DISQUS

christopherakasuperman · 1 month ago

Well, my wonderful wife decided she's going to try to a little bit a day. I found that I had to do the same thing with the groceries. It seems too overwhelming to get it all in one shot. Takes up your whole day with a growing family of 5!!!
So, I say a little bit a day and plenty of hampers!!!!! Oh and a wonderful wife who takes on this horrendous task!

lihsa · 1 month ago

I hate laundry. I think it is viral and vile. And I'm single!!?!?!

AmandaNatividad · 1 month ago

OMG me too!! I'm single and I can't seem to get this under control! The best I can do is do the laundry once every two weeks and often, I combined everything into one load and just put use cold water. Is that awful?

As for my delicate lady business, I use Woolite to hand wash. I dump it all into one of those plastic tubs and leave it be for half an hour before hanging to dry.

vrangachar · 1 month ago

Laurie, when I was a single working mom, I discovered Wash 'n' Fold. I dropped off my laundry at the Launderomat in the morning and picked it up in the evening. Our clothes, towels and sheets were already folded and ready to stick in drawers. It felt like a luxury, but it was one indulgence that made the biggest difference in our lives. I don't regret a single cent I spent on it.

David S. · 1 month ago

Well, I should preface my comment by letting you and your readers know that I am on the other end of the spectrum. You are married with children; I am a bachelor with no children. That said, I too have faced the challenge of laundry because I have nobody to help me with it and with the demanding schedule of my previous career I had little time to devote to it.

My approach to laundry is very much like my approach to a daunting task at work: break it down into manageable steps to make it not so daunting. I found that one of the best ways to make laundry more manageable was to simply keep big piles from forming. With laundry, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. So, how did I keep big piles from forming? Step one, keep dirty clothes organized. There are plenty of divided hampers on the market to keep whites and darks separated. Calculate in your mind how much time you would save each week if your laundry was presorted and all of the sudden divided hampers seem like a very worthwhile investment. The rule of "a place for everything and everything in its place" applies to dirty clothes too.

For the most part, laundry is a passive task. While the washer and dryer are running you can be doing other things so use your time wisely. Running to the grocery store or shuttling kids to and from practice? Make sure the washer and dryer are running while you are gone. You don't need to be home while the machines are doing their jobs. Take the time when you have the time so that you can save time when you have none to spare.

Lastly, delegate and hold people accountable. Most women are the household CEOs. Think like a CEO. As the household CEO you do not need to physically do the laundry yourself, you just need to make sure it gets done. Assign other household members to the task. Kids about to sit down to do homework? Why can't they put in a load of darks before working on math or history? About to sit down in front of the TV to watch a couple sitcoms? It takes only a few minutes to move clothes into the dryer before pressing play on the DVR. Don't forget to hold other household members accountable. Just as with other expectations you have set with your household, set expectations here and if the expectations are not met then there are consequences. What happens if your kids don't do their homework, don't do the dishes or forget to take out the trash? Do they just get away with it? I doubt it. Add laundry to the list. Besides, they have to learn to do their own laundry anyway when they head off to college so why not teach them now?

Laura Gaffney · 3 weeks ago

OMG I think this is the best advice that me, a single laundry loathing gal, has read regarding how to handle the chore. Thank you.

David Sanchez · 2 weeks ago

Happy to help! You'll be a laundry lovin' gal in no time. :-)

mizfit · 1 month ago

I have one. and a husband who works out daily plus my own stanky laundry and I feel as though Im constantly, well, LAUNDERING.

I have issues though.

ready?

I CAN NOT GET BEHIND.
it makes me crazy to see the piles waiting for me...it's like a todo list in the form of a hamper.

it sounds great but it isnt.
Im constantly laundering and not loving it.

sign me:
No Help

stoneman41 · 1 week ago

Hi, what the hel_ are your kids doing. You all live in the same location. mmom works to help support them, RIGHT. My feeling is if they want to go to school in unclean or rinkeled clothes, FINE, you shouldn't feel bad ,it doesn't make you a bad mother. Set a schdual as whos turn it is to do the wash. Show them how you want it done (period). If they mix whites with coloreds, they get to do the wash the next time. You just have tio be tough, they won't hate you for it. My kids ( all grown) have thanked us for not letting them get away with this kind of things. We have three with 5 grandkids (3 are old enought to do the wash). When they stay with us, which is often, they do the wash.
Good luck, just set your RULES and don't let them get away because they are to busy.
If you have to get tough, cut them off , no money or outside the house activities until the work is done. Again good luck and remember they will love you for your rules when they are older. KG

lauriesanchez · 1 week ago

Hi, stoneman 41 -- I know what you say is true, actually. : ) I do believe that they would be better off for doing their own laundry. I just wish I could have them do it but be "out of the way of doing it," if that makes sense. When I've tried this, the problem becomes that we all end up trying to do laundry on weekends! So everyone is "leapfrogging" over each other's loads, like college kids in a dorm laundry room. I think I need a schedule -- one kid on Tues, one on Thurs, etc. ... Thanks for the tips and especially the luck! : )