Less Laundry, Less Loathing

Has anyone found dreams fulfilled beneath loads of smelly garments? Or, how many of us have dreamed of life without laundry? Or maybe you love it? I personally loathe it, aside from the fact I’m grateful for clothes to wear. Laundry never ends; it only takes naps.

Before my new system a few months ago, there was always this cloud of dread on wash day mornings. Gather up towels and rags, lug hampers to the laundry and then spend 10-15 minutes sorting, spraying/scrubbing stains and finally getting the first load into the washer. After that was accomplished, it felt like I could start my day. If I don’t get a load in until 9 or 10 A.M, it feels lousy.  But if I can  have a load going while I’m gone driving school children and have it ready for the dryer or hanging out as soon as I’m back home, it feels like efficiency. 

I’m still not in love with laundry, but the dread has lifted slighly since I switched up my system. We purchased a three bin, rolling laundry hamper. After showers, everyone throws their clothes into the correct bins and woohoo- sorting is done!

For a long time I didn’t purchase a divided hamper because I didn’t feel we had space. I determine to use a minimalistic approach before purchasing items. Figure out where I’ll put the item or exactly what I’m going to do with it before it’s in my home. I thought long and hard over where we could set it for entire household use. None of our bathrooms are large enough and the laundry room itself is narrow.

The children’s bedrooms are downstairs but they prefer to use the main floor bathroom. So their clothes ended up in Macie’s hamper in her room, which is right next door. We discussed and measured and decided we can make room for the new hamper in her room. It has been working beautifully!

I marked the bins so everyone can see which bin is for what.
This parks neatly in the laundry, while still giving me room to walk past changing out loads. And no, the sweet baby face is not included with the hamper.

So here’s the laundry scoop. With the new system, the number one thing I love is, the clothes are pre-sorted! This is huge since that always was the biggest hurtle for me. There’s still spots to spray at times, but I try to do that as soon as the clothes are removed.  This also gives time to soak it in Luminate water if need be. Then it’s ready to throw in the correct load the next wash day. Also, I still need to gather towels and rags from the bathrooms and kitchen but that doesn’t bother me like sorting did.

Secondly, I love how this hamper keeps clothes nicely contained– no more stumbling over unsightly Mt. Everests on the floor!

The third great thing is, since I combine more clothes, I have less loads! Win win! Typically I have 3 loads each wash day. 

Yes, I confess I throw towels and dish rags in with the light colored load. The dark towels I throw in with the underwear/wash cloth load. And, (brace yourself,) I wash all darks together- jeans, Sunday pants and the whole works. But please don’t tell anyone. I cringe to do that. Occasionally if there’s a bunch of jeans I’ll make a separate pile and feel like a virtuous woman. But so far, nobody has turned me in for not washing the jeans separately, so I plan to continue. But let me hasten to assure you, hubby has an office job which means his jeans are not grimy and greasy. Neither are Reece’s school pants terribly dirty.

Please don’t pass out over this, but I don’t sort pockets. Jerald has been excellent in removing items from pockets ever since I married him. There’s been few accidents.  Reece is super possessive of his 3 pockets knives and wouldn’t dream of leaving them in his pants. Occasionally there’s been a few rocks or wrappers but very rare. I’m pleased, because in my opinion, digging in crummy, sweaty pockets plays no part in a peaceful morning routine. 

Another thing I changed was washing 3 times a week- Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. This is a paradox because, no, I don’t like doing laundry, but by washing more often there’s less overwhelming mountains in a day. You may prefer washing a load everyday and never end up with mountains. But I knew that method is not for me, because it feels like a bother to constantly be tending a load. It’s an exuberant feeling to wake on non-wash days, knowing I can enjoy a quieter morning and do more appealing tasks than handling dirty clothes. Although, really, when are we ever done with laundry?? Not till the day we die!

The fourth wonderful thing about this divided hamper is wheels!! Jerald was very good at carrying out the heavy hamper from our closet. But still, there was times I did. Some days I was desperate enough I threw a towel on the floor, set the hamper on it and scooted it over the tile. Heavy hampers are a nuisance. I have a bad hernia on my belly and lifting heavy is just not cool when you got a hernia. 

What is cool is these wheels!! The children still have to take turns pushing the cart to the laundry room, it’s that exciting. And me, when the last load is in? I whip that cart back in it’s place feeling like a professional worker of sorts. Did you know we can be professional homemakers?! Wheels. Get yourself a divided laundry hamper with wheels! My sympathy if your laundry room is on a different level of the house.  

A great addition to your laundry system would be using non-toxic and environmental friendly laundry soap such as Tahor. We originally began Tahor in 2024 and due to the increase in sales and not having the time for it with our young family, we sold the business last year. Mckenzie Nisly, who lives locally, does a great job stirring up soap and managing the business! Try it out if you haven’t yet!

Here’s a couple pictures of our laundry this past summer when we repainted it and installed a few cabinets.

Before
And After! My laundry room is narrow but I’m grateful to have it on the main floor! Also, keep the space tidy and it’s not as depressing to work in it.

Tell me, how do you manage laundry?

6 thoughts on “Less Laundry, Less Loathing

  1. Some years ago I had one day off of laundry. At the time, that worked very well for me and felt relaxing. Currently, I don’t do that anymore because I do the laundry whenever it’s necessary. We have a laundry hamper in the bathroom, which I carry to the laundry room every morning. Then I quickly sort the laundry and start the first load. In Germany, we have front-loading washing machines, and we wash at different temperatures. That’s why I sort the laundry not only by colors but also by temperature. But it’s great that you’ve found a method that works well for you!
    Henni

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    1. Interesting. Maybe someday when my children don’t live at home, and we don’t have as much laundry, I’ll switch things up again, who knows?!
      There’s many people who have front loading washers here too but I much prefer my simple top loader!

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  2. I really enjoyed this! Thanks for sharing! Organization/efficiency is one thing I love so it’s fun to hear what works for other people! Like you, I have my laundry days on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. That doesn’t mean my washer is silent on all other days… I do the bedding on Tuesdays, and at least one load on Saturdays so the weekend laundry isn’t so huge. I do love doing laundry. Esp hanging it out when it’s warm enough! 🥳 my laundry room is one of my favorite rooms in the house with its big windows, and it’s fairly spacious. thanks again for sharing! Always enjoy your posts! Lys

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  3. Found this post interesting! And have enjoyed all your other ones, too. I love doing laundry. It ranks toward the top of the favorite household chores. I think I can honestly say that my washer is busy every day of the week except Sunday (and then sometimes too in an emergency). My main wash days are Monday Wednesday and Friday. Then in between its Rugs or bedding or jackets and shoes or just because the baskets are brim full after only one day! 😅 so I have a random question for you – I do not at all enjoy cleaning out the refrigerator but I do enjoy laundry. You don’t enjoy laundry. Do you enjoy cleaning out the fridge?!

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    1. Oh bless you! When I do other laundry like rugs or sheets I like doing it on a wash day so I don’t ”mess up” another day😅 But those sorts of items do land on Saturday at times.
      Well, I once wrote a post on ‘Calming the Refrigerator Chaos’ a long time ago… I don’t like a major fridge overhaul, so I just do more maintenance…Quick wipes and swipes, throwing out old food/ making space for fresh groceries. I cannot handle a FULL fridge! I love my mom dearly but her fridge is nearly enough to throw an anxiety attack just by opening it!🤭 Not quite. Cluttered, compacted spaces make me feel like I can’t even take a deep breath. Or something like that. Claustrophobia?😆

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