Years ago, I laughed when I read about people who had a hard time getting their clean laundry put away.
“Ha!” I used to think, “What’s is WRONG with those people. I can easily wash, fold and put away all of my (and Tim’s) laundry in one day. They are clearly not organized enough.”
And then I had kids.
I was already struggling with the laundry situation with just 3 kids, and then a 4th came into the picture. And even though that little 4th addition is tiny, he sure burns through clothes like you wouldn’t believe! And I look back on how I used to scoff at those who couldn’t get their clean laundry put away and laugh at how I struggle to even get the laundry WASHED! So, laundry has become my nemesis.
I have decided that we need a new laundry system. That might be doing one load a day, or maybe folding clothes at the same time every day, or enlisting the kids help on set days… I have yet to figure out the perfect solution to my problem. The good news is that both Chloe and Josiah can load the washer to get it started (only Chloe is tall enough to reach the soap though) and they can both unload the dryer to bring the clean clothes upstairs, so that’s progress. 🙂
Once upon a time I heard of a Mom who had created a “Family Laundry Room” where everyone kept their clothes. And I mean ALL of the clothes. The closests were empty. There was a washer and dryer and iron in there and the clothes were washed then sorted and set in baskets for each child/adult and then the dirty stuff went back into baskets to be washed and round and round it went. I though it was really strange.
I don’t anymore.
Somehow the idea of all the laundry being contained in one room is quite appealing to me at this stage of life. Now, I’m not saying I would actually do this. I still feel more comfortable with the traditional laundry room and having clothes in closets, but I can see the appeal in it now that I couldn’t before. No hauling baskets up and down stairs. No sending piles of folded laundry to their rooms and hoping that they stay folded in the drawers (which they do not). See? It’s not such a bad idea.
For now, I will trudge through the laundry dilemma and be thankful that we have plenty of clothes to keep us warm and covered. And who knows, if I stumble upon the most genius laundry solution to kill my nemesis I will be sure to share my knowledge with you. 😉
Honestly, I’d forgotten about that problem, having only had Dad’s and mine for a couple decades now. But when you said “hauling the baskets up and down the stair” it all came back to me. Along with the remembrance of how wonderful it was to have the laundry room out of the basement, which eliminated one set of stairs. It also makes the laundry upstairs by the bedrooms sound more sensible. Any way you could find room for an upstairs laundry?
Or a laundry shoot, which would eliminate carrying the clothes one way.