How to Lighten the Laundry Load

A big stash of ironing hid behind the couch. The ironing board was always up in living room.  Three containers of laundry yet to do; two laundry baskets of clean clothes needed folding and put away. 

That's a lot of laundry. No wonder my client was depressed. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn't keep up. 

The sheer volume of clothes was part of the problem, yet only part of the solution. 

Both parents: 

1. Worked full time,
2. Participated in the housework,
3. Argued about what the other could be doing better, 
4. Felt guilty that the kids weren’t getting enough attention.   

When we mapped out their week, maybe 2 hours were left in a day to get everything done. Not possible. 

The backlog of laundry made sense. Time to re-think and organize a new family laundry system. The first thing that had to go - her clutter - was the expectation that she should be able to do all that ironing.  

A Chore or Being Together?

We de-cluttered and rearranged her laundry room and living room, while her 5 year-old daughter tagged along (the babysitter cancelled) wanting her mother’s attention. My client was torn between wanting to get things done with me and her little girl. 

“Let her help,” I suggested. That little girl folded towels like a real pro.

So pleased to join in, and so wanting to please. To her, it wasn’t doing the laundry or a chore; it was being with her mom. 

There’s a great deal of discussion these days about family chores. You know when the topic hits the cover of Time Magazine, you aren’t alone in the struggle. The very next week, it was in the Boston Globe

Feeling continually stressed out is a sign to do things in a new way, not to push harder doing things the same old way.   

If you don't believe me, a word from someone a bit wiser than I- Albert Einstein: "Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results."

The Antidote to Insanity

There is no one solution. You need to forganize a new system that fit your unique family.  

Resources already in place: Work clothes were dry cleaned and ironed, and they had a housecleaner. Weighing her other resources: time, money, energy (physical and emotional), and space, we came up with a ClutterClarity solution:

1. De-clutter everyone's clothes.
2. Buy casual clothes that don’t need ironing.
3. Outsource ironing.
4. Create a laundry system that involves all family members.

RESULTS:

• Donated 4 bags of clothes
• Consigned 3 bags of clothes
• Found local lady to pick-up, do and deliver back the ironing on hangers on Tuesdays.

 Laundry became Family Time on Sunday mornings:

• Mom put clothes in wash while dad cooked breakfast.
• Dad folded clothes after breakfast with the kid's help while Mom did dishes.
• Everyone put their own clothes away - right away.

ClutterClarity Tips:

1) The ROUTINE prevents the insanity, and helps your family work in a natural rhythm. Everyone knows what's expected of them. Without it, feeling out of control will easily creep back in, laundry becomes a burden, making you nuts again. 

2) You're not done until you put the laundry away. My mother always said, "now that you're done, put your stuff away."  ClutterClarity says, "You're not done until you put your stuff away." 

3) Make a Family Laundry Routine: One that's right for your family. 

 Here's another example:  Alone time for her was very scarce, and she resented doing the laundry alone. 

1. Kids and husband helped mom put the dirty clothes in the car on Saturday night. 
2. Mom went to the laudromat in the wee hours of Sunday morning with the New York Times and a Starbucks coffee. This way, doing laundry gave her time to herself and the laundry was done in 2 hours. 
3. Her husband and two boys (age 9 & 12) put the clothes away - right away!
4. They all enjoyed Sunday breakfast together. 

Take the time to organize a familly so system the heavy load of laundry turns into light -and clean - family time.