“Let’s do this dirty laundry, this dirty laundry…”
Dirty Laundry | Kelly Rowland
This topic is about doing one of the most struggles of all time… laundry. I’m going to save y’all some stress about the thought of doing laundry and how to stay ahead. Don’t be like me and wait until the very last minute (running out of underwear). That way you won’t have to dread doing laundry or spend your whole day on it. In the end, you’ll feel like a super person handling this BIG task and still have time to catch up on an episode of the Walking Dead 🙂
Tip #1. Set a Schedule
Look through your phone or planner or whatever you use to keep track of your list of items to do and set a schedule. Set your phone or write in your planner to do laundry every two weeks. Pick a day and set it for every two weeks. This will get you on track to do laundry and not get behind. Personally, I know it is time for me to do laundry when it has been almost two months. I keep about three laundry components in my closet and can tell when the second one starts to fill up. Again, this is an example to not let your clothes build up until you decide to laundry.
While choosing a day, choose a time that works best for you. Preferably mornings to get it done and over with. Don’t do it when you know you have plans during the day or won’t be home. Choose a time when you know you don’t have much to do. A chill day or a cleaning day or even what you consider me time. This might be my next topic. A day where you can relax and have not too many distractions going on. For instance, it could be the first thing you do in the morning when you wake up. Or right before you make dinner, before getting in the shower or even before you start watching a show on Netflix. It literally takes less than 5 minutes to throw some clothes in the machine and continue to do what you were doing.
Tip #2. Get Some Help
This is for those who have a household of two or more people. You better delegate who does what for laundry day lol. Someone can put the load in, someone can switch it over and everyone can fold and put away. It is not fun being the only one who does chores around the house so make everyone pitch in to help, otherwise you’re going to be looking like Spongebob here.
If you have kids in the household, this will be a perfect way to entertain the little ones because they’re nosy and most of all love to see what you’re doing and mimic you. You can have them be your own timer by teaching them how to read the time (if they’re bigger) and let you know when it’s time to switch loads. The little ones can hand you pieces of clothing while you put in washer/dryer. This is also considered spending quality time with your little so you are killing two birds with one stone. 🙂
For those who live alone, like mwah, we can keep up with a ten-minute task without needing much help. Sorry, I know it sucks. :/
Tip #3. Create Less Laundry
What I mean by this is to not overuse items if you don’t really have to. I like to keep my old t-shirts and socks that are ratty and use them for spills in the house. Rather than using paper towels or wash cloths/towels, I use those instead to clean up spills and throw them away. It decreases the amount of laundry you will have to do if you use wash cloths or towels. You can also narrow down your wash cloths and towels by using them only for one week. Trust me. They are perfectly fine and once the week is over, switch them out for clean ones. Same with sheets!
For clothes, it isn’t necessary to wash something every single time you wear it. Sweaters, jeans, and hoodies are some main pieces of clothing you don’t have to wash every single time. Just wear your sweater or hoodie and simply hang it back up. The more you wash your clothing, the more wear you put on them. Jeans are a prime example. Have you ever notice why your jeans start to fade or gets harder and harder to put on or take off?
Jeans can be worn a few times before they are needed to be washed. I do this a lot so I don’t ruin them too quickly. Now of course, if you spill something on your clothes or you’ve been sweating profusely in it, then please, wash it. Don’t be around here stankin’ please. I also noticed that I’m at fault for tossing clothes in the laundry basket because I’m lazy to put them away if I wore them once. I will be working on this so I can create less laundry for myself.
Tip #4. Set Up a Reminder
Do not, I repeat… do not FORGET to put a timer on your phone to switch your laundry from the washer to the dryer. This happened to me back in high school when my mom told me to do a load of laundry and I forgot to switch the clothes over. My mom is one of those people who likes to do things early in the morning and she had put a load in before she left for work. I remember her waking me up out my sleep to remind me to change the load once it’s done. Y’all… I forgot. It was the weekend after school was out and I was sleeping so good, so I didn’t even get up until hours later. I done made me something to eat, watch some tv, talked on the phone, played video games, all that and I still forgot about the laundry.
But as soon as I heard my mom’s car pulled up in the driveway, I immediately remembered the task she asked me to do. And yes, this was my facial expression as soon as I remembered!
I don’t know why we remember the important things our parents tell us until the last minute, smh.
But like I was saying, set a reminder for doing laundry, especially if you got a lot going on. You can easily become distracted and now you either got clothes smelling like mildew that need to be rewash or your time has been wasted doing laundry and got pushed back even further.
Now that you’ve read some tips to stay ahead for laundry day, don’t let it pile up. You may notice a difference in your household’s energy and even your stress levels. When you get everything done and checked off your to-do-list, like laundry, it feels 10x better. I like to reward myself with some wine and food, well… thats what I do haha. Maybe choose something to your liking.
I’m also going to take my own advice and try to set my schedule for once a month to do laundry. If you happen to miss your scheduled day, that is ok. Nobody’s perfect. Try to set for another day that works for you and keep going. Let me know below in the comments what your laundry day is looking like and any tips you may have. I would love to hear different ideas.
Be You, Do You—
