Here are some brilliant laundry solutions we have collected from moms, organized by the problems they solve. Follow us on Instagram @howshemoms for a feed of all our hacks.
Sheer volume
Procrastination
Remembering to switch loads
Socks!
Laundry Room Organization
Sorting
Stains
Drying
Putting It Away
Sheer Volume
Lisa’s daughters put their clothes on top of their dressers after they change out of them. Lisa inspects them at bedtime to see if they are dirty. If not, the girls put them away. If they are, Lisa either spot-cleans them or the girls put them in the correct hamper in the laundry room. This helps keep their laundry down to about three loads a week!
If you’ve gotten way behind, and have way too many loads, Flylady recommends gathering all your laundry and all your change and taking it to the laundromat.
Since Dana does all of her laundry in one day, she takes advantage of the day before laundry day to clean out her family’s closets. The clothes that are left are the ones that didn’t get worn that week, so she can evaluate what to purge.
Meg and Molly limit the number of clothes each person has in circulation. Meg is good about putting away seasonal clothes and limits the number of outfits per kid. Molly limits the kids to 5 or 6 outfits of play clothes, and uses a capsule wardrobe of about 35 items for herself, which she rotates seasonally.
Procrastination
For Sarah, it’s all about finding a consistent time to do laundry, so it becomes a habit. She puts one load in in the morning, switches it to the dryer before her kids’ quiet time, then folds at night.
Lisa W. always does the hardest load first.
Remembering to Switch Loads
Julie sets a timer on her phone for when she thinks a load will be done, so she doesn’t forget to switch loads.
Socks
Whitney installed sock dispensers (made from PVC pipes) in her mudroom for each of the kids, so they’re ready to grab and go. The kids all have their own brand of socks, so sorting is easy.
Molly pays her kids $1 for every ten socks they sort and put away.
Laundry Room Organization
Meg color-codes her hampers so they always make it back to the right place. The plus-signs stay in the laundry room, for colors, whites, and darks. The pink dot goes in the girls’ room. She also has green for the boys’ room, and yellow for the kids’ bathroom.
Marjean has an ironing station and hanging rod hiding in her laundry room.
Marjean keeps her bleach in a plastic bag so it doesn’t drip or leak and ruin her cabinets or clothes.
Hayley uses a leaf blower to clean out her dryer vents every couple of months.
Sorting
Whitney has three sons in a row. To keep track of whose clothes are whose, especially school uniforms, she uses a dot system. When one of the kids outgrows something, they just pass it on down and add a dot.
Stacie’s family members each have their own type of hanger, so she can easily hang and organize them right out of the dryer.
Stains
To see recommendations for stain removers and other laundry products, click here.
Aubrey keeps a toothbrush and Dawn liquid soap by the washing machine to scrub stains.
Drying
Cassie throws a wadded ball of foil in the dryer when she runs out of dryer sheets to keep the static at bay.
Putting It Away
Molly stopped folding her kids’ play clothes, because the drawers just get messed up anyway. She still hangs school uniforms and church clothes.
