Allison had a great idea to help make her laundry room a part of her home...
Here is the post to the group along with an assignment and questions...
Are we ready to move on to the next area?
When I wrote the below...I had everyone work on their bedrooms first...but I thought we would get this area in order first because I think in most cases...this is a smaller room and tends to be a catch all for things we don't know what to do with. Laundry rooms can be areas that are tucked away and never seen so we get into the habit of putting stuff there and shutting the doors and walking away without finding them a home. Before we know it...the clutter bug starts to take over!
In our current home...the laundry room is very small and did not take that much time to do...however...it leads to the only bathroom we have downstairs and one that we direct our guests to. I want to keep this area as clutter free as possible. I also want to make this nook of an area a nice entry way to the bathroom. I will share with you some ideas I have for this little room later on in the week.
Here is Part One with the assignment/questions at the bottom...
~Laundry Room~Part One~
I hope that by the time you have reached this part of the house, in your decluttering journey, that you will have greatly reduced the amount of clothes, those clothes that create mountainous piles of laundry. The greatest tip I can give here is to reduce the amount of clothing you have. Simplify what you wear and you will simplify those piles that never seem to go away and continue to grow and grow. Find what it is that causes you so much work and stress and figure out how to make life easier for yourself and your family.
Earlier I shared a laundry schedule that works for our family. Mondays I will do my laundry which includes Blaine and my dirty clothes and bed linens. Tuesdays Sarah (10 year dd) does the same, Wednesdays David (8 year ds) does his laundry, Thursday Lillian (13 year old dd) has the opportunity to do hers and Fridays we gather anything left and do the laundry to prepare for the weekend. Please note the my children do their own laundry. Here is another great tip...teach your children how to take care of their own clothing. Take the time to show them how to use the washer and dryer and how to fold and put away their own clothes.
Start by showing them how to separate the clothes. Make a game out of it by making an area for whites, darks, jeans and towels (or however you choose) and see if your child can put items in the correct spot. If they come across something tricky stop to explain why it goes in a different pile. Explain why we do this and how towels will make pills on that favorite shirt/blouse should they be washed together.
Next step is showing them how fold. When they hear the buzzer, this should be something they listen out for and be aware that they need to tune in to hearing the buzzer/timer so that they can get their clothing out in time and not have a cold pile of wrinkled laundry. If they do they will soon learn how to iron or they will walk around in wrinkled clothing. This lesson of wearing wrinkled clothing may sound harsh but I promise you that if they see the difference in their clothing and do not wish to walk around looking wrinkled and unkempt...they will learn to listen out for the dryer buzzer. May I also add a note here to mothers that if you are instructing your children to do these things that you must be a good example yourselves...need I say more on this? Also in this category is hanging clothing up properly. Many times you can save yourself ironing an article of clothing by simply hanging it up right from the dryer and placing it correctly on the hanger you are using so that if there are any wrinkles, the weight of the clothing will pull them out. I do this with Blaine's dress pants. I match up the bottom cuffs, line them up with the inseam and creases, and hang by the bottom cuffs. If I were to just fold them up or hang over a hanger without lining everything up then when it comes time to press them I have caused myself more work.
After accomplishing the sorting and folding/hanging it is time to teach your children how to load the washer properly. Explain what happens to your clothes if your overstuff. Clothing will not clean as well and because they are crammed in you will cause more wrinkles. It may seem easier by not having as much to load up but in the end you will create more work for yourself by having to iron all those wrinkles out. I have the children use a timer for the washer so that they can transfer clothing from the washer into the dryer. What about using hot or cold water? Cottons will shrink if used in hot water, etc. Again, explain the importance of getting the clothing out and shaking the clothing as you place them into the dryer. Shaking each item out helps reduce wrinkles and drying time.
The timer is a great tool and reminder so that you will not forget that you have clothes in the washer. I have learned this lesson! I can get sidetracked very easily and forget. The end result is a washer full of moldy and mildewing clothes, more work, time wasted not to mention water that was used and will have to be used to hopefully get rid of the mildew smell. Ironing will be according to age and the responsibility of your individual child. Where one may be mature enough to handle another child the same age may not. I leave that up to your discretion and most importantly, when dealing with electrical and hot irons, your supervision.
When you are doing laundry, be sure to complete the job from start to finish. The wonderful thing we have today versus what our grandmothers and great grandmothers had when they did laundry should save us time not create less of it. The modern conveniences we have should give us much more free time and yet compared to them we really waste the extra time given to us...time our grandmothers would have and I'm sure dreamed of having.
Before I get any emails regarding this matter of time, please know that I understand how busy a young mother can be. It has not been that long ago when MrsCatherine had four small ones running about and the feelings of being overwhelmed at all that had to be accomplished in a day. I also know the extra work I created for myself by not being disciplined in my duties. My hope is that I can pass on some of the things I have learned to do and not to do on to you...to make those duties easier and allow you some of that free time.
I cannot stress the importance of teaching your little ones how to cook, clean and do laundry. If you don't teach them now while they are under your care, how and when will they learn? If you complain because of all the dirty clothes and how your children carelessly throw their clothes about...my first question to you will be have you taught them how? Have you really sat down with them and step by step shown them how to clean a room properly? You can't just send them into their rooms to clean and expect them to do it the way you want, and then to only be upset by them because they did not do what you asked...unless you show them how! That is an unfair expectation. It would be like me asking you to do my husband's job without first showing you the ropes. What would you think if I did not show you how to do his job and then got upset with you because you did not do it the right way? What would you tell me? ...Exactly!...
You will not only teach your children how to help out around the house, you will not only teach them how to be responsible but you will be preparing them for the future. Is that not our job as parents to prepare our children? If we do not they will expect others to do for them even when they become adults. They will always be prepared for that handout and learn nothing of responsibility or taking responsibility for what they do or don't do. It starts at home folks!
This is not an easy thing to do...it requires patience. Please know that your children will make mistakes but that is why they are doing under your care and guidance. They will not do things perfectly or the way you would do them. You have to be willing to let some of your perfections go (because we all know how perfect we are) and allow room for error. They will forget about the clothes in the washer (not that you have ever done that yourself right?) and they will forget to take their clothes out of the dryer. Do not yell at them but remind them the consequences when we forget. Let them know that you yourself have forgotten and what happened when you did. If they make mistakes, take them back in to fix the problem together.
I will share a story with you and then I must bid you adieu for the day. There was a mother who would never allow her son to use the washer and dryer. She never taught him to fold or hang up his clothes properly or how to iron. Her thoughts on this were that he would ruin the washer and dryer and then cost them a fortune in repairs or burn the house down because he would leave the iron on. She would take his clothes from the dryer and dump them on his bed and expect him to fold them and put them away. How this mother complained because her son never seemed to care for his clothes or that what he wore was wrinkled. She complained about how he would wear dirty clothes straight from the hamper. If anyone suggested to her to show her son how to do his laundry she was very quick to respond, "Oh No! I could never do that. He would ruin the washer and dryer and his clothing."
MrsCatherine's thoughts on this...Then don't complain!
Assignment:
Make a laundry schedule for you and your family.
Questions:
Q: What kind of laundry schedule do you currently have?
With my mother-in-love living with us temporarily, we have added her to laundry days...she loves it. Mondays is when I do the Master Bedroom Laundry (Blaine, Me & bedding), Tuesdays Sarah does hers, Wednesdays David does his and on Thursdays, Grandma Carolyn's turn! It works out great!
Breaking the schedule down makes laundry doable and not overwhelming. The children learn how to do their own laundry and gives momma a small break with some supervision of course.
Q: Have you tried breaking your laundry down into different days?
Similar to what we did with our homes and breaking them down into areas...we can do the very same thing with our laundry. I think that when you have a laundry day...and you try to do all of it in one shot...after a few hours you feel tied to the washer and dryer and you feel as if it will never get done.
Ironing can be broken down as well. If I ironed Blaine and my clothes...I would wait and do that on Tuesday while Sarah was doing her laundry. Sarah in turn could iron her clothes on Wednesday while David was doing his laundry. We don't do that here...we iron our clothes before wearing them but I think you get the idea.
Give the laundry breakdown a try for a few weeks and see if you like it. You never know!
I am looking forward to pictures of your laundry rooms. Be sure to take those before shots...I have received so many comments saying how the before and after shots have really helped.
My love to you all!!!
xoxoxo Cat
Let's get started! First let's go into your laundry area. What do you see? If this task seems overwhelming to you at first...may I suggest that you make a list of things needed to be done in this area first. Your list should have columns of things you can do right now, things you can do later, things that your darling hubby will have to fix/repair or move for you, things you would like to do but can't at the moment. Then make a list of things you will need to do those things...paint, wall paper, basket organizers, hangers, etc.
Here is a picture of our laundry area...it is not a large space and this area leads to our guest bathroom. The one thing I don't want hanging around here is dirty laundry and clutter for my guests to see. But it doesn't necessarily have to be what is seen but the unseen!
This is what you don't see behind closed doors...
When we moved into our home here back in November...this was an area I did not take much time in organizing. I was trying to find homes for the things we had in our laundry room in our last house which was a very large area. I had to do some definite downsizing in this area!
If you have cabinets or shelves...start by taking everything down or out of the cabinets...
Try to organize your things by item. Some of the items here were things leftover from the previous homeowners. After figuring out what is to be kept, tossed or donated...start to place things back in some type of order...
Try to keep the items you use regularly within easy reach...the rest can be placed behind or on higher shelves. I do not keep 2 or 3 bottles or boxes of laundry detergent...only what I need. I have found that when I keep that many on hand...I get a bit wasteful. If I only have one bottle on hand...I use less and the detergent tends to go much further!
On Sunday evenings when I do my 20 Minute Tidy, I place our whites (I do the Master Bedroom Laundry on Mondays) in the washer with detergent and set it on soak. The whites get a good overnight soaking and in the morning I run them through a rinse and re-wash. This saves me from using bleach and is much gentler on my clothes. There is only so many times you can use bleach on your socks before they give way!
