Spending more time in the laundry room than enjoying time with your family can feel overwhelming. It can feel like a never-ending chore for anyone with a large family. But the good news is you can simplify your laundry by following an organized pattern and incorporating a few smart habits. Start with classifying a day for heavy loads like bed and sofa covers. Encourage your family members to participate by assigning them age-appropriate tasks. This will keep things smooth and ensure laundry never gets out of hand.
Choose what option suits you best. But for an even easier solution, consider getting a weekly laundry service.
Tips to Streamline Your Laundry Process with Large Household
A manageable routine that fits your needs can significantly reduce the burden of constant washing and folding for large families. Here are some practical ways that might help you smooth out your laundry.
Set Up a Schedule That Works for Your Household Needs
You must try specifying a day to handle different loads. This is the easiest way to smooth the laundry job, as doing everything in a day can be hectic for anyone with more than four family members. Create a routine and stay consistent with it, such as
- Assign laundry days for everyone – Assign laundry days for everyone, such as Mondays for the youngest child and Wednesdays for your partner’s clothes. Have everyone pitch in by sorting their clothes into the baskets on their designated day, which helps save time and spread the workload.
- Spread out the load — Bed sheets and sofa covers can easily last a week without washing, so you don’t need to pile them up every day. Instead, reduce the load of other usual clothes on the day you schedule to wash heavier items.
- Design a folding routine for essentials — Dedicate a space, such as a table or part of the couch, for folding clothes. Save time in the evening or once clothes are dry, and have the whole family fold their own clothes. Make it fun for your younger kids and teach them to fold simpler items like towels or socks.
Sort Laundry as You Go
Put separate baskets and hampers in everyone’s room so they can toss their dirty clothes. This will minimize your burden of collecting clothes every evening and moving them up and down to take to the laundry room.
- Labeled hampers in rooms — Provide everyone with clear instructions on how to use hampers and what types of clothing should go in. Also, ask them to carry their labeled baskets to the laundry room on their designated day.
- Create a strategic laundry setup — Use a laundry sorter so you do not mix colorful clothes with whites. You can use multiple large hampers for different color types, e.g., dividing dark and light separately to minimize sorting time later. Or, consider setting up a system where each family member has their own separate bin.
- For small items like socks — It is hard to remember which sock belongs to whom. So the better way is to make pairs and put them in a drawer, allowing everyone to come and bring their own.
Delegate Tasks to the Whole Family
If you do the laundry for everyone, it doesn’t mean you are responsible for collecting, folding, and putting them in the wardrobe. It shouldn’t have to be a solo endeavor in large families. Get everyone involved—kids, older siblings, and even your spouse. Assign specific tasks to each family member, such as:
- Age-appropriate tasks — Even young children can help sort clothes or match socks. Older kids can be responsible for their own loads from start to finish. Specify their day for their laundry.
- Make it a team effort — Assign simple tasks to each family member and make it a group activity. One person will collect the clothes, and the other put them in the wash, etc. When it comes to folding, sit together and do the job while watching a favorite show.
Consider a Scheduled Laundry Service
It often happens when you get truly overwhelmed by giving too much time to wash clothes. For these types of situations, you can always consider a scheduled laundry service by a professional. They will handle the washing, drying, and folding for you so you can focus on other household tasks or family activities. Consider it once a week or a couple of times a month to lighten your load and free up precious time to go out.
Wrapping Up!
Simplifying laundry for a large family is all about creating a system and sticking to it. You can opt for any tip that suits your preferences. For instance, specifying a laundry day for one member or heavy to lighter clothes. Another way is to optimize your laundry room layout or encourage everyone in the home to pre-sort their dirty clothes in hampers. Involve all occupants by designating their tasks to alleviate your burden of washing, drying, and folding a pile of clothes.
If you find yourself constantly pressed for time, seeking a weekly laundry service is an excellent way to stay on top of it all and keep your home running efficiently
