Tuesday Tips & Tricks

     So, you want to hear the rest of my story? Sorry, you'll have to wait until next Monday's "My Story" Today is for tips. 
     I've got so many tips and tricks that I use and usually work for me. So, each week I'll tell you a different one, and you can decided if you want to try it or not. 
     This week I'll talk about laundry. Actually, for the last few years, I was very blessed by my mom doing the laundry because of some pretty serious health issues (I've got it back now) but, she commented on how easy it was to just pick it up. Sure, she made a tweak here or there to make it work for her, but it stayed pretty much the same. 
     So, what's my tip/trick for keeping laundry (for a family of 7+) easy to do? 
     Tip 1 -- Have a way to keep your loads separate. We have 2 carts that each have 3 net bags, making a place for 6 separate loads. Then I have 2 rolling hampers, one for towels, one for sheets/ blankets. Finally I have a basket for all those odds & ends. 
     Tip 2 -- sort your loads. The general loads are: whites (normal bleachable), lights, colors, reds/pinks, darks, jeans, towels, sheets & of course there is always a miscellaneous load, like hand wash, dry clean ect. Try to sort them as often as you can, that way it doesn't overwhelm you as quickly. (tip 2a -- this is a great thing for kids to help with, from toddlers where you direct them to the right basket, to kids learning colors & kids learning home ec)
     Tip 3 -- decide on what days you will do what loads. Try to plan 2 or 3 loads 3 or 4 days each week. Large families will probably need to do laundry every day. I still recommend taking at least one day off from laundry. Laundry is a big job, no matter how many are in your family. It's also a job that never goes away and is just the same thing over, and over, and over again. So a day off helps to recharge before starting back up again.
     Tip 4 -- when really in a pinch, you can combine some loads. Don't mix whites & reds of course, however if you aren't bleaching your whites this week, you can combine them with your lights, and sometimes I'll throw darks & jeans together, If you do that, you have to be sure to dry on LOW rather than medium. 
     Tip 5 -- have your kids help with whatever they can. I've already talked about sorting, but they can put clothes into a washer/ dryer as long as they can reach (front loaders are great for that!), measuring soap, turning on the machine, carrying baskets, folding, sorting... just try. Give a child a task, and if they can't do it yet, just try again later. 
     Tip 6 -- ask your children to make pictures to decorate your laundry room. Most of us have dreary basement rooms, those paintings sure make it a lot nicer. And I think, even if you have a dream laundry room with lots of space for baskets, tables for folding and a patio door that leads outside to a close by outdoor laundry line, those pictures will still cheer up your room too. (what can I say, I like to daydream!)
     Tip 7 -- try to fold and put away the clean clothes right away. Ok, confession time: this one I'm not so great at. Often there are a few laundry baskets with clean clothes awaiting our attention. But, I do try. 
     That's it. Keeping laundry simple, but consistent really lightens the load (lol ;). And, when you know what load to do each day, you have less to think about. "Oh, it's Tuesday, time to do the colors." Hope this helps some people out. There is a lot more to laundry, like what do those symbols mean? What temp should I wash/ dry with? How do I get the kids to help? Those are all questions we can address another time. I need to have enough things to write about later.
Blessings,
mamaAthena