Then one day a few years ago my mom (who was staying at my house and at that moment was helping me with the laundry) told me that one of her friends never ever took her clothes out of the dryer and put them into a basket. She folded them as she took them out. Then she put them away. I remember how I laughed and said something to the effect of "how nice for her, but she doesn't have young kids, so she has the time. I don't have the time to do that!" And I continued to pull clothes out of the dryer, put them in a basket and haul them to my room to sit until I could find time after my 4 children had gone to bed so that I could fold and iron and put them away.
For some reason, a few months after that conversation with my mom, I decided to try the whole "fold when you take them out of the dryer" thing. W-O-W!! Talk about LIFE CHANGER!! Seriously. It is true. It changed my life. This is the way my laundry life goes now...
a) first thing each morning, when I wake up the kids, I gather the laundry from the laundry baskets in each room.
b) I walk into the laundry room, throw the clothes in to washer and start it.
c) get kids to school, work out, come home and throw clothes in dryer.
d) shower & dress. walk to dryer. pull clothes out, ONE AT A TIME, folding as I pull them out. I put them in piles on the dryer. Then, when I am done, I take each pile to the correct room and put the clothes away.... (I also use this opportunity to make sure all beds are made and rooms are clean- I love doing 2 things at once).
e) I am DONE with laundry for the day!! I have racks next to the dryer where I hang clothes that need to be ironed or that need to air dry. I honestly cannot remember the last time that I had laundry build up!!! It is a miracle system. Sometimes I feel that it is hard to justify the 5 minutes that it takes to fold the clothes as I pull them out.... but I refuse to ever again take a load out of the dryer and toss them in a basket. It is not always easy, but it is EASIER!! Give it a try... you'll love it. I do!!
3 comments:
Oh my gosh, you sound just like me. I dont have a problem getting the clothes washed and in the dryer but then i throw it on my laundry table and it piles up for a week before I actually take an entire evening to fold,iron and put away. I HATE HATE HATE it!
My mom told me that my grandma did the whole fold and put away imediately thing, and that she swears by it. I have never tried it but you have given me the motivation to try. As of last night I am completely caught up with laundry and its folded and put away. So tommorow willbe the start. I will give it a try this week. Wish me luck. =)
Your system sounds like a good one -- I love hearing about household solutions, especially for moms so they can be happier about their work. :o]
I do a HUGE laundry day. Well, now two huge laundry days a week. Dump the dry clothes right onto my bed. Then I hack at it during the day (sometimes) Either way, I don't go to bed until the task is ALLLLL done.
gotta love laundry. Never-ending fun.
Good for you! I will tell Dixie about it. You have inspired me too. However it is much easier now that all of my kids are grown. I am practically perfect at it now! Ü
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