Laundry

With a family of 7, there is always a load in our washing machine. However, I have learned how to keep up with the laundry so that we are not overwhelmed. On weekdays, I take turns changing the sheets. I may change 2 or 3 beds in one day, but I try not to change all of the beds in one day because our machines are not capable of keeping up with bedding from 6 beds in just a few hours time. Our children have SEVERE dust mite allergies, so when I change their beds, I must wash EVERYTHING from sheets to comforter to stuffed animals, etc in HOT water. So, I suggest having a second set of sheets, which I am sure most of you have. This means that you can wash the comforter, coverlet, and special sleep items first, and the sheets last. This will allow you to have a freshly made bed much faster.

I don't like for my children to sleep with dirty things. Our 2 year old has a lovie she calls "night night". Thankfully, she has 5 of them (3 flowers, a lamb, and a bunny). She is not partial to any one since she was introduced to all of them as an infant. Therefore, I throw night night in the wash daily so that she always has a clean one and doesn't carry around extra germs. You should do this with any lovie or blanket.

In our laundry area (it is a closet, not a room), I have a basket for dirty dark clothes and a basket for dirty white clothes. When I bring laundry downstairs, I separate. I am sure you do the same thing. This makes it easy to fill a load and start washing. We tend to wash more whites than darks, so I will often fill the washer if it is empty rather than put the dirty items in the white basket. I wash a load as soon as I have a load. I do not let laundry pile up. In fact, I try to have very little left to do at the end of each day. I wash at least 3 loads a day. Why? Or How?, you may ask. Why? I wash because I have to do it. When 7 people take off their underwear and clothes, it creates a pile. Our children wear school uniforms so I wash those daily. We wash the children's washcloths after every bath because it's too difficult to know whose is whose. I regularly wash our kitchen towel and dishcloth to cut down on the spread of germs. Florida has rich soil, which creates black feet, so we have to bathe the children just about every night. I am trying to get to the point, start a load as soon as you have a full load. Don't let your laundry pile up. My machine runs throughout the day. As soon as the clothes are dry, I fold them. I have 2 baskets... one for the children and one for us. Once it is full, I take it upstairs & put the clothes away.

I find that the easiest time to put away clothes is when the children are in the bath. They want to play for a little while, so I put the basket on one of their beds and make a pile for each child. I can see the children in the tub the whole time or at least hear them. Please do NOT leave your children unattended in the bathtub! Accidents do happen! I then take one pile at a time and put it away. Since I am not letting the laundry get away from me, I don't usually have enormous piles of clothes. Each of our drawers is divided for t-shirt, shorts, nightgowns, socks, etc. which makes it easy to put away clothes. I hang the hanging clothes immediately. Then, I put the basket at the top of the stairs to go back downstairs and I refill it as clothes come out of the dryer! I hope this helps.