The laundry is one of those chores that is never really finished. Almost as soon as you finish folding the last pair of socks, your dirty laundry basket begins to fill up again. In addition to clothing, everything from throw blankets and bedding to bath rugs, dog beds and more require laundering regularly.
Depending on how many people and pets you share your home with, you might have to deal with three, four or more loads of laundry per week. How can you stay on top of laundry?
How Often Should I Do Laundry to Stay on Top of It?
The ideal frequency of doing laundry varies from home to home. If you’re single with no kids and don’t have pets, you might only need to do laundry once a week.
On the other hand, if you have a house full of kids and pets, you might do a load of laundry every day. Generally, you should do laundry when the hampers are full. You also should wash bed linens and towels weekly.
How Do I Prevent Laundry From Piling Up?
Laundry can pile up when you have an exceptionally busy week. In some cases, it piles up because of certain aspects of the chore that are bothersome or unpleasant.
For example, some people don’t like sorting laundry, and others don’t like folding it. By identifying the specific issues that you have with doing laundry, you can make adjustments to your routine. These are some of the ways to prevent laundry from piling up.
Establishing a Consistent Laundry Routine
Some people with a laid-back lifestyle have the freedom to do laundry on an as-needed basis any day of the week.
Others, however, have a structured schedule with little flexibility. If you relate to this, a better strategy is to choose one or two specific laundry days each week.
Organizing Laundry Collection
There are different strategies to organize laundry and simplify the process. If you do laundry for multiple people, each one should have a separate hamper and laundry basket for clean clothes. Consider using three-section hampers, which allow you to separate clothes into separate groups for towels, light colors and dark colors.
Involving Household Members
You don’t make all of the clothes, sheets and towels dirty, so it makes sense that you shouldn’t be responsible for cleaning everything.
If your children are older, consider assigning them a specific day to do their own laundry. They can also strip their beds and remake their beds with clean sheets and blankets.
Streamlining the Washing Process
Washing your laundry is much easier to do when the process is streamlined. Turn on the buzzers for the washer and dryer to alert you when each cycle is done. Get in the habit of immediately moving the clothes from the washer to the dryer. This lets you get through each load quickly. Then, fold each load once it has finished drying rather than waiting for all of the loads to be done.
How Can I Make Folding and Putting Away Faster?
Folding your clean clothes and putting them away is one of the easier tasks to procrastinate on. After all, the clothes are clean, and it’s easy to simply sift through the clothes and pull out what you need.
However, failing to fold your clothes will inevitably make them wrinkled. This leads to a hassle when you get dressed each day. By folding your clothes when they are still warm from the dryer, you can prevent many wrinkles.
Folding is easier to do when you don’t have a huge pile of clothes sitting in front of you. Fold each load of laundry as it comes out of the dryer. Then, put those clothes away rather than push the basket of folded clothes to the corner of the room. When you fold, pull out the clothes that need to be hung in the closet. Lay these clothes flat so they don’t get wrinkled, and hang them up when you put the folded clothes away.
Laundry is only one of many housekeeping tasks that can easily get out of hand. Whether you are a procrastinator or you lack the time to keep up with your home’s needs, our professional housekeepers at TidyHere can help. To learn more about our residential cleaning services in Boston, contact us today.
