OK, so laundry – is it bad for you? Are you feeling like it’s a never ending task? Perhaps you have kids and/or a husband that like to leave everything inside out, leaving you the task of un-insiding outing it {that’s a word now}. Maybe you actually LIKE to do laundry – I mean, I don’t mind laundry, but there came a point in my home that the light bulb went on and I realized that my kids are much more capable than I gave them credit for, and they began doing ALL their own laundry! How did I manage that? I’ll tell you, once you start, it’s blissful!! Here are my tips to getting your kids to do ALL their own laundry.
- At a certain age, start teaching them to fold and put away their own laundry. I’m sure some of you moms who like everything to be in it’s perfect place, looking perfectly lined up, and perfectly coordinated are not going to like this. But, this is something we, as moms, must learn to let go of – perfectionism. When your child is, say, 7 or 8 begin teaching them to fold their own laundry. Nope, it won’t be perfect, but have them fold it and put it away in their own drawers. Resist the temptations of re-doing it all. They’ll get better at it, just be encouraging.
- Have a laundry day. This is how I do my laundry. I pick one day each week that is the day I do my very best to stay home all day and just do the laundry. I set the timer and stay on top of it. Once the laundry is folded and put away, I’m done for a week. I don’t think about it – unless there is an “emergency” load – again for a week. I’m the type that likes to get things done and move on … OR
- Do a load a day. This isn’t something I do, but I know that some swear by this. Maybe if you have younger kids this might work best for you. Throw a load in each morning and fold and put away – RIGHT away. I’ve tried this, but for me, I totally forget about it and then I found it a few days later. Find what works best for your family.
- Make them do their own laundry. In our home, when you turn 10, you start doing all your own laundry. Each kid is assigned a laundry day and is expected to do their own laundry on that day. They each only have about 2 loads a week and the washer can be adjusted for a small load or larger load {they toss in a load before school and another after school}. But it usually comes out to about the same as what I would wind up doing if I did all of ours together. As a side note, this has been AMAZING that our kids do all their own laundry. An older, wiser mom told me she did this with all four of her kids at age 10 and I thought she was nuts — and then, when I was getting so overwhelmed trying to “do it all” my husband said to find a way that I wasn’t the one doing it all. I started my kids on this and they’ve done great. I only do laundry for my husband and I now – plus sheets and towels – and it’s so freeing! Plus, my kids are learning to be independent. I can remember going to college and there were girls there that had never done their own laundry before!
- Take the Stinky Smell Away. One thing my kids are required to do is to use baking soda in each load of laundry – it helps take the stinky smell away and freshens up the laundry.
- Print up HOW you do laundry. I have a printable that I made – it’s HERE – for my kids so they have it to refer to in the laundry room for stains and all that. We use all natural ways of cleaning {no bleach, non-toxic, etc.} so it helps them to have it up in my laundry room.
As with all things around the house like chores and responsibilities, be sure you are patient when teaching your kids to do something. It’s a skill you have spent years perfecting. Don’t hover over them. Don’t expect perfection. Be encouraging and give them time to learn to do it right. In my opinion, if you are overwhelmed around your home with trying to declutter or organize, and you find that you have no time, THIS is a great way to get ahead by having your kids do this. It’s definitely one less thing you have to do and can free you up to begin getting organized!
My kids have been doing their laundry for quite some time about 3 years, they are 12 and almost 14 now. They do theirs together, and take turns each week. Except for sports uniforms. If you wear it, you wash it. Our house rule has always been, if you want to pick out what you wear and what we buy for you to wear, you have to do your own laundry!
I have a bunch of handwritten papers taped up by the washer with instructions on how to do what load and how to handle each type of stain or issue. Thanks for the printables! They are much nicer looking that what I wrote out!
Reading this, I can’t wait for my kids to be 10! My 6-year-old is already responsible for putting away her own clothes, and recently started to help folding. We got one of those shirt folding contraptions, and she thinks it’s a lot of fun. Whatever works right?