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My Laundry Routine

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Photo: Laundry Basket with Clothes on a White Background by Marco Verch under Creative Commons 2.0
Photo: Laundry Basket with Clothes on a White Background 
by Marco Verch under Creative Commons 2.0
   Saturday used to be my laundry day. I would spend ALL day on Saturday washing all the laundry my family of five produced in a week.  This left me little time to do anything else during the day. And if something happened and Saturday plans took me out of the house, I would find myself really behind. 

    I heard a lot of advice saying you should do one load of laundry a day.  At that time, I thought that was crazy, impractical advice.  I couldn't imagine coming home and tackling laundry after a long day at work and the dinner/bedtime rush.  After successfully making some other changes to my day-to-day life, I decided to give it a try.  It was a game-changer!

So, I thought I would share my weekly laundry routine.  I am not saying this is the only right way to set up a laundry routine, but it might be a place to get inspiration for your own routine. 

I also want to stress that this doesn't happen perfectly every week! Sometimes I drop the ball. The new school year started three weeks ago and as a result, everything at home erupted in CHAOS. This is pretty typical in my house from the start of school to the Labor Day weekend. That being said, if you miss a day don't beat yourself up. Just know, to quote Scarlet O'Hara, "After all, tomorrow is another day."

Sunday

Sunday afternoons/evenings are a big reset day for me.  It is normally when I prep everything I need to start a successful week. My husband and I run down the weekly calendar, I make sure the kitchen is super clean, and I prep laundry. 

  1. Towels - This is the day I wash, fold, and put away towels.  Towels are normally a quick load to put away so this is an easy load to tackle on this day. 
  2. Sort - I sort the rest of the laundry so it will be easy to grab and load as the week progresses. I still sort by colors, and this is a great chore for kids of all ages.  My oldest started to help sort laundry when he was three years old and knew his colors. Now all three of my kids tackle this job with very little help/supervision from me. 
  3. Prep -  Before I go to bed, I put tomorrow's load of laundry in the washer along with my detergent and scent beads. 
Monday, Tuesday, & Wednesday
  1. Schedule - I am blessed to have a washer that has a delayed wash setting.  I love it, and it will be a requirement for any washer I own from here on out! Before I leave in the morning, I set the washer and put it on delayed start so that it finishes about the time I get home from work. 
  2. Dryer - One of the first things I do after walking into the door in the afternoon is move that load to the dryer. 
  3. Fold & Put Away - After dinner, I fold and put away that load of laundry. Often my husband will help me with this task if he isn't doing another household chore. I also have my two oldest kids put away their own laundry. (I often watch TV while folding, so it doesn't seem like such a chore.)
  4. Prep - I prep the next day's load by loading it into the washer. 
Thursday

Thursdays are kind of the wild card of the laundry day.  What they look like depends on how the rest of the week went. 
  1. Catch-Up Day - If the laundry didn't get put away or I missed another day due to an out-of-the-ordinary weeknight event, Thursday is my chance to get caught up. 
  2. Heavy Laundry Week - Most weeks I can get all the clothing washed in three loads, but sometimes there is more laundry than normal. Thursday would be the extra load day. 
  3. Delicates - If I need to wash delicates that week, I normally do it on Thursday nights. 
Friday

I love fresh clean sheets, and I like to reward myself with them on Friday night after a long week. I will often strip my bed Friday morning and put the sheets in (on a delayed cycle) Friday morning.  Then I make my bed with fresh sheets before bed on Friday night. 

Saturday

Saturday is for kids' bedding. This includes my youngest nap mat that comes home from school every week, kids' sheets, and blankets as needed. 

Overall, I have found this to be a much more manageable way to do laundry, and my Saturdays are much more enjoyable. 

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