Laundry

Laundry has been the topic of some blogs that I've read this week.  It's been very interesting to read all the different thoughts about laundry and how each family makes it work for them.

We've recently undergone a laundry revolution here at our house.  Back in June I wrote a post about laundry (you can read that here), some things have changed and some things haven't changed since that time.

The "shot that was heard around the world" was the organization that I've been doing in the house.  As I was thinking about my sustainability issues in the past with the laundry/storage room I realized that laundry not being being folded immediately was causing some of our issues.

Here are the basics of our old laundry habits

• Washed every day by my husband
• Folded by my son "whenever he felt like it" (note:  this caused tension and aggravation in the family) which was about once or twice a week. 
• We continuously had a mountain of clean but unfolded clothes and a huge basket of unmated socks
• When the clothes were put in the appropriate owner's room they were placed on top of the bed or dresser, not always finding their way into the proper drawers
• The top of the washer and dryer were barely visible from the laundry supplies and the clean clothes hanging above them
• The clean pile of clothes in the laundry room and the clutter on top of the washer and dryer were creating a lot of chaos in my laundry/storage room that was always the start of my downward spiral into disorganization.

Here are our new laundry habits

• Washed every day by both me and my husband.  Before leaving for work I will put on a load of laundry and fold and then put away (in proper drawers) the previous night's laundry.  When my husband gets home he will switch the laundry and put on a load from that day's wear.  Before we go to bed both of us will go downstairs and fold the last load together.  While I put it away, he will switch the last load.
• Clothes are folded right out of the dryer.  This keeps items from getting wrinkly but the best part is we no longer have the sock basket.  Socks are mated immediately so we no longer have the need for family "sock mating parties"
• We installed a shelf next to the washer for the laundry supplies.  Both of us have been amazed by how much this simple change has helped keep the laundry area clean.
• I purchased hanging racks for my husbands clothes (he likes to hang everything) so that they weren't over the washer and dryer.  The racks have canvas bins underneath that we use for off-season clothes as well as my son's uniforms (don't ask me why - he just wanted them thrown into a basket)
• We created a specific system for hang drying clothes.  There are quite a few items we don't like put in the dryer.  Prior to the change we would just hang them were ever created more chaos in the laundry/storage room.  Once the clothes are dry we are diligent about putting them in their proper place.

Here are the benefits of the change

• Chaos has been tamed in both the laundry/storage room as well as the master bedroom.  Remember my shameful secret about the master bedroom?  I'm happy to report that this new system alleviated the mess of my husband's clothes on top of the dresser.  It's been a month since I've re-organized the laundry/storage area and we've been able to sustain the changes I've made.
• By doing laundry every day we've been able to purge a lot of our towels.  We take between 4-6 showers a day (my son needs to shower after work and my husband showers after the gym), if I only washed towels once a week that would be a lot of towels in the linen closet. 
• As a working mother I don't have a full day available to me for laundry.  Each of us spends about 10 - 15 minutes a day doing our share of the laundry.  This allows us to accomplish a very necessary chore without a huge chunk of time commitment
• The sock monster has been tamed.  Need I say more?

I know that laundry every day doesn't work for everyone but if asked, I would have to say that this is my number one secret to keeping the house organized.

Feel free to share you laundry habits and/or a link to your laundry habits in the comment section.

I'll be linking this up over at We are THAT Family and I'm an Organizing Junkie

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