I am just going to speak for myself here, but folding laundry feels like a complete waste of time. As cute as all those tiny little shirts are… they take forever to fold, and just end up back in the laundry pile before you can blink. So here is my hack to get you to stop folding laundry while still keeping the laundry organized.
Stop Folding Laundry
I mean it. Your time is precious! Those little ones grow up fast! When I say stop folding laundry, I mean do all you can to reduce time folding things that wont stay that way. I fold my linens, towels, and adult sized clothes. Rags? Nope. Kids clothes? No way. Socks? Forget that! Anything that is just going right back into the washing machine. Well those are the things that are going to give you the biggest amount of time back in your bank!
Keeping it Organized
Keep laundry organized without folding? “How is this possible?” you might wonder. Well, its easy. Just like any other organization tip you will hear from me. Everything simply needs its place. Choose a place you want it, and make it easy to put there. I image most moms don’t want the laundry on the floor. But it is often the easiest place to put it. So make an easy spot for laundry, and watch as even your little darlings can help put away the clothes.
I like to use bins. We have some like these from Walmart. One for socks. Shirts. Swimsuits. You name it! For kids with little clothes, I use it for all articles. I do grit my teeth and spend 5 minutes folding shirts and pants for adult sized clothes. But even us adults choose to hang everything we can to spend less time folding….and more time living! Laundry takes about 10 minutes max in our house. And that is WITH the little helper on the loose.
Putting Clothes Away
So get it in your head that you CAN stay organized without folding clothes. Now lets talk about what it looks like to put clothes away.
BEFORE you stopped folding laundry:
- Little helper joins you for laundry day!
- You fold clothes
- Little helper unfolds clothes
- You fold again… and again 🙂
- When you finally finish the laundry looks great!
- Two days later, after outside time and Jelly sandwiches have done their work, its back at it again. Sigh.
AFTER you stopped folding laundry:
- Little helper joins you for laundry day!
- You sort clothes into bins
- Little helper HELPS sort clothes!
- Mom and little helper are both happy because the Laundry is done!
- Laundry Done and Life is Fun!
So there you have it! You get your laundry done. The little ones can help. Everyone is happy! And you have time back in your day for the things that matter most! And a tidy home and fresh clothes to boot!
