I’m not sure if it is fate, or just irony, that we are diving into the laundry cycle one week after I decided to do our household’s laundry incredibly late on a Saturday night and then forgot to press start on the dryer resulting in a dreary midnight folding session… Either way, read on to learn from my mistakes as well as a few other dos and don’ts:
The number one contributor to laundry overwhelm is having too many clothes. Period. The best way to counter this is to do a full declutter of the clothes you own by taking them all out of the closets, drawers, backs of chairs, laundry room floor, etc. and doing a quick keep vs. donate vs. trash sort. Sometimes it helps to sort bottoms vs. tops (or even more specifically if you prefer). If you aren’t sure if an item still fits you, or whether you want to keep it, try it on. Once decluttered, check that what you have works together as actual outfits and isn’t too much for your space. Do a second pass if needed. Don’t overthink it. If it is good enough to donate, do so, and try not to choose individual items for individual friends – this takes too much time and energy and makes it much more likely that the item will never leave your space. Instead drop the whole bunch off to your local resale shop (or trash, if too worn) or post as a “please take all” flash gift to your local Buy Nothing Group on Facebook.
Most of us only wear about ten to twenty percent of our clothing. Making a capsule wardrobe can help make sure you are really wearing what you own but it isn’t a must. If there are gaps in your wardrobe (a quality bra, for example), make a list of these items and shop ONLY FOR THOSE ITEMS. If you enjoy clothes shopping and can afford to go often, you may find that then your space fills up too frequently; choose limitations based on the space you have and implement a one in, one out rule for purchases – donating the old whenever you bring in new. Similarly, if you get clothes gifted or given to you frequently and this is contributing to your overwhelm, implement the same one to one rule, or thank the person who is the source of the clothing but tell them you are at capacity so they should feel free to bless someone else instead.
Once you are down to a reasonable amount of clothing, as determined by you and your space (meaning that if it were all clean at once, you have room for all of your clothing to be folded and/or hung and put away), then it is time to set up the cycle for success. One way to do this is to recognize if you are someone who prefers to fold or hang your clothing. If you prefer folding, you can use baskets to containerize bulkier items (like sweaters) that might otherwise monopolize your dresser drawer space. If you prefer to hang your clothes, then lean into that and use baskets, containers, or separators to maintain structure for things that can’t hang (like socks and underwear).
As for the actual washing and drying of your laundry, try to choose one day a week to be laundry day. Choose a backup day in case you are traveling, sick, or have an emergency one week. Don’t choose to do laundry in the evening if you really prefer doing it during the day (me, me, pick me!) or you’ll be hampering your success (sorry, I had too). Put the task in your calendar for a specific time and set alarms to stay on top of it. Use hampers as close as possible to where you and your loved ones get undressed (bathroom, bedroom, etc.) assign a basket for “re-wear” items if applicable, and don’t let clean laundry sit in baskets once it is done – get it put away.
Also, if you have a significant other and/or children, see how you can divide the task to be shared among family members and don’t accept “weaponized incompetence” as an excuse! Even littles can pair socks or fold washcloths and can even hang clothing with the help of a step stool or lowered closet rod (see my Amazon list for an extender that I really like!) Try listening to music during, or do something fun after, so this reward will give you (and the littles) an endorphin hit that you’ll start to associate with the task of laundry – winning!
