Robin says laundry is the bane of her existence. I don’t like laundry much myself. Especially since the laundry room is in the basement and the washer is on the other side of the room from the dryer because of how it was originally set up. So I have to walk across the room with little piles of damp clothes in my short arms back and forth for each load. Plus I have to stand on my tiptoes to get to the bottom of my washer and hope I don’t fall in as I get clothes out.

I’m sure a lot of you feel better already

The best way to stay on top of laundry is to do a load a day. Throw a load in the morning, then to the dryer while dinner is cooking and then fold during evening chores.

If you need to do more than that because of a large family, add in those loads.

If you have a backlog of laundry, pick a day when you are home most of the day and keep the laundry going. Put a kitchen timer nearby so you know when you flip the laundry. Maybe have some movies or shows you recorded to help you fold.

Once you get on a one load a day habit, I also suggest:

• Having everyone that can bring their own laundry to the laundry room with their own hamper.
• Teach kids how to do their own laundry. Then they can do their own laundry or laundry can be part of the chore list that alternates.
• Have a shelf nearby for any detergent, stain stick etc. you may need.
• Wash darks, lights, rags and delicates  – you don’t need a bunch of categories. You can have a laundry basket each for your darks and lights, a bucket for the rags and a delicate bag for the delicates, if you have room.
• Tape a "how to get stains out" printout on the wall.
• If you have allergies – get dye free and perfume free detergents and fabric softener.
• Have everyone put their own clothes away once folded.
• Declutter or move things that don’t have to do with laundry, out of the laundry area.
• Don’t wash towels every time you take a shower – you are clean when you get out of the shower.
• Watch how many clothes you and your family go through a day. Do you really need to change that often?
• Have a bowl for things you find as you empty pockets.
• On my wall I also have a description about how they used to do laundry, something similar to this. So even when I think laundry is the pits, I can feel how blessed I am to have a washer, dryer and a good iron that rarely needs using.

Photo Credit: Dano