laundry: Survival Mode

It just ain't a pretty sight.  We have had a challenging year and it shows a lot in the laundry room.  There have been years of smooth sailing, but also a number of rough spots. So I will tell you what has worked in the past, what we are doing now, and our challenges.

 Foundation: A System

Season #1: 6 children 10 and under

• Monday =  laundry day when I washed most things.
• Linens washed another day. Sheets 1x, towels 2x weekly.
• Cloth diapers washed every other night and hung out in the morning.
• Prepared an easy laundry day meal for supper.
• Folded laundry off and on throughout day.
• In between played games, watched videos, or light school.
• Set ironing aside for Tuesday.
• No errands scheduled for that day.
• DH had set of work clothes for @ day, so I could wash weekly.

            Office work: weekly washing----Construction job: daily small load for sweaty clothes

Ziplock Bags:  children's clothes

• I packaged outfits into large ziplock bags: outfit, socks, underwear.
• I had pajama bags too.
• The bags were kept in rough totes, one for @ child 
• Rough totes kept on shelves of large linen closet near  bathroom.
• Clothes easily accessible for bath time, bed time, morning routine.
• Easily grab clothes for backpack / diaper bag for outings.
• DH could more easily help, especially if I was not there.
• Made packing for trips a breeze.
• I could pack the whole family in about 30 minutes.
• Empty ziplocks went right back into rough tote.
• Empty bags were rolled an placed in 1st empty bag.
• Older children helped put clothes in the bags on laundry day.

As the children got older (10+), they kept their own clothes in their rooms.

*I did have some concern that it could be harmful if the children ever played with the bags  #1 We did lots of training on what to do with the empty bags.  #2 I made it nearly a "federal offense" to leave the bags out. ;-) #3 I was alert about it and kept the totes out of reach of littles. #4 It never became an issue.

Season #2  Mix of older and younger children (7 under 13)

As the children got older, they began to help.

3-5 year olds

• could help sort lights/darks. We called it salt and pepper.

We would sort the salt and pepper, then sort salt into only whites and lights

pepper into colors and jeans. Then we had "Specials" (handwash, delicates)

• can learn to fold washclothes and graduate to towels :-)

5 helped with soap and turning on washer
6 started doing own laundry with lots of help
8 laundry on their own (except for specials)

I gathered everyones "whites" and bleached once a month. We do not bleach more often due to allergies and to not interfere with the good bacteria in our septic tank.


  
Season #3  (8 under 14)

• spread washing out during the week
• 2-3 loads daily except for Sat and Sun 
• then each older child a laundry day
• they washed their own clothes, except jeans
• jeans = collect and combine loads of jeans
• Servant of the day = laundry helper

Schedule:

MON-sheets, specials
TUE-Boys day; whites
WED-2 Girls; darks; towels
THU-2 Girls:jeans
FRI-leftovers
SAT-towels


Season #4  (olders ones in college, lots of teens, a couple of children)

• Hit or miss  (often too many misses, but . . .)
• Now we all do laundry and work together on schedule if possible
• Too many times I get laundry washed & dried, but not folded.
• Matching socks WAS one of our pay jobs ($ or privileges)
• Too often now for socks, we DIG through a huge basket ;-) 

RESCUE: 

1. Have a huge wash day or folding day. We can celebrate just about anything around our house, so we make the most of it:  movie marathon, like the BBC Pride and Prejudice or some other series.
2. Spend the $, pack it up and go to the laundry mat to get all caught up and start fresh.

TIPS:

• Each child has their own laundry "bucket" (tall, slim trash can)
• Towels and jeans go into community "buckets"
• In my closet and laundry room, I set of diff. colored buckets
• One for darks, whites, jeans and specials. 
• This way the laundry is instantly sorted
• I can always wash the one each day that is the most full.
• Limit the amount of clothes you have to reduce a laundry
• We used to keep: 2 sunday outfits, 2 sets of "nice" (wear in public outfits) and  3 sets of play clothes, plus two really old grungy-i-can paint-n-make-mud-pies- clothes
• Play clothes were worn more than once unless filthy. ;-)

Laundry folding session ideas

• someone reads aloud.
• play "buzz" with each of us making up another part of the story
• play grammar games and try to build big sentences, or do mad-lib activities

Ironing:

• listen to a recorded tape/cd
• something fun for the children to play so they would not need my attention.
•  (like boxes to climb in or building an inside tent or fort---play dough, something different than usual)

Clothesline:

I also hang out a clothes a lot now.  Right after we put in a gas dryer to save money, LP gas prices soared so here come the clotheslines. I hang clothes outside after 10 am because we live in a high allergen area, and the pollens are highest between 5am - 10am. I also get clothes in while still slightly damp and finish off in dryer to remove allergens and soften.

Here are some of our hanging out solutions.

Outside:
We use one or those high quality, European, umbrella styles that can hold 3 loads at a time.

Inside:
-small shower rack for under garmets
-stand to hangs shirts on hangers (not sturdy but works)
-folding rack, not the sturdiest, but small for our limited indoor space

homemade soap: I have an easy recipe for homemade, CHEAP laundry soap, that I used to make, BUT not anymore for two reasons.  #1: it cleaned well, enough but was not as kind to clothes, but worked for a tight budget at the time.  #2  Dh had concerns that it could end up costing more to deal with the unhappy septic tank than we were saving making the soap.

 Last but not least: SUNDAY clothes

It has always been important to us that Sundays are peaceful and as relaxing as possible.  Getting a crowd of people ready in a short amount of time can be a challenge.  Even though we are not as structure about now as when they were all little, the general routine makes a big difference. Here are some laundry plus other tips.

SUN. 

A bright red "bucket" was set out to collect all church clothes

Shoes: #1 Boys box, girls box = all shoes were put in there with socks in shoes

Shoes #2 Later each child had their own plastic box for shoes, socks, hair bows, belts, etc.

MON--I washed up all church clothes

TUE--each older child ironed their own clothes, I ironed others

WED. checked shoes to make sure they still fit, and cleaned / polished if necessary

FRI. Packed up Bible bags: (paper, pencils, crayons, etc.) washed them if necessary

SAT. double check and lay out clothes; catch up on anything not done during the week

PHEW!  Laundry is a BIG job, but just remember it is so involved because we are so blessed. Most often, the burden is too much of a good thing.  So, let's be grateful!!!!