Whether you’ve been doing laundry for 50 years, or your mom just finally gave up on doing yours, I think we all need to revisit the basics every once in a while. Here is the Clutter Free Guide to having clean laundry every single day. (And don’t miss this offer from Grove.co for their free laundry kit. Squee!)
Clean Laundry How Tos:
Remove Stains
The most important thing to know about stain removing?
Do it right away.
The longer you wait, the harder it will be to get that stain out.
I keep a bottle of stain remover right by our laundry basket so I can spray as dirty laundry goes in.
If you have some really tough stains? Here is my sister-in-law Lucinda’s Sure Fire Stain Removal System if you need a little inspiration. I can attest to her method.
Sorting
Each family has it’s own unique sorting piles. Here’s my system:
Anything that wrinkles (my hubby’s work shirts, my cotton shirts and pants, etc.)
Whites
Colored underwear, socks
Delicates (I use these mesh lingerie bags to keep hooks from getting caught on other items or in the washer.)
Jeans, sweats and towels
Everything else (t-shirts, tank tops, pajamas, dishtowels) sometimes combined with jeans, etc.
Sheets
Find the Suds You Love
Laundry pods are a gift from the heavens.
I love just throwing them in the tub and letting the magic go from there.
And these Method pods are perfect for my hubby who hates a strong smell and for me who can be sensitive to soaps.
Summer is the Time for Drying Racks and Clothes Lines
I line dry a lot of my stuff most of the year round (that is the wonderful thing about not having kids at home – we have a bathroom with a tub that is never used. OK, one of the wonderful things…) but in the summer, I move my operation outside so that I can take advantage of the fresh air and sun that makes drying faster. I’ve used this Amazon Basics Foldable Drying Rack for years and absolutely love it (and it folds up pretty flat for times it needs to be put away.)
When You Do Need to Dry Things: Experience the Magic of the Wool Ball
OK – these things are magic.
MAGIC. They left me with soft clothes, no static cling, and no added chemicals or weird, chemically smell. And they last for 1000 loads.
What!?!
Oh – and I can just leave them in the dryer between loads?
I am a wool ball convert.
You just throw the three balls in with your load in the dryer and they act the same as dryer sheets. Only better for the environment, less expensive, and awesome.
OH – and if you want a little fragrance? Customize a laundry scent that will make you smile every time you get a whiff of your clothing. Just pick your favorite essential oil and apply a few dabs to your wool dryer balls for a fresh load of laundry.
I can’t tell you how happy this makes me.
The Secret to Clean Laundry – Putting it Away (and why that is the hardest part to actually accomplish)
Laundry isn’t done until it’s put away. For years I was great at the wash, dry and fold… and then well that’s when I pooped out. Because:
It felt like I’d done enough.
Honestly, putting the clothes away was the hardest part.
What I realized was that I resisted putting the clean laundry away because my drawers and closet were already so jam-packed, there was no place to put the clean clothes. It was so much easier just living out of a laundry basket.
But it really wasn’t.
What changed my whole attitude about putting laundry away was cleaning out my drawers of all the things that I wasn’t wearing – you know – the layer at the bottom with the t-shirts that aren’t cute, the sweats that don’t fit, and the PJs that are uncomfortable, but you keep, just in case you’re on vacation and all your favorite pajamas are in your luggage that gets lost on your trip to Chicago (we cluttery people are the best at worst-case scenarios…)
So before doing your next load of laundry, unload your drawers of all the clothes you don’t wear on the regular. Your last step, “put away” will be so much easier.
Spend a few minutes now to make your laundry a much more enjoyable experience every single day. (And think of me while you’re doing it, just feeling so satisfied in the fact that you kinda like doing laundry now that it’s not scattered all over your bedroom…)
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Day six of the Spring Fling and it’s time to come clean … and organize the laundry room.
It is my pit of shame. Oh friends. I can’t even believe I am showing you the before picture…
It Gets Better in the Laundry Room
Yes, my laundry area gets CRAZY, but the good news is that I know it will not be an all day project to get it back to functional. This is a picture of what my laundry area looks like after 30 minutes.
When you know it will only take 30 minutes to get back to functioning, it’s easier to not put it off for months on end.
Instructions:
Set up your three boxes/totes and two bags.
Clear off one surface at a time – first the washer, then the dryer so you have a clear space to work off.
Condense boxes. Have a place for single socks (we all have them).
Don’t let outgrown/old/nobody wants them clothes linger in the laundry area. This is valuable real estate friend. Make it as functional as possible.
Bonus:
Once you clear the space, put something inspirational up there. I’m going to print off a sign with this quote by Fred Rogers:
I believe that appreciation is a holy thing – that when we look for what’s best in a person we happen to be with at the moment, we’re doing what God does all the time. So in loving and appreciating our neighbor, we’re participating in something sacred.”
I mean, won’t that make cleaning socks for those we love a holy act of service?
Share Your Fling
After you fling, either tell us about it or share a picture in the comments. Remember, each day (at the end of the Fling) there will be one winner, randomly drawn from the comments, who will receive a copy of The Cure for the Perfect Life from Kathi Lipp and Cheri Gregory. So share below and tell us about your fling.
Day six of the Spring Fling and it’s time to come clean … and organize the laundry room.
It is my pit of shame. Oh friends. I can’t even believe I am showing you the before picture…
It Gets Better in the Laundry Room
Yes, my laundry area gets CRAZY, but the good news is that I know it will not be an all day project to get it back to functional. This is a picture of what my laundry area looks like after 30 minutes.
When you know it will only take 30 minutes to get back to functioning, it’s easier to not put it off for months on end.
Instructions:
Set up your three boxes/totes and two bags.
Clear off one surface at a time – first the washer, then the dryer so you have a clear space to work off.
Condense boxes. Have a place for single socks (we all have them).
Don’t let outgrown/old/nobody wants them clothes linger in the laundry area. This is valuable real estate friend. Make it as functional as possible.
Bonus:
Once you clear the space, put something inspirational up there. I’m going to print off a sign with this quote by Fred Rogers:
I believe that appreciation is a holy thing – that when we look for what’s best in a person we happen to be with at the moment, we’re doing what God does all the time. So in loving and appreciating our neighbor, we’re participating in something sacred.”
I mean, won’t that make cleaning socks for those we love a holy act of service?
Share Your Fling
After you fling, either tell us about it or share a picture in the comments. Remember, each day (at the end of the Fling) there will be one winner, randomly drawn from the comments, who will receive a copy of The Cure for the Perfect Life from Kathi Lipp and Cheri Gregory. So share below and tell us about your fling.
Find a system that works that will keep you current with laundry. If you do not have one, here is what we use:
In our hall, we have four, 30 inch tall, plastic laundry hampers. Each one is a different type of laundry:
* Whites
*Colored underwear
*Everyday clothes
*Jeans, towels, sweats
This helps all of us to be able to sort the laundry quickly and easily.
Step Two: Sort It Out
Get your laundry room area cleaned out in order to be most efficient. This might take an afternoon if your area is small. If it is larger, I suggest taking fifteen minutes a day to get it in order. The best tip I have for this step is that we have a permanent “Give Away ” box in our laundry area for our clothes our kids have outgrown. When the box gets full, I take it to Good Will.
Getting rid of clutter can be a blessing to someone else as well. {click to tweet}
Step 3: Clean It Up
Before you start stocking up the shelves, give them and your washer and dryer a good wipe down. Deep cleaning makes any space a good one.
Step 4: Label It and Put It Away
This is the fun part! Label everything in order to make it easy to find. Some examples are stain removers, dryer socks, and socks (Mismatched Socks might be a better title sometimes).
Step 5: Keep It Up
The best way to keep up with laundry is to do it every day. The other thing that will make your life a lot easier is to remember this rule: Until the clothes are put away your laundry isn’t done. Just because the clothes are clean, and dry does not mean the laundry is done.
These steps will change laundry from something you dread to something that you can get done quickly in order to bring blessing to your self and your family.
