Ugh. Laundry. I wouldn’t say I like; washing, folding, or anything about it. I would rather scrub toilets than do laundry. That was until I realized I was doing laundry the wrong way this time!

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I’m talking multiple kids and no laundry routine. Eventually, everyone was tired of looking for socks, quickly drying their wrinkled shirts to freshen up on a busy school morning, and running out of underwear. Welcome to our life before.

I recently came across Amy’s post on Raisingarrows.net. She elaborates on how she operates laundry scheduling in her home. Amy is a mom of 10. I honestly thought I had my laundry routine down- until I read hers and realized there is still so much to learn.

Like, a basket system? What? Jordan Paige is another mom of multiple (8 kids), and she shares her laundry hacks and tips on her basket system, and I thought- what the heck? Why didn’t I think of that? I only ever kept laundry baskets in our rooms. Even as a mom to seven, there is much room for improvement, and I’m here for it all!

Hats off to all these mamas who paved the way to manage a home of multiple. The one thing I can respect about us all is that we all have our way. And while many offer tips and tricks and hacks to make life simpler in the home, everyone’s home is not managed the same way. We all have to find what works for us.

My Daily Laundry Routine

• MONDAYS – Bedroom #1 (9 and 10-year-old daughter)
• TUESDAYS – Bedroom #2 ( 7 and 6-old daughter)
• WEDNESDAYS – Bedroom #3 (Boys)
• THURSDAYS– Parentals
• FRIDAYS – Bathrooms and Kitchen towels and mats
• SATURDAYS – White and Living rooms
• SUNDAYS – Jeans

Everyone’s room has a scheduled laundry day; we’re not just talking clothes and socks. We’re talking bed sheets as well. I don’t wash comforters every week. Instead, I wash them once a month, which seems to help even more with time and chaos.

I would spend so many hours sorting through the laundry before washing them and then spend a day or two washing clothes, not including the extra week or two it took me to fold and put away.

Thankfully, the kids got older, and mama got wiser. Finally, a routine and one that works for us!

Our Laundry System

Now that everyone has a day for laundry. It was time to have a system in place. There was no logic in assigning a day to a room for laundry if there was no system to attach it to.

So, I devised a system where each room would have its clothes washed through the night before and then dried the day of its assigned day.

HERE IS HOW IT WORKS

• MONDAYS – Bedroom #1 (Wash clothes Sunday night and dry Monday)
• TUESDAYS – Bedroom #2 ( Wash clothes Monday night and dry Tuesday)
• WEDNESDAYS – Bedroom #3 (Wash clothes Tuesday night and dry Wednesday)

You get the point.

The kicker is that my husband suggested this laundry routine and system. I didn’t come up with this on my own or at all. I was too busy moping and whining and doing laundry. So, ladies, get a husband who loves you and can think for you when you can’t.

The first thing we will do is bring our laundry to the wash before bedtime and have it washed throughout the night. The older kids will do that on their own. Next, I dry their clothes in the morning and get started with their sheets and pillowcases (not their comforter). Finally, the kids will fold and put away their clothes and put their sheets back on their beds and the cases back on their pillows.

Towels are being thrown in the laundry room throughout the week and saved to be washed on the weekends. But we typically go through the whole house collecting towels and mats Thursday evening. Collecting those items takes less than 5 minutes of our evening.

I put the whites on the side in a separate basket in our laundry room as we wash clothes throughout the week and save them for washing on Saturdays. As well as jeans to be cleaned on Sundays. This is about the only sorting we do when washing clothes.

Suppose I need to wash couch cushion covers and throws. It’s easy to grab and wash on the day. I won’t clean those overnight. Living room items don’t need cleaning every week. That’s why I have them assigned to whites on Saturdays. But saving the items to wash during the day is more accessible than washing them at night. Because washing those items involves removing the cushions from their covers. That itself is time-consuming. Hence the reason I have it saved for Saturday- NO SCHOOL DAY! That means all hands on deck.

HOW DOES THIS SYSTEM WORK FOR ME?

Everyone has a goal in mind when figuring out a system. I only had one ultimate goal at the time (besides cleaning the clothes): time management. Time was where I struggled the most. But I knew that if I could figure out how to make time work for me, it was a done deal and an ultimate life savior.

The organization part became my second priority. Fortunately, my kids are a lot older; they are more capable of doing things independently. So on their days, they will do their laundry. For my younger ones – most of them will fold and put away their own set of clothes.

Not only did I squash that goal with this system it also automatically had the organization part aligned. I didn’t have to do much in that area because this system required an organizing function. It took me from two full days of laundry to less than one hour a day on most days/weeks.

It also kept my laundry room clutter-free. I only have things in my laundry room, like towels and whites, which are weekend wash things.

TRIALS AND ERRORS

We all go through trials and errors when finding our way. That’s how we get good at managing. It didn’t work out right away. First, we had to get used to the new system. Though it may sound simple, executing this system was a struggle. We kept forgetting our days, which meant an excess laundry to wash the next day. Eventually, we got the hang of things, and things are working as ordered on most days.

#1. FOOTBALL

My son has football practice every day and on Saturdays but only owns one pair of uniforms. Meaning he needs to wash his uniform every day. Otherwise, anyone in the living room is stuck smelling sweaty football clothes, and my kids get to practice in excess sweat and smelly clothes.

We tried washing his clothes along with those of the assigned day, but that was a mess! Not only did the smell transfer, but it also left some unwanted stains on the other clothes. We had no choice but to have him wash his uniform separately every day. Thankfully, we have a washer/dryer setting for smaller loads.

#2. WHITES

Washing whites daily didn’t work as there weren’t enough whites to pass in one load. Plus, everyone mostly has white socks, so it only made sense to assign a day specifically for whites.

#3. BEDSHEETS

I wasn’t sure where bedsheets would fit into the schedule, so we first tried washing bedsheets on a particular day, but that only took up more time, and my number goal was time management. So we switched to washing everyone’s sheets on their day and discovered that this works much better!

#4. LEARNING TO ROLL WITH IT

I may come off as if I have it all figured out, and since this system is in place and it works for me, everything is as seamless as it appears.

Not true!

Some days there were accidents, and I had to learn to roll with it. I was overly optimistic about my new laundry routine, and I thought for sure- it would minimize loads of hiccups. But it didn’t. We only found a way to manage time and organization, but it didn’t take away our real-life problems. We still have them, unfortunately, but that just life as it is.

For instance, when the kids are sick and puke all over their bedsheets, clothes, towels, and everything else. I am going to need to wash those items right away. On a more positive note: accidents won’t change the system, nor does it throw it off. We continue with it, and it still works fine, despite the many hiccups and accidents.

TIPS AND TRICKS

• STAINS

Use 1-2 tbs of baking soda with every wash, including a half cup of vinegar. You have probably seen this formula everywhere because it works like a charm! I included this formula in my laundry routine, and when I tell you it removes any stains, I am not kidding! It works, and it’s two cheap ingredients. BONUS!

Also, if you have those tough stains, I have used hoover oxy spot stain remover, and WOW! It works wonders. Suppose you have anyone in your home with sensitive skin. Try the first tip. Otherwise, use 1/2 -1 cup of it and mix it in with your laundry detergent. Another excellent stain remover is Resolve for Laundry.

• EXTRA RINSE

Always do an extra rinse after washing whites. Sometimes there can be leftover bleach, which will get on your colored clothes.

• TUMBLE DRY LOW

If you’re like me and have a system that doesn’t require much sorting, you may want to consider drying on the ‘tumble dry low setting. Since clothes are made of different fabrics and textures, not all clothes will do well in high or medium heat. To keep my kid’s clothes shrinkage free – I dry them using the low setting.

• SOCKS

I find it easier to keep socks where the laundry is as my laundry room is in the mud room, where all the shoes are kept. Am I the only one who does this? I know I can’t be. It’s just so much easier to find. I don’t spend a whole ton of time paring socks.

I follow Jordan Paige’s tip on purchasing a solid color for socks, and it works just fine. This way, you don’t have to spend time pairing. You can throw it in the sock basket in the laundry room and have the kids pick a pair in the evening when preparing for school the next day.

If you missed my previous post on How I manage a home with seven kids- you can find it here.

You can also read more about managing a home with seven kids under the Lets Manage tab.