Oh Dear Laundry...

Laundry. That word can strike fear into the heart of any mom. A million and one scenerios come to mind when one mentions laundry or lack of.

I love my laundry room beyond words. Perhaps a bit too much? Before you think Im bragging, let me explain to you why...

For 8 years I had an unfinished laundry room... on my back deck. No insulation no nothing. I had a washing machine and a dryer with no electrical hook-up. My dryer remained there for 7.5 years taunting me. When cold Long Island winters would come my lines would freeze and no laundry was done. Drying would be done by hanging clothes to dry or dragging them next door to my mother-in-laws house. The summers would bring bugs making webs near me and hot humid weather. When I moved I kissed outdoor laundry goodbye. No more putting on winter coats and boots (trudging thru the snow) to get wet socks. No more frozen water lines and NO MORE mildew clothes.

God (and My hubby) not only blessed me with a brand new built from the ground up Little Red House in the South, but he also blessed me with a laundry room on the main level AND brand new appliances... Maytag appliances. SO, please forgive me if I sound like Im bragging, I don't mean to. I just really really really appreciate them.

Many people near me would just turn their nose at the size of mine. Especially for my family size. After all 2500 sq. feet of pure beautiful living space for a family of 4 doesn't even make them happy. But for my 1850 sq. ft home and my laundry room, it is just fine! I have everything I need to do what I need to do and I don't need boots or umbrellas to do it! (not to mention I have a working dryer right next to it) It still amazes me that when I put the clothes in wet, they come out DRY!!! A pure blessing for sure!

Anyway, I, by nature, am not an organized person.

I have learned the art of organized laundry though... although this can not be really effective unless its actually done. Not my method... I mean the laundry. I think most women's problem with laundry is simple. Just do it!

Anyway. The older girls are the only ones with hampers in their room since I still change and dress the littles. twice a week they have a schedule to empty it into the green CIRCLE laundry basket right in front of the washing machine. I have only one basket for dirty house clothes and towels. This forces me to constantly have the wash going and get it clean.

Usually I'll ask Emma or Hannah (and recently I have been teaching Molly) to switch loads. This is a HUGE help!!! I load , start and fold. One of the girls gets hollered to to switch loads. They put the dry clothes in the rectangle basket in front of the dryer and push it off to the side in the living room. There the pile will sit (and get bigger) until I find the time to fold. SOmewhere during the day I go back in the laundry room, start another load and then holler to have it switched and the cycle repeats thru the day.

Folding takes place every other day?? Approximately! I really try to keep up. I do! I fold in certain piles and have been teaching the 3 oldest to do the same. I load them back in the basket by pile order and in the evening I separate to the proper rooms. Sometimes the girls do this for me, but most of the time I do it. I also tidy up rooms in the evening, right before bed and clean/organize closets. Since I do this almost every day, it never really gets out of hand. (even when I don't put clothes away, I clean all rooms daily or yikes!)

The blue basket on top of the dryer holds hubby's uniforms which I do a separate load for them once a week. They get hung in his closet, all ready for him to put on in the morning.

Most of my cleaning tools are kept in the laundry room as well. Swiffers, mops, dusters. cloths and such are organized on a dandy little hook. To the right of my dryer is my FULL SIZE ironing board (another bragging moment as I never had one in my other small house) I currently am getting a hanger for that to put up on the wall.

I also have a basket for loose socks that I keep on the shelf. Every few months I take them down and match them up. I have extra vacuum pieces, my vacuum, stain removers (store bought and homemade) the girls scrunchies and hairbrushes and of coarse a few odds and ends. All in all, I love my cleaning room and the method I use, It works and it gets the job done!!!