wash the laundry

Having laundry is like having dishes, if you wear clothes, eventually you will need to wash the laundry.  And washing the laundry is not hard these days, nor is drying it, because of the machines available to us.  However, the clothes still need to be separated before they are washed and put away after they are dried.  Gaining control over “Laundry Mountain” gets you over the second hurdle in organizing your spirit.

The Mechanical Machines

Most people have access to either a washer & dryer that are in their personal residence or a set that is fairly close by, like those available in an apartment complex.  Some people may only have access to a washer, while others may need to go to a laundry mat in order to complete this chore.  While this article may appear to be geared toward those who have a washer & dryer, suggestions for those who do not have one or both will be placed as appropriate throughout the segment.

Gather your supplies:

· Your Favorite Upbeat Music

· Garbage Bags

· Scratch Paper 

· Pen

· Tape

· Laundry Detergent 

· Dryer Sheets

· Hangers

· A Refreshment

The First Load

Two things that you need to understand before going any further is that one, you will get all of your laundry washed, dried, and put away; but two, you will not get it all done today.

Take a deep breath.  It is okay.  I am giving you permission in NOT doing all of your laundry today.  Instead, we are going to take a journey on establishing a good foundation in getting your current backlog of clothes washed as well as maintaining a positive habit for this task.

Having said that, get an empty laundry basket (bag or cardboard box) and gather the items for your first load.  What this first load is will ultimately be determined by you.  For me, it is one of two choices: towels or jeans.

How did I determine that?

For me, each time I found that I got behind in my laundry, getting that first load in the washing machine was a key motivator in gaining control over my mountain.  Initially, towels were the easiest to gather and throw into the machine.  Now, since I have a little guy who wears primarily jeans, I know that I can also use jeans as my first load.

Your first load should be something that is easy to spot, similar in color, and similar in material.  For example, if you worked in a medical setting then you may wear scrubs as part of your uniform for work.  This could be a first load for you.

If you look around and really cannot think of something simple to gather and put in the washer, then wash the linens off of your bed.  Do not wash anyone else’s at this point.  Our focus is the laundry and your motivation in getting it done.  I am giving you permission to wash your bed linens as your first load, but only your bed linens.  Remember, you do deserve to sleep on clean sheets and you will still meet the needs of the rest of your household.

Ready?

Turn on your favorite music, roll up your sleeves, and gather the items of your first load!

After you’ve gathered your first load, you are ready for Wash the Laundry: Separating the Rest.

Now that you’ve gathered the items for you first load, you are on course to wash the laundry and gain control of your laundry mountain.  Your focus now is getting this load INTO the washer.  Don’t look at the other clothes strewn about the place, just head to the washing machine.

At this point, I’m going to assume that you know how to operate your machine.  My job is to motivate you to use it.  So, crank it up and throw in your load and leave it.

Laundry Note #1: If the machine you are using is not in your personal residence but onsite in relation to where you live, you should be able to still go load your clothes into that machine and come back.  If you feel that your clothes may be stolen, then review Laundry Note #2. 

Laundry Note #2: If you have to go offsite in order to wash your clothes, like going to a laundry mat, bag this first load and mark the bag with a number one.  Your focus will be on the sorting process and then the washing process, and so on.  Do this instead of completing the tasks in an assembly line fashion as outlined below.  Please continue reading and making adjustments as needed.

First load is taken care of…on to the rest!

Whether your laundry is scattered throughout your house or piled four feet high in one room, your task is to separate the rest.  How you separate your laundry will be completely up to you.

A general guideline that I developed for myself is as follows:

· Whites: Or mostly white items with only a small amount of color on them.

· Lights: Pastels.

· Brights: Reds, Browns, Royal Blue range, Kelly Green range, etc.

· Darks: Blacks, Navy Blue, Forest Green, etc.

· Jeans

· Gentle Wash: Read the label.

· Towels/Linens

Do not focus on the size of your piles, trying to divide them in such a way so that they will actually fit into the washing machine.  We will do that in a later step.

Instead, the heart of this task is to simply separate the laundry that is dirty so that it can be washed.

If you come across any clean laundry then lay them out, maybe over the back of a chair or a clean flat surface like a table, for you to put away later.  Do not put them on your bed or the bed of a house member, just in case you aren’t able to put them away before the bed is needed for sleep.

Where Do I Separate All of This Laundry?

Again, this question is best answered by you.  Maybe you have a hallway where you can line your piles alongside one wall; or your living room floor could be a possibility for you.  Pick a staging area and go with it.  This will not be permanent, only temporary.

Go from room to room, gathering your laundry, and separating them into piles in your staging area.  Before you place them into its designated pile, take the time to turn clothes right-side out (or inside out depending on the decoration of the article), zip up pants, and check pockets (be careful if you have children because there is NO telling what’s in those pockets).

To Spray or Not To Spray

Treating the clothes for stains at this point does make the most sense; however, this chore can really bog a person down.  For me, I stopped spraying the laundry prior to washing it.  Pre-treating clothes for five people became absolutely overwhelming for me.

I found that a quick check for stains before putting clothes in the dryer was way more manageable than trying to do it for each item before the wash cycle.  I am willing to let the washer do the initial cleaning before I decide if I really need to intervene.  I have found that I could treat some stains even after they went through the dryer.

It’s worth a try to see what the washing machine can get out first, before treating a stain, yet the final decision is up to you.

Laundry Separated?

Excellent! You are making progress!

Stop and Give Me Ten!

A ten-minute break, that is. Grab your refreshment, set a timer for ten minutes, and rest. 

Whatever rest means for you, do that. You deserve it! Great job!

Come back when you are ready for Wash the Laundry: Size and Order.

The next step in your wash the laundry journey is to accomplish two things:

1. Determine the size of your loads.

2. Determine what needs to be washed next.

Laundry Load Size

Since washing machines come in all different sizes, and have the ability to wash differently sized loads, you will have to establish the amount of clothes to wash in each load.

Maybe you have a laundry basket that you’ve used in the past in which to measure this.  Or maybe you can just eye it.  Whatever your method of measurement, decide the size of your load now and go with it.

Remember: Clothes wash better when you have fewer articles in the load than if you had too many.  When in doubt, go with less.

Laundry Order

Your first load is done or nearly done and soon you will need to put in a second load.  Your question to me is “How do I figure out what to wash next?”  My question back to you is “What articles of clothing are you most in need?”  I bet most of you answered “Everything!”

I’m not going to tell you what to wash next.  I will give you some ideas, though, of how you can determine what to choose next.  Also, with each massive laundry event like this, the laundry needs of your household do change.  What you may have chosen to wash initially last time may not be as important this time.

Some Ideas:

#1 - Undergarments and socks are ones I try to look at first.  Most of mine and my husband’s are white, therefore the whites load could be our next load.

#2 - Jeans are worn by many members in our family on a regular basis.  If one member is out, it makes sense to make this load a priority.

#3 - Sometimes my son is the only family member without any long-sleeved shirts to wear during the winter.  Most of his shirts can be comprised of the brights load.

#4 - My daughter, who has lots of pastels, may be the one in most need of some clothes right away.

#5 - Many of my work clothes are black slacks and black socks, if I don’t have any or have only one set left, then darks are the way to go.

Keep in mind, just because you are concentrating on a particular need, doesn’t mean that you only have to wash for that need.  If you have enough space to add to that load without overfilling the washing basket, then by all means wash more.

Bag & Tag

That’s right!  You are going to remove your laundry from that temporary staging area.  Start with the load that you are going to do last.  Let’s say you’ve concluded that it will take you twelve loads to catch up on your laundry.  Put that twelfth load in a kitchen bag, write the number “12” on a piece of scratch paper and tape it to the bag.  Place that bag in an area where you can stack others—accessible but not highly visible.

Do this for each load.
Bag, number, stack.

Laundry Note #3: For those who will need to go offsite to wash and dry laundry, this will be helpful in knowing what loads to grab next.  Since I do not want you taking more than four loads of laundry with you at a time, you will be relying heavily on those numbers.  (Explained further in Laundry Note #4.)

Size and Order All Set?

Outstanding!  You are ready for Wash the Laundry: Drying and Folding.

Whew!  The hardest part of wash the laundry is done but your task is not quite complete.  Our focus for this step is on drying and folding.

Drying

This task is probably the simplest.  For most of you it is taking the clothes from the washing machine and putting them into the dryer.  It is during this time that you should look at the clothes, especially shirts, to see if there are any stains that did not come out in the wash.  Recommendations on treating stains will be addressed in a different section.

For now, if you come across any clothes with a stain that you want to deal with then place it to the side until all of the other items are in the dryer.

If you need to hang up your clothes, fill up your basket, grab the clothespins, and head to your clothesline.  Hang them up now.  This goes for your delicate items that are placed on a wooden drying rack.  Do it now.

What do I do with the clothes that still have stains on them?

Staying with the “Do It Now” principle, you will treat the stain accordingly.  Then, figure out in what future load it will be washed and leave it there.  Finish this task before you move on to any next steps or any new loads to wash.

Washed.  Dried.  Now what?

As you pull them out of the dryer, fold them.  Do not put them in a laundry basket.  It is crucial that you NOT transfer the laundry from the dryer to another place to fold.  This is because a person’s tendency is to become distracted and do something else.

Your task in folding your laundry is to do it AT the dryer or fold it AT the clothesline.

If you have a top loading machine, then you have a flat surface in which to fold and stack laundry.  Otherwise, how would you get your laundry in and out of the machine?  If you have a stackable washer and dryer unit or a front loader with stuff piled on the top, then you will need to come up with an alternative place to fold your laundry.

Don’t spend more than a few minutes coming up with a temporary plan so you don’t get distracted from your goal of washing your laundry.  Later, we will address laundry room organization.  For now, wipe off the top surface of washer and dryer so that you can use it to fold your laundry.  If the surface is not “cleanable”, such as those that are out in a garage, put a towel down to protect your clothes.

Remember, if you are pulling it out of the dryer, then you must fold it.  That means underwear, socks, jeans, and shirts.  If any items are to be hung up, drape them over a clean surface for now until you get all of the other items folded and stacked for delivery.

The following are some additional ideas on how to accomplish this task:

· Any clothes that need to be hung up, no matter whose closet, can be draped in one pile over the back of a chair.  On occasion, I have used the dryer door to drape a shirt or two for a few minutes.

· Pile underwear flat in one pile and socks, too, until all other clothes are folded and put away.  Then, continue standing at the washer and dryer until each household member’s underwear is folded and socks matched.  It is important that you not leave and do this task somewhere else.

· The only exception I would make in folding items at an area other than the dryer is when you need to fold fitted sheets.  Directions on how to fold fitted sheets will be addressed in another section.

Dried & Folded?

Magnificent!  You are ready for Wash the Laundry: Put It Away.

You’re almost done!  Don’t stop now in your final step of wash the laundry.  Finally!  You are going to put it away!

Do It Now!

Deliver your piles to their designated homes (like their drawers), or to their owners for them to put away.  Example: I do not put my husband’s clothes away.  Early in our marriage, we found conflict in how I wanted his clothes organized and how he preferred them to be folded or hung up.  Our resolution was for me to leave them on his dresser, in order for him to put them away.  He, however, rarely puts them away unless I mention that his pile is starting to tip over.  This works for us, but I have different expectations for our children.

Now, I am raising two kids who will one day be responsible for their own wash.  Although I still put the bulk of their clothes away, each one has his and her own responsibilities in putting away their own clothes.  Therefore, I had prearranged with each child where to put those clothes so that when said child sees the clothes in that spot (of their choosing), then they know to put them away.  Also, it allows me to see at a glance if those clothes are put away.

After you’ve delivered the folded laundry, then grab your hangers and add them to the clothes that you’ve draped.  Once complete, deliver them to their respective closets (or prearranged spot with their owner).

Ultimate Goals

Your goal is to only do a load that you can wash, dry, fold, AND put away before beginning the next load.  If you cannot do that, then don’t do another load.

Doing so will only lead...

-to having clean laundry everywhere 

-which will then get mixed up with dirty laundry

-which may cause you to inadvertently rewash clean clothes

-because you cannot remember anymore

-which piles were clean

-and which ones were dirty.

Laundry Note #4: For those who need to go offsite to wash the laundry, only take four bags at a time, along with something to do.  Do not try to wash, dry, fold, and put away all of the loads you need to have washed in ONE day.  I give you permission to not do all of your laundry and I give you permission to schedule additional time to catch up on your laundry.

Once you have diminished “Laundry Mountain”, dirty articles should be kept in a hamper for each appropriate room.  This is for your benefit as a gathering spot as well as clearing an eye soar. 

No more than one load of laundry should be done each day for those who have regular access to a washer and dryer.  If you who work outside of the home, an example of how to get this accomplished would be as follows:

· Before breakfast: gather one load and put it in the washer.

· After work: take the load from the washer and place it into the dryer.

· Before bed: fold the articles and put away.

Don’t Forget!

You need to clean out the dryer vent.  This is a have to do, but it really is a get to do as well.  I am always fascinated with what this little screen catches.  If there isn’t much on the screen, grab your used dryer sheet and wipe it off.  You reduce the risk of your dryer becoming a fire hazard and it may extend the life of your machine.  And the lint is pretty neat to peel off.  Everyone wins!

Be sure to go back and put away any clean laundry you found during your separation step and then…

Stop and Give Me Ten!

You have now completed the “Wash the Laundry” step and you’re almost halfway through your journey in Getting Started to Organize Your Spirit.  You are now ready for the next step, Pick Up the Garbage. Well Done!