There are three things in life that are inevitable: taxes, death, and laundry.
Maybe that’s a little bit dramatic, but it’s true.
Laundry is a task of life–and motherhood–that you just can’t escape. Unless you have a never-ending flow of money and can just buy new clothes constantly (wouldn’t that be cool?), you are destined for some good old-fashioned quality time with the laundry room in your home.
You don’t really realize how all-consuming laundry is until you have kids. For some reason, babies are the messiest beings on the planet and require multiple outfits a day. Toddlers change their minds so much that they cycle through at least four or five wardrobe changes daily. And teenagers? There’s no telling what is living under the pile of laundry growing in their rooms.
There are lots of opinions on how to conquer laundry. I know many people try to do one load a day so that it is always getting done. But this method absolutely drives me bonkers and I cannot do it. I’ve tried, I really have. And in trying, I have found a better way.
Want to know what will change your life for the better?
Doing the laundry once a week.
You heard me. Only once a week.
So here’s my suggestion: set aside one day a week. Make that day laundry day. Separate everyone’s laundry into different piles (I’m a colors, whites, and towels kind of girl, but you do you). Dedicate the day to washing, drying, folding, and putting the laundry away. All in one day. Because if you do it all in one day, do you know what happens at the end of that day? You reach the end of the pile and you are DONE! For a whole week.
Here’s how this method will change your life:
You won’t constantly be drowning in laundry. If you do one load every day, you are doing laundry every single day. You can’t escape it. It’s following you. But if you only do it once a week, you are freed from that drowning feeling and able to do other things.
You won’t waste time, money, and detergent having to rewash the load that you forgot to switch out. Come on–be honest. There’s no way that you remember to switch out the washer every day. You’ve probably got a load going for the third time at this very moment, hoping that the mildew smell won’t stick around. Your bank account–and your nose–will thank you.
Your bedroom won’t constantly be the folding ground. If you are doing a load of laundry every day, your pile of clean laundry that needs to be folded is probably taking over your bedroom. If you switch to doing it once a week–including folding and putting it away–then you aren’t surrounded by piles of clothes. You can actually enjoy your bedroom and feel some peace and tranquility when you go to sleep each night.
You will add a minimum of one hour of free time to your day. The hours in a day are precious and few. If you aren’t doing a load of laundry every day, you can be doing something else! Like playing with your kids, reading that book that’s gathering dust on your nightstand, or just taking some time to relax.
I realize that this could take some getting used to. It may mean freeing up one of the days of your weekend or clearing your schedule one day during the week. It may mean teaching the whole family how to pitch in to conquer the task all in one day. But I can assure you–the benefits to doing your laundry only once a week will far outweigh the negatives!
