See if you can relate to this laundry scenario:

You have 5+ loads of clothes that must be washed today.  You have a 5 minute break in your schedule, so now is the perfect time to roll the laundry (take the clean, dry load out of the dryer, put the wet clothes on to tumble and put a new, dirty load in the washer).

You take the clothes from the dryer and toss them onto the bed.  You’ve got time to put the wet clothes in the dryer and start a fresh load in the washer.

But what about the clean clothes you’ve put on the bed?  You don’t possibly have time to fold them right now.

You can certainly choose not to fold them right now, but that’s going to create one cold, wrinkly pile of clothes you’ll have to deal with later.

So just deal with them now.  Here is a quick way when you don’t have much time.

(Click on the picture to see exactly what is in each pile.)

Underwear and Socks

Put all of the underwear in a pile and all of the socks into a separate pile.  These two items don’t need to be folded immediately, as they can be wrinkly and it really won’t matter.

Shirts and T-shirts

Hold the t-shirt by the shoulder seams and give it a good flap to get out the initial wrinkles.  Then lay it flat on the bed.  Repeat this same process with every t-shirt in the basket.  Simply lay them on top of one another.  They’ll appear slightly wrinkled but they’ll be fine once you fold them.

If it’s a shirt that needs to be hung on a hanger, lay them flat on your folding surface or bed in a single layer only.  Don’t put another shirt on top of it.

Jeans and Pants

If your load consists of jeans, take one pair out at the time.  Hold it by the waistband and give it a good, hard flap.  Then lay it out flat on your folding surface.  You can lay several pairs on top of one another without causing them to become wrinkly.  Follow the same method for most any pair of long pants or shorts.

Sheets and Towels

I personally cannot stand to fold wrinkly sheets, so I pull them out quickly and just lay them flat.  Interestingly enough, I can deal pretty easily with wrinkly towels, so I just leave them until I can work them in later in the day or evening.

If you could care less about wrinkly towels or sheets, simply leave them until later.

Now What?

So you now have these piles of clothes lying all over your folding surface or bed.  So now what?

Well, you’ll have to fold them.

Laying them out this way only buys you time if you have to get the next load of laundry going.  Unfortunately, it does not save you the trouble of folding them or the even more dreaded task of getting them put away.

How Often Should You Use This Method?

Choice #1:
Sparingly.

I do this maybe once or twice a week, at the most.  I don’t want to get in the habit of doing clothes with this method because it’s one of the few habits I have going for me these days!

When I do use this method, I have all of them waiting for me when I come upstairs for the evening and then I have to spend the time folding them and putting them away because they are on my bed.  And that makes me want to cry, because my bed is just calling for me to come get in it.

So I try really hard to get them all folded and put away prior to 4pm every day.

Choice #2:
Weekly.

Maybe you are a wash-once-a-week type of laundress.  If that’s the case, you may choose to save all of the folding until all of the loads are completed.  Turn on your favorite show from the DVR and fold away.

So what do you do when you have to move the laundry along but don’t have time to fold?

Nony from A Slob Comes Clean is by far, one of my favorite bloggers.  She is brutally honest about her deslobification (her word) journey.  Her genuine, realistic portrayal of her home is why people relate to her so well.

Well, today is the day.  Nony has written 28 Days to Hope for Your Home and it is finally released today!

Y’all, I’ve read it cover to cover and it is really good.

Take note that this ebook is not for the mildy disorganized.  If you are a person that looks for every opportunity to purge clutter, you mop your kitchen floor every Tuesday morning at 10 am or you can find a specific receipt any time you need it, then this book is not for you.

However, if you feel completely lost in where to start with getting your home under control, this ebook is going to be worth your time.

Nony helps you develop 4 habits in 4 weeks.  This is very do-able and will give you hope that your house won’t always be a disaster.

Because it won’t.  Nony is living proof of that.

28 Days to Hope for Your Home includes:

• Twenty-eight days of specific instructions to help you develop four basic (but essential) home management habits.
• Insights into why these concepts seem foreign to you.
• Practical tips to keep you from giving up.
• Bonus sections with realistic strategies for laundry management, meal prep, and decluttering.
• More than 45 pages of all new, exclusive content!

Nony is offering the book at $7.99, but during the month of February it is only $4.00.

Why Should You Order It?

I told you that I’ve read it.  And it’s good.  My Laundry Life is in fantastic shape.  But the rest of my home?  It’s not always so de-cluttered and sparkly…if ever.

Nony wrote this from a mother’s perspective, in that it is very practical help.  She knows the shame of having a house that is a disaster and how isolating that feels.  She knows what it is like  to hope that the doorbell doesn’t ring all day because you could never invite the ringer inside.

Did I mention she has a section on laundry management?  Oh yes ma’am, she does.

I’m excited to start her 4 habits.  Even though I do pretty okay on those habits, I definitely need her encouragement to keep on keepin’ on.

And you should also buy it because she is hilariously funny.  Really.  Very, very funny.

28 Days to Hope for Your Home could forever change the way your home looks and feels.  Company could stop over without you having to play Nobody’s Home.  You could have an impromptu dinner guest without having to shove everything in the guest room.  It could really be life-changing, if you let it.

To order your digital copy (which downloads right to your computer, of course) just click over to A Slob Comes Clean.

Disclosure: The links used in this post are affiliate links.  The opinions expressed are 100% mine.  For more information, please see Mama’s Disclosure Policy.

That can be a lot of work for some families.  It’s very worth it in the end, but I don’t want to sugar coat the fact that it can be hard to figure out the whole laundry routine concept.

I always find it refreshingly helpful to read how other people do things.  I love to see how other people store their favorite recipes or keep their floors clean or how they incorporate young children into their cleaning routines.

So I’ve been a busy bee creating a list of Laundry Routines for you to peruse.  I’ve given each of them a little description so you can easily see right off the bat if it will work for your family. There is no need for you to read a laundry routine about a mom of 6 if you and your husband or wife are empty-nesters.

Read through the routines and see if there are some you think would work for your family.  Then get you a routine in place, work it for awhile, and come back and tell me all about it!

Examples of Laundry Routines from Real Families

Welcome to Langan Land – This mom of 5 shares her best laundry secrets including not folding laundry and doing a load (or two) every day.

Malisa Price – Malisa shows a detailed look at the laundry routine of just two people.

Pretty Organized Palace – This mom of 6 shares tips on how she doesn’t sort clothes and how to kick anyone over the age of 10 out of her laundry regimen.  It’s a beautiful system she’s got here.

Mother of Fashion – This mom has good tips like washing each room’s clothes on a specific day of the week and throwing away matchless socks.  Yes, throwing away.  It’s drastic, but I’m sure it works.

Gospel Homemaking – Diligently washing 1-2 loads of laundry per day

Household Management 101 – Taylor describes her simple laundry routine and has a whole round-up of reader-submitted laundry routines.

4 Kids or More – This blog’s name obviously implies it is geared towards larger families.  Scroll through the comments for brilliant laundry routine ideas.  Some are really well-thought out.

Black Flip Flops – Now this is so smart.  This mama completely changes the way she thinks of laundry and uses it as a timer.

Homeschool Classroom – An example of a simple laundry routine where she eliminates unmatched socks.  (I see a theme here with the refusal to manage the mate-less socks!)

If you’re on Pinterest, I created a Laundry Routines board that I’ll update frequently.  If you need a Pinterest invitation, let me know and I’ll send you one!

So do you have a tried-and-true laundry routine that works for your family?  Tell us all about it and why it works.  If you’ve blogged about it, feel free to leave the permalink to your Laundry Routine Post.

Dear Laundry Friends,

I’m working on a project and need your help.

Have you written about your laundry routine on your blog?  Do you have a post dedicated to how you (or your spouse or your kiddos) get the laundry washed and put away in your own home?

If you wouldn’t mind my featuring it, please send me the link in an email.

Thanks bunches.

Love,
Mama Laundry  xoxo

There is a lot of laundry routine talk here at Mama’s this week.  I’ve had a huge surge in Google traffic over the past few days, as people are searching for ways to help get their Laundry Lives out of chaos mode.

If you need help with those initial baby steps of starting a laundry routine, head over to In a Nutshell.  Today I wrote on how to get rolling with those First Steps in Starting a Laundry Routine.

Have questions about how to get started with a laundry routine?  Or how to maintain one?  Ask away.

When I first started this little laundry blog back in December 2010, I had no idea that so many people would want to read about laundry.  Over the course of that time, I have discovered there are three types of readers here at Mama’s.  The first of those are people who have a laundry routine and genuinely enjoy the art of laundry.  They see laundry as one of the more pleasurable of household tasks.

Second are the readers who have some type of problem: they washed and dried a pocketful of crayons or they want to know the best way to wash a stuffed animal or they need a tutorial on how to replace the elastic in their cloth diapers.

And then there is the third crowd of readers.  They are the ones who are struggling with getting the laundry washed, dried and then put away.  They have no routine in place and they have no idea how to establish a routine.  They are sick and tired of just haphazardly washing clothes here and there and never making any real progress.

Getting Your Laundry Life in Order

Honestly?  That third group of readers is precisely why I started this blog.

I like laundry.  Some days I would say that I even love it.  I know a decent amount of the science behind laundry and I know my way around the laundry room pretty well.  (Know that I don’t say this in a boasting way.  Believe me, my crummy floors will tell you I am no Superwoman when it comes to Home Management.)

From the many emails I’ve received this year, I know that many of you have worked hard to improved your Laundry Lives during 2011.  And many of the tools you used were straight from helpful posts here at Mama’s Laundry Talk.

So if you’re looking to work on your own Laundry Life in the coming year, read through a few of the most viewed posts in 2011.  You might find a few new-to-you ideas that could help you refine your laundry routine.  It could be just the idea to help you really put your laundry in maintenance mode.

How to Start a Laundry Routine – Don’t know where to start in establishing a laundry routine?  Start here with these questions.

Why a Laundry Routine is Important – Not convinced you need a laundry routine?  Read on.  Prepare to feel free once you get it in place.

Laundry Routine: Stay at Home Moms – Sample laundry routines for those who stay at home

Laundry Routine: Working Moms – Sample laundry routines for those moms who work outside of the home or who work at home.  There are several scenarios for you to think through.

Creating a Weekly Laundry Plan – This literally takes 5 minutes to think about and create.  But a weekly laundry plan?  Saves oodles of time.

Make a Laundry Date – This goes hand in hand with creating a weekly plan and helps you think through that process.

Changing Your Laundry Schedule – If your current laundry routine isn’t working, give some thought as to what you can change to make it more smooth.  I give my example in this post.

If you are currently drowning in laundry, start here:

10 Steps to Getting Your Laundry Pile Under Control – A must read for those of you completely overwhelmed with your laundry pile.  But this only works on crisis mode – you need to develop a routine to get into maintenance mode.

Last December, I wrote about 3 Immediate Ways to Reduce Your Laundry Pile.  Today, I have 3 more ways for you to permanently make your laundry piles smaller.  And isn’t that what we all want?  I sure do.

Wear the same clothes all day long

You may have children who change clothes once they get home from school.  Or you wear a uniform to work and then change into something else once you return home in the evening.

Unless they are icky and gross, try having everyone wear the same clothes all day until bedtime.  When kids change clothes 2 and 3 times a day, that makes for a lot of extra laundry.

This won’t work for everyone, but it can eliminate a decent amount of laundry for those of you who have children that change clothes a hundred times a day.

Wear the Same ‘House Clothes’ More Than Once

While the above tip will work for some, I realize there are some of you that must change clothes after getting home in the evenings.  Wearing a suit or nice dress clothes late into the evening just doesn’t make sense.

So if you must change into a different set of clothes each evening, try re-wearing those same house clothes the next day. If you haven’t spilled anything or sweated in them, there’s no reason why you can’t re-wear that set of house clothes the next day.

Simply hang up your lounge clothes or fold them neatly and put them back in the drawer for your next wear.

Purge the Amount of Clothes in the Closet

You see that there are 8 t-shirts in your son’s drawer, so you know it will be awhile before you need to wash again.  However, if he has 23 t-shirts total and they aren’t washed until he is down to the last one, you’ve got a huge laundry pile on your hands.

Purge your clothes (and  your children’s!) to a reasonable amount of items.  The fewer clothes you have, the more often you’ll wash them since you will actually have to wear them in a reasonable amount of time.

Purging your clothes is a little like sabotaging yourself.  It forces you to wash clothes more often so you’ll actually have something to wear.  Having clean clothes to wear is a nice incentive for most of us.

So how do you consistently keep your laundry pile from growing out of control?

Putting away the laundry is the worst part of the whole “washing clothes” job, right?  It is to me.  And judging from the emails I receive, it’s the worst part for y’all too.

I’ve said many times here at Mama’s that a load of laundry is not complete until it is folded and put in its correct place.

And most days?  That piece of it is hard.

We won’t go into the fact that I don’t want to put the laundry away.  Or I’m waiting on someone besides me to actually do it.  Or that I’m dreaming of the day we live in a house with a family closet so I don’t have to walk all over creation to 4 different sets of dresser drawers.

My Secret to Getting it Done

My solution?

I sabotage myself.

I usually fold clothes on my bed.  My room is right down the hall from the washer and dryer, so it’s a natural place to dump the basket and fold.  Also, my bed is a little higher so my back doesn’t hurt quite as much from bending over as I fold.

But my real reason is to force myself to actually put the clothes away.

I can’t get into my bed if it’s piled high with folded laundry.  And to prevent my dresser from looking like a nightmare, I can’t possibly put those folded clothes on top of it.  My favorite chair is in our room and that is really the only other spot to clutter up put anything.  I can’t do that because then I can’t sit in my favorite spot for 2.5 minutes of peace.

So putting them away it is.

Why I Never Put Folded Laundry in a Basket

If our folded laundry ever ends up in a basket, it will be days before it is ever put away.

And I’m being dead serious when I say ‘days’.  As in 6 or 7.

I won’t tell you that the laundry in that basket in the picture was sitting there for 2 weeks. 

So why torture myself with the guilt of looking at laundry baskets full of folded clothes every day? I have a million other things I can (and do) feel guilty about. I don’t need laundry to be one of those things.

Mama’s Method to Putting Up Laundry

I round up everyone that can walk and point them to their particular piles on my bed.  I have them put everything away that they are capable of, reminding them to keep it folded to the best of their ability.

And I try not to cringe knowing that the clothes I have just folded so nicely are now being thrown and shoved into drawers.

But the result?  It’s so worth it.  After they are put away, I can lie down in my bed (that’s been calling my name since I left it early that morning) feeling guilt-free about my Laundry Life. 

So what are your tricks for getting the laundry put away? 

I’m thrilled to let y’all know that I am now a contributing writer in the Home & Garden section of In a Nutshell.  In a Nutshell is the blog portion of About One.

I’ll write mostly on laundry topics with occasional posts on other Home oriented topics.

If you need a little encouragement to get a laundry routine in place, head on over and read “3 Ways a Laundry Routine Will Make Your Life Easier”.

Should you wash your regular clothes with towels and sheets?

The short answer: Definitely not.

But what’s the harm in it?  They’re all dirty items that need to be laundered, right?  So what’s the big deal with it?

3 Reasons Why You Should NOT Wash Clothes with Towels & Sheets

• Towels are notorious lint-producers
  If you wash a load of fairly new towels, you’ll notice that there is an enormous amount of lint in the dryer screen.  Towels are natural lint producers (love that cotton!).  While the dryer screen acquires much of the lint, it still gets all over clothes.  And some fabrics attract that lint like a magnet.  And that lint?  It’s a painto remove.
   
  Don’t trust me?  Try washing a black pair of pants with an all-cotton white towel.  I can promise you’ll have a tough time trying to get the lint off with a  lint brush.

 

• Clothes get trapped inside sheets
  Due to their size and design, sheets tend to ball up in the washer and dryer.  When spinning in the washer, sheets trap other smaller items inside of them.  When those clothes are trapped, they don’t have the opportunity to rub against other clothes.  This agitation is partly what gets the laundry clean in the first place.
   
  Likewise, if clothes are balled up inside a sheet in the dryer they’ll come out wet.  Even if you have a damp-sensor in your dryer they’ll still come out wet, since the sensor perceives the outside of the sheet to be dry.

 

• Towels and sheets need to be washed on a hot, long wash cycle
  Regular clothes don’t typically need to be washed on hot, nor on a long wash cycle.  With just normal wear, clothes can be washed on a ‘regular’ setting and don’t need the heavy-duty wash.  If you do wash them on a hot/long cycle consistently, they’ll look old quickly.
   
  Towels and sheets always need to be washed on hot and on a long wash cycle.  You’ve slept on those sheets for about a week your skin cells and sweat are all over them.  You’ve used those towels a couple of times (at least) and your skin cells are all over those too.  And possibly mold and mildew if you didn’t hang them up well.Towels and sheets are made from sturdy cottons and can take the trauma of always washing them so hard.  To get really clean, they need to be washed on this setting every time.

 

• Washing underwear and towels together is just wrong.
  Think about it: ladies (usually) have nice, lacy underwear.  That is expensive.  Do you really want to put that in the same load as the nasty towel you used to wipe up the spilled milk?  Or the bath towel your son used for 9 nights in row?  You don’t.  Trust me.
   
  Some machines have a dirty water sensor.  The sensors determine how dirty the water is and can adjust the wash cycle for longer if it thinks the load is really gross.  So assume your underwear just needs the normal washing as it usually would and you’ve put it in the washer with those gross towels listed above.  Your washer is going to sense how nasty the towels are and run a longer wash cycle.

 
What does this mean for your underwear?  It is going to look old and soon.  Anytime clothes are washed (agitated) for a long time, they start to look old before their time.  It can also cause the elastic to break down sooner.  For something delicate like underwear, it can even cause the seaming to come apart since lace and those type fabrics are typically not as sturdy as a heavy cotton.  For long lasting underwear, treat them gently.

Exceptions to the ‘Wash Towels & Sheets Alone’ Rule

If you are in college, you are allowed to wash your towels, sheets, and clothes altogether.  Money for washing clothes is hard to come by while in college, so just be as efficient with your washing machine money as you can be.  Most of you only use one towel or so a week, right?

If you are washing a load of sick laundry, you are excused from the rule.  You know the kind:  your child has vomited half the night and you’d like to put towels, sheets, mattress pads and pajamas in the washer at one time.  Just do it.  Make sure to use bleach and put on the ‘Sanitize’ cycle if you have one.  And then sanitize your washer.  Bleh.

So I must know.  Do you wash your towels/sheets with your regular dirty laundry?  Don’t worry – I’m not passing judgment!  Just curious what my readers typically do.