7 Different Laundry Routines
When I work with moms, there’s a common task they feel overwhelmed by, and that’s laundry.
It’s never ending. Just when you think you’re ahead, there’s another pile to be washed or folded.
And forget about washing bedsheets…especially when you have young kids. You have to strip the bed, wash the sheets, put fresh sheets on the bed. This could take all day or longer if your little ones need your attention.
However, if you can find a laundry routine that works for you (even if not always done perfectly), you can reap the benefits of no longer feeling so overwhelmed by laundry while resting assured that everyone has clean clothes.
I put together this round-up post of laundry routines so you can look at how others manage this task, and gain inspiration to create your own laundry routine.
I’m also sharing my laundry routine that I’ve followed for 5 or 6 years. I can’t remember how I started this routine, but I’m pretty sure I adapted it from someone else’s routine to meet my needs.
An important key in attempting something new, like a routine, is that you have to be OK with it not going perfectly. Just don’t give up on it completely. This is how I’ve created most of my habitual, effective routines in my life – trying someone else’s routine, failing, figuring out how to modify it for my life, not giving up.
The above may sound a bit dramatic, but you can do the same thing with your laundry routine.
#1 – My Laundry Routine
This is a pretty simple laundry routine I’ve been using for 5 or 6 years. Basically, I designate each day to someone’s laundry, towels, or bedsheets.
I always start a load of laundry as part of my morning routine, and then transfer it over throughout the day. By night time, I’ve finished two loads of laundry. This DOES NOT include folding laundry. My kids fold and put away their own laundry.
Incorporating your kids can be a major pain, and you’ll definitely get a lot of complaining and push back, but I started having my kids put their clothes away at 4 or 5 years old. When they were this young, I would fold their clothes and then they would put them in their closet/dresser. Once they turned 8 years old, they had to fold their own clothes and put them away. My oldest son is 11 years old and he’s fully responsible for his laundry now on his designated day – washing, drying, and putting way.
The expectation is that clean laundry is put away by Wednesday. If the kids don’t have their clothes put away by this time, no screens or playtime. Check out this post to see how I’ve “encouraged” my kids to help out more and create good habits.
I want to emphasize again that training the kids throughout this laundry process was not easy. There were a lot of arguments about how I thought it should be done versus what they were doing. They still argue with me on occasion to try to get out of putting their clothes away.
But years later, I’m so happy I stuck it out. When my son comes downstairs with his laundry basket, and starts his laundry in the washing machine, I feel proud that at least he won’t go out in the world not knowing how to use a washing machine.
Ok, enough about training your kids. Here’s my laundry routine:
Monday – I do my younger son’s laundry.
Tuesday – My older son does his laundry. He can’t play video games, watch TV, or hang with friends until it’s complete.
Wednesday – I do my laundry.
Thursday – I do wash all towels in the house.
Friday – One set of bed sheets. I alternate beds every week. With three beds, this means we all have clean sheets once every three weeks.
Saturday – None
Sunday – My husband does his laundry.
Both my kids play sports, so depending on the season, there might be more laundry. However, my older son has started taking responsibility for making sure his baseball uniform, and football uniform are washed prior to games.
I’m never overwhelmed by the state of our laundry because I’m confident in my plan to get it done.
One last note, I use my Google Tasks to schedule the laundry for each day.
#2 – HappyNest shares “Laundry Day vs. Laundry Every Day – Two Methods that Really Work“
In this post, you’ll find the steps to make every day laundry part of your daily routine.
#3 – Living Well Mom shares “How to Make Your Laundry Routine Effortless (in 10 minutes)“
In this post, Living Well Mom shares how she manages laundry with four kids, a dog, cats, rabbits and 27 chickens! Her schedule is similar to mine, but with more people to incorporate.
#4 – Organized with Kids shares “Laundry Simplified: The Essential Routine that Changed My Life“
In this post, Sarah from Organized with Kids shares her 5 steps for a simplified laundry routine. She even shares tips on how to use the laundry process to access if you actually need all those clothes you’re washing!
#5 – Clean My Space shares “My Simple and Efficient Laundry Routine“
In this post, Melissa Maker from Clean My Space shares her laundry routine. More specifically, she talks about how often she cleans her microfiber cleaning cloths and towels (which is what I use), and her towels and washcloths.
#6 – Household Management 101 shares “Keeping Up with Wash When You Do Your Laundry at the Laundromat“
If you use the laundromat to wash and dry your laundry, then this post shares a bunch of different routines for getting it done!
#7 – Fun, Cheap or Free shares her “How I Do My Laundry! Unconventional Laundry Hacks, Tips, and Tricks”
This post shares a ton of laundry tips, and how to tackle laundry when you have a large family. If you’re interested in a laundry routine you can do in one day, give this post a try.
What Laundry Routine Will Work for You?
Now you’ve taken a glimpse into other’s laundry routines. What routine will you start implementing? Or maybe you learned a little from all the posts and will create your own routine? Whatever you choose to do, I hope you found this helpful in reducing the overwhelm that comes with never ending laundry.
Before you leave, grab The “Type A” Moms Guide to Feel Organized + In Control of Your Time, for FREE. You’ll find it here.
