Laundry Routine

Laundry is one of those tasks that can get overwhelming if you don't stay on top of it. This simple method is a combination of my Mom and my Mother-in law's routine.


Disclaimer: I'm sure the clothing manufacturers would be "horrified" at my simplistic method! However, I haven't turned our tighty-whities pink in several years, so what I'm doing seems to be working.

LOADS:

The basic laundry at the Claiborne household consists of 3 different types of loads:

1. Darks/Colors - jeans, dark colored shirts, any dark colored underwear, socks or Pj's (could include bed sheets, based on color)
2. Whites/lights - socks, underwear or any other white or light colored clothing  (could include bed sheets as well, based on color)
3. Towels - towels, wash cloths, dust rags, small bathroom and kitchen rugs, etc.  NOTE: I also throw the more rugged flannel sheets into the towel category.

Exceptions: A new silky/delicate blouse or new jeans that  might "bleed" at the first wash should be washed  separately as well as clothing for babies.  Our washer has a cycle called "hand wash" that works well for those items. When in doubt, follow the manufacturer's recommendations.

PRE-SORTING:

Laundry is pre-sorted in our household.  A basket in the closet contains darks/colors and a basket in the linen closet contains whites.  Towels are kept on hooks or in a separate basket until ready to wash.

WASH SCHEDULE:

EVERY day...at least one load of laundry is done - dependent on which basket (from the pre-sorted items above) is the most full.

• Work days -  if the whites or towels basket is the most full,  the load is started when I first get up.  These items are then dried before leaving for work.  The darks/colors will require more attention in the hanging and drying process, so always do them at  night when you have more time.

• Saturdays - We change the sheets on our beds and immediately wash them - this load is in addition to the daily load.

DRYING:

• Towels - Folded and put away - our washer and dryer tops are kept clear so they can be used as a folding station.  Everything is folded there and put away.  
  
• Whites - Dried, folded and put away straight out of the dryer - again fold them in the utility room and put them away.
• Sheets -  Dried and immediately removed while warm to decrease wrinkling - fold and put them away.  NOTE:  To fold sheets, I put the fitted sheet, top sheet and 1 pillow case inside the second pillow case - this keeps every set together nicely. (see photo below).
  
• Dark/colors - These are the items that require more care - some items  don't even need to be put in the dryer, such as silky blouses, jeans that you don't want to shrink, dress pants etc. - take those out of the washer and immediately hang them up to dry (our utility room has a closet type rod below the cabinets adjacent to the washer/dryer - we store empty hangers there and hang items that need to drip dry).  Everything else goes in the dryer.  ALERT:  This is where you must pay attention and get these items out of the dryer a few items at a time, hanging  immediately.  This is key to prevent wrinkling.  For example: Take out a couple of items, close dryer door and let remaining items spin on de-wrinkle cycle while you hang up the 2 items and repeat until dryer is empty and everything has been hung up or folded.

COMPLETE THE JOB:

Laundry isn't DONE until everything is put away.

Key points for the laundry routine are:

1. Pre-sort
2. Wash a load every day
3. Take action as soon as the dry cycle is done and "complete" the job by delivering the items to their appropriate location.

I hope this is helpful - if you have any specific questions about our laundry routine, please let me know. 

Special thanks to my "proofreader" - Taylor Claiborne-Calderon.