At the start of 2020, I did something a bit unconventional. (But let’s be real: convention was not working for me.) I got rid of my laundry baskets.
Yes. I got rid of my laundry baskets.
That may not sound extreme. That may not sound newsworthy. But when it comes to managing my household, it has been a game-changer.
Ever since I started doing my own laundry as a teenager, I have not been able to keep up. I am guilty of forgetting my clothes in the washing machine for so long that they start to pickle and I have to re-wash them later. Yes, I’m that person. Imagine how quickly and easily I got behind once I got married and had three children!
I’ve tried all the tips and tricks. I’ve tried having one laundry day a week. The entire day, you wash all the things. You spend the entire day washing and folding, washing, and folding. That was soul-wrenching. Clearly not for me.
I tried making a schedule. You know, do the boys’ clothes on Tuesdays, the girls’ clothes on Thursdays, the bedding and towels on Fridays. And then one week we went out on a Tuesday and that threw it all off. So that wasn’t going to work.
I scoured the internet for ideas. I listened to podcasts. Still, nothing worked.
But then 2020 rolled around. New year, a new decade, new me, new laundry?
This year I found my golden ticket. And yes, I waited a few months to write this to make sure it was sustainable for me. Good news: it is!
The solution is two-fold:
Step One: I got rid of my laundry baskets.
Why? Because that’s where clean, unfolded clothes go to die in my house. I could get the clothes washed and dried in a timely manner but the laundry basket served as some sort of purgatory in my household. The clothes would sit in there for days on end. By getting rid of my laundry baskets, my clothes had nowhere to go but to their proper homes.
Step Two: Do a load every day. From start to finish.
Each day I try to do at least one load completely from start to finish. I fold it on top of my washer and dryer and put it away once it’s done. It helps to do small loads — that’s less overwhelming — and to make sure the dryer is empty by the time I go to bed.
This is smart! My issue is that since I don’t use baskets, I usually put the clothes on the bed! Folding them on top of the dryer is smart! Thanks for the tips!