Tips to Optimize your Laundry Routine

I’ve never met a soul who likes doing laundry.

I’ve done so much research on the topic of laundry and over the years, I’ve collected some pretty great tips on how to optimize your laundry routine (with or without little ones!).

To see what my laundry routine looks like, check this post out! 

Click here to learn my three simple secrets to doing less laundry! 

Permanent marker for sorting

Sorting laundry for family members can be a cumbersome job at best.  Smart parents use a permanent marker and make a small dot on the tag of a garment for kid #1, two dots on the tag for kid #2 and so on.  This also allows for the system to be retained with hand-me-downs.  This works well for linens, also!

Buy one color

Some families like to color code: all socks are the same brand and are all white (or black), making pairing up socks a snap.  Other families like to buy linens and bedding in one color for one room (i.e. grey for master, purple for daughter #1, green for daughter #2, blue for son), making it simple to figure out whose linens go in which room.

Find a fun way to fold

I know it sounds like an oxymoron, but folding can be fun.  With kids, you can make folding clothing and putting it away a contest – whoever can fold their basket and put their items away (neatly) fastest gets to pick tonight’s dessert or something like that.  Or, consider folding while watching TV or use it as a time to catch up with your partner (it’s something domestic that you can do together).  I know there are more fun and sexy things to do, but every little place you can connect helps.

Buy clothing that is low-maintenance

If taking the time to be diligent with laundry isn’t in the cards for you, consider buying clothes which don’t wrinkle and are safe to go into the dryer.  That way, even if you leave items in the dryer you’ll still look slick when you don the garment a few days later.  I’ve found myself putting clothing back on a rack after checking the care label (something I now habitually do when I shop) if I see that the laundering is too high maintenance for me.

Teach kids how to do laundry at a really young age

I was 13 when my mom taught me how to do laundry, and frankly, I could have learned much earlier.  Following that, it was up to me to get my clothes clean.  I think this is a skill for everyone to learn, and the faster (and younger) kids learn, the better off they are and of course, you – the family launderer – are.   You know your kids best, and you can decide when the time is right.  We have tons of laundry info on this website that you can use as teaching tools for young ones.

Squeeze laundry into your schedule, not the other way around

Many of us feel laundry takes over our lives, in fact, I used to feel that I had no time to do laundry at all.  Remember, you’re in control here.  Look at your day and see when you’ve got a few minutes to take a load to the washing machine, change it over, and fold it.  If you feel laundry is overwhelming, it will be.  If you tell yourself you don’t have the time, you won’t.   By finding a few extra minutes in your day (as I explain in my laundry routine post), you’ll start to put laundry in its place and it will feel like something you can manage, as opposed to something which controls you.

I hope these tips help you optimize your laundry routine, let me know what other suggestions you have for a better flow!