Yep, you read that title right. I’m going here today. We’re going to talk about the one word almost all mama’s on the planet, cringe at hearing – laundry.
I know it can feel like the most dreaded task of your mom life, but it doesn’t have to be. You just need to know the secret to actually getting those piles of laundry done, folded, and put away.
If you have 5 piles stacked high in your laundry room right now, get ready to say goodbye to these, because after you start implementing what I’m about to teach you, you’re going to be well on your way to a ridiculously simple laundry system.
So let’s get right into it.
Here’s the first thing you need to know. The tried and true, one load of laundry a day system does actually work. And there’s a couple of reasons why it works so well.
- Doing a little bit each day is much easier than having a full-blown laundry day where you’re folding endless clothes all afternoon. Who has time to fold an hour worth of clothes every Saturday afternoon? Not me – nor do I want to be spending my Saturday afternoon doing this.
- When you do one load a day, your loads are smaller, which means it takes you less time to fold and put away – because well, there’s simply less to do.
Now, I’ve heard bloggers, magazines, online articles talk about this one load of laundry a day, system for years. It’s nothing new. But here’s the problem with it. No one tells you HOW to actually get yourself to do one load of laundry a day. This is a HUGE part of the system that is not being talked about.
So, get ready! Take the next 5 minutes to keep reading, because I’m going to teach you how to actually get your laundry done.
Here’s the very first thing you need to do…
HABIT STACK YOUR LAUNDRY
Habit stacking means, stacking a new habit on top of one you currently do each day. This practice helps you, when you’re trying to create a new habit for yourself. You habit stack over and over until your new habit starts to run on autopilot for you. Yes – I want your laundry to become a habit for you.
When I wanted to start doing one load of laundry every day, I started to habit stack my laundry. And here’s how it went down.
Our laundry room is right off of our master bathroom, so every morning after brushing my teeth (existing habit), I would go put in one load of laundry (new habit).
Before I started to make lunch for the kids (existing habit) I would turn over the laundry from the washer to the dryer (new habit).
After I put the kids in quiet time (existing habit), I would fold the pile of laundry (new habit).
I did this over and over, until doing one load of laundry became a habit for me.
Habit stacking is the easiest way to start making one load of laundry a day, a habit for you.
So, I want you to start thinking of an existing habit that you could stack laundry on top of. And then implement habit stacking this week. Don’t get discouraged if laundry doesn’t become a habit for you in the first week. This takes time! But the more you repeat it over and over, the more habitual it will become.
Also, if you find that the current habit you’re stacking, just isn’t a great fit, then stop and try a different habit. Play around with it until you find the best fit.
Habit stacking is the foundation to getting your laundry done. It’s the secret tool that no one tells you about. But now let me share a few more tips and tricks that will simplify your new laundry system for you.
EMBRACE THE QUICK WASH
If you have the quick wash feature on your washing machine – start using it! My quick wash is 18 minutes. So especially if I have a day where there isn’t much to wash, I just run the clothes on a quick wash. It saves water, and gets my laundry done quick.
PUT A LAUNDRY HAMPER IN EVERY BEDROOM
All of my kids have a hamper in their closet that they put their dirty clothes in every day. And then every night, when we start getting ready for bed, I take their clothes out of the hamper and bring them into the laundry room so they’re ready for the morning load (or saved for the next day depending on the color).
HAVE YOUR KIDS PUT THEIR CLOTHES AWAY AFTER YOU FOLD THEM
Let’s be real – the most annoying part of laundry is putting all of it away. But guess what? This can and should be something you have your kids help out with! You don’t need to be putting your kids clothes away for them. It’s good for them to start learning these responsibilities and honestly, it’s just part of being a family team.
If I’m folding laundry and my kids are home, I rally them over to the laundry room to put their clothes away and I make it a game. I give them all of their shirts, and tell them, let’s see how quick you can put all of these away. Then they run back and I give them all of their pants. It blows my mind, but this works like a charm every time. Kids like games, so make it a game.
Now if my kids aren’t home, I leave their clean, folded clothes outside of their bedroom. I make it really easy for them, by sorting the clothes by what drawer they go in. So for example, I put all of the shirts in one pile, the underwear in another, etc. And then when they get home, it’s their responsibility to put their piles away.
I know this is a small thing, but it’s honestly, so helpful!
DON’T WASH WHAT’S NOT DIRTY
How often have you gone through your kids hampers only to find them filled with clothes that weren’t even dirty? You know what I’m talking about. The clothes that they just didn’t want to hang up so they threw them in the hamper instead. As much as we want to say this is something kids always do, I think it’s something we as adults are guilty of, sometimes too. If you have a shirt on your floor that isn’t actually dirty, just take the extra step to hang it up. Because here’s the real truth. If you throw that clean shirt in your hamper, you’re still going to have to fold it or hang it up at some point, so just do it now and save yourself the time later.
So here’s what I want you to do…
This week, I want to encourage you to find the best fit for your new laundry routine. If you’re a working mom outside of the home, your routine is going to look different than a mom who works inside of the home. No matter what your situation is, this routine is still doable, you just need to adjust it to work for you.
Pick a current habit that you can stack your laundry on top of and then play around with it until you get it right and you feel good about it. And then say peace out to those ridiculous piles of laundry!
![](https://267050.a2cdn1.secureserver.net/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/join-the-waitlist-1024x731.png)
If learning about my laundry system was helpful, then you are going to LOVE my Calm Your Chaos Course.
In this course, I teach you how to make your home work FOR you, and not the other way around.
I only open this course a few times a year because I walk through the course with you, and help coach you through it. My passion is to help you become the intentional and purposeful mother you are meant to be! Sound amazing?! Click below to learn more about the course.