Keeping up with the family laundry is a daunting task no matter the season, but when the kids go back to school and everyone’s calendar is filled with work, classes, and nonstop activities, it becomes a mountain of chaos.
However, you can control them if you follow some tips from cleaning and organization experts.
Get Into a Family Routine
The first step in handling back-to-school laundry is to not let dirty clothes and household linens pile up — the longer you wait, the bigger the job will be and the longer it will take to complete. Whether you wash, dry, and fold a full load as soon as you have enough, or you designate a specific day of the week as laundry day, make a plan and stick to it.
Breaking up the laundry process into smaller tasks will help you keep doing the laundry without overworking yourself.
Prerna Jain, founder of Hygiene Australia, encourages all family members to sort their dirty laundry straight away into designated bins – even setting up separate bins for whites, delicates and colours where everyone can stuff their own dirty laundry.
In addition to the initial sorting, you can teach children how to handle other aspects of the process so that the task doesn’t fall solely on one person.
Jane says, “Depending on their age, they can help sort the laundry, fold the clothes, or arrange the clean clothes. This fosters responsibility and teamwork within the family.”
Keep Things Separate
Sorting, folding, and putting away all seem to be done at the same time, and when there’s a ton of other things to do.
Many people toss dirty clothes into a big laundry basket and have the laundry person put them away from there. With a few tweaks to this plan, you can minimize the stress and mess that comes with folding and putting away. Instead of mixing everything together, separate laundry for each family member and focus on one person’s load at a time.
“Once dry, depending on the age of the family member or child, put the clothes directly back in ‘their’ laundry basket and leave them in their room to put away,” says Amy Motroni, founder of Genius Mom Hacks. “This can save you hours of sorting and folding.”
Keep your socks organized
We all know that washing machines and dryers swallow socks, but one at a time. Motrony has the perfect solution: Place all your socks in a mesh bag, zip it shut, and throw it in the washing machine.
After washing and drying the socks, have your kids arrange them in pairs, one by one, so you can rest assured they’ll be there.
Keep Things Simple
If you’re having trouble allocating laundry days for everyone in the family, try Natalie Vieira, founder of InspireClean, who highlights what she calls the “rule of three.”
“The trick is to break the task down into manageable chunks.”
That means one day for washing, two for drying thoroughly, and a third for folding and organizing clothes and linens. That way, you don’t have to tackle everyone’s dirty laundry at once.
When laundry day arrives, Vieira suggests separating light and dark colors or separate piles for each person, depending on what works for you. If you fall behind on laundry, try catching up on it for a day on the weekend, then aim for a three-day schedule the following week, Vieira says.
Make Machines Work
Modern washers and dryers come with the ability to customize settings and options to suit your load. Adjust the water level according to the load and follow the instructions on the laundry package to use hot or cold water. Your washer should be full, but don’t overload it, as this can lead to clothes not being fully cleaned and damage.
Adjust your dryer settings as well. If you’re drying cotton linens, make sure to choose the right drying cycle so they dry on high heat without shrinking. Following the right settings improves the drying process and saves you time and effort, says Movita Krueger of Movita Home Helpers.
“Consider options like quick wash cycles, start times, and dry times. These features help you finish your load more efficiently and give you better control over your laundry routine,” says Krueger.
Before the new school year begins, experiment with a few options and schedules to find what works best for your family. That way, when classes start again, you’ll be ready to tackle that mountain of laundry with confidence.
