I love getting emails from people who are excited about giving Laundry Day a shot.
But then I get nervous.
Because even though a weekly Laundry Day has improved our home by leaps and bounds and is perfect for my needs-to-see-an-end-to-the-task personality type, that first one . . . is brutal.
And overwhelming.
And it doesn’t give you any idea of what Laundry Day really is.
That first day, you’re washing outgrown clothes that never made it into the rotation when you were only doing Survival Loads. If wedding guests over-gifted you with bath towels, there’s a chance you’ll need to do six or seven loads of towels.
A chance.
When the next Monday rolls around, and you feel like you JUST finished Laundry Day (since maybe you did), it’s easy to rationalize not doing it again. I mean, it’s not like you have as many clothes as last time . . .
Which is the point.
It’s the second Laundry Day that will give you hope. That hope comes when you see how much ONE week of laundry really is. And how much less time it takes to do ONE week’s worth of laundry.
It’s the same with doing the dishes. If you’ve read 28 Days to Hope for Your Home, the day-by-day plan in How to Manage Your Home Without Losing Your Mind, you know that the biggest thing in the plan is getting into the habit of doing the dishes every day.
But the very first day isn’t a reflection AT ALL of what the habit is going to feel like.
The first day is a make-up day. You’re making up for all the habit-free days.
It’s not until the second day of the habit that you actually get to see what it’s going to feel like. Then you’ll see what one day’s worth of dishes actually is in your house.
You can guess and you can assume, but in my personal experience . . . my guesses and assumptions were/are always wrong.
Patty@homemakersdaily says
Oh, that is SO true! Don’t judge a habit by its first day. I am SO bad about that. I decide to do something and then it doesn’t go the way I thought it would so I abandon it. Bad. Bad. Bad. It takes time to see if something is going to work or not (most of the time).
Great post and I agree wholeheartedly.
Joan says
Great post. But, I totally thought you were going to go the other way with it! Saying something like, ‘just because you did 1 great change today, it’s not a habit yet. You have to do it every day/week/time etc for it to actually become a habit’!
Sorry, your actual version was much more encouraging.
Nony says
Your assumption made me laugh, partly because I can SO see how you made it! A great example of how our own experiences color how we hear things.
Stopping@4 says
Joining the ranks of those who have read your blog from the beginning and am now caught up. I stopped mid-sweep to just let you know that your guidance has shown me that every little bit helps and that organizing isn’t really my problem… I’m actually good at that! Decluttering is the light bulb that went on over my head. Thank you for teaching me. I look forward to reading your blog:)
Bethany says
I’ve recently discovered (again…) that organizing IS my problem. Your comment reminded me of when I was moving into a college dorm & kept passing the same girl & her parents on the stairs… when I finally met my roommate, it was her. She told me later that she felt so bad for whomever was going to get stuck rooming with me because I had SO MUCH stuff, but when she came back after dinner, it almost all disappeared as I’d put everything away in closet/dresser/desk.
Kim Domingue says
Oh, how your comment resonated with me! I can organize anything, everything and anybody and anyone. I could conceivably organize a landfill, lol! However, being a superwoman at organizing led to a home stuffed to the rafters with stuff which led to not doing “the thing” because to do “the thing” required shuffling, shifting, shoving and moving a multitude of other things to get to the thing/things I needed to do “the thing” which led to a whole mess of things all over the place that had to be shuffled, shifted, shoved and moved back into the spaces that they had been organized in to begin with. Just the thought of all of that shuffling, shifting, shoving and moving would wear me slap out before I even got started! I’ve been decluttering for an embarrassingly long time now but the fruits of my labors have been so satisfying that it continues to spur me on. Decluttered spaces make EVERYTHING so much easier from cleaning to cooking to doing “the thing”. Do I miss the things I’ve gotten rid of that I’d hung onto for, in some cases, decades? No. Not one bit.
Lauren says
Such a true post! Laundry has never been a super-big problem for me (don’t worry–I have PLENTY of other areas I’m working to improve!), but while I was reading an idea occurred to me that might help someone. Maybe for the first Laundry Day, the novice could take all her laundry to the laundromat. That way many loads could be done all at the same time. Maybe that would make it go a little faster and the encouraging, good-feeling part would come sooner. Thanks for sharing, Nony!
Janice says
If you really have six loads of towels and it takes you multiple days I think it would be worth going to the laundry Matt. When my mom got behind and had to get caught up quickly she would always do that. I downsized before I made the habit. I have one or two days worth of dishes I don’t always do them right away but if I don’t I have less mess to deal with.
Cheryl says
thank you for this gentle reminder. I can be my worst critic and if day one fails, I fail.
thank you!!!
Amanda says
This is so true! In the same way, don’t toss a perfectly good habit just b/c of one bad day. The kitchen sink backed up last night, so I didn’t finish washing the dishes. It’s not ideal. But it’s okay. The problem is fixed and I’ll finish the dishes today. When I was a new homemaker, I would throw out any cleaning system that was not perfect. Now I know, life isn’t perfect. 🙂
Annie says
Great words of encouragement! I love this and it’s true in every area, not just house-keeping habits! Thanks!
Chelsey says
I read your blog and was skeptical of a once a week laundry day. But, after reading the whole post I realized that it was a really good thing for me. I can do one day. It is the day I plan on staying home and getting it done. This Monday was my first laundry day… and Tuesday, cough, cough, cough, and Wednesday. I hate laundry and it hates me. But, I just read this post and you captured my thoughts entirely. I just had to remind myself it was make up day. All my laundry was washed and folded on Tuesdays, but here it is Wednesday and the couch is covered in clothes that need to be put away and hung up. But, i just keep moving forward. When I get discouraged I read your blogs. Thanks for giving this slob a hope of changing so that I too can start having people over without them thinking, “Is she a hoarder?” “Do they really live like this?” It is a journey and there is always up and downs, but we just continue on. Thanks for being such a great role model!!!
Slob with OCD says
Hey Nony,
This is so timely for me!! We’ve had tons of chaos from minor renovation work, and I so want to throw up my hands because there’s no way right now things will actually look good. So it seems pretty pointless to do those dishes (and I do skip them some times) but when I do do it, even though all it accomplishes is getting the dishes done, I still think how much easier it is mentally to do the dishes, and that at least when things are done being torn up I know I can get it back to where it should be. I know I know how now. Habits are far from natural to me, but now I know to have one, know that it’s worth aspiring to.
THANKS!!!
Lothelena says
I got on top of laundry when I looked up how much of each type of clothing the state of NY is willing to pay foster parents for and pared down my kids clothes to that (with minor adjustments). About two weeks ago I started using the laundry to help me anchor some other new habits. I put a load in overnight on a timer, then get up and hang the laundry, and put a second load in. I read my bible (a habit I have woefully struggled with for YEARS), since I’m following a really ambitious reading schedule (for the first time ever) it takes about 50 minutes, same length of time as the fast cycle on my European washer. As soon as I’m done reading I deal with the second load of laundry. Two loads a day like this keeps me on top of laundry, gets me out of bed in the morning, and started on my bible reading. I can’t tell you what a difference it is making to me. Sometimes I don’t even have enough for a second load. I’ve never had a habit last for as many as 2 weeks before. I don’t even remember to eat lunch every day.
Brittani A. says
I thought I made Tuesdays laundry days. But for some reason I was doing laundry every single day. So today I said it’s laundry day, grabbed all the towels and threw them in the washer. Why do I still see towels in the hallway on my dirty clothes basket? it really has been that long since I’ve washed towels that I had so many that wouldn’t fit and I couldn’t find them all.
Rhonda says
I love, love, love Laundry Day. And you’re right. The first one is a beast. And I have had a weeks where I’ve fallen behind and it takes more loads to get caught up, but never as bad as that first week! My teenage daughter does her own laundry (still working on teen son!), so I just have do mine and my husbands. It’s typically 4-5 loads. And then I’m done!! That feeling, of knowing I don’t have to do laundry for another week is so freeing.
Somebody mentioned going to a laundry mat. That is actually a great idea. A friend’s washer was broken for a couple of weeks and she had 3 small children. She took her clothes to a laundry mat and she said it was so much faster. She also went by herself and enjoyed the quiet time. 🙂
Isabel says
I love quiet time at the laundromat!
I can’t do laundry day because large family+septic, so my regular laundry is usually caught up, but if people are sick and we have lots of extra sheets or quilts to wash, I just load it all up and get it done in one go.
Ironically, we are having septic issues and for a few weeks I was doing laundry once a week at the laundromat. I did enjoy the feeling of being “done” till the next trip!
Erica says
With a family of 6 & all the laundry that goes with it, this may have been the most, personally, encouraging post ever. Tomorrow will be my first official Monday as “laundry day.” And I’m going in knowing that I’m already behind, but instead of being discouraged, I’m now feeling ok about it. Thanks!
Dana White says
Yay! You can do this, Erica, but I know that first one will be tough!
Rose says
This is very encouraging! I really needed to hear this! I found your blog less than a week ago, and it has changed my life! I’ve never read a blog like yours before, and I’m so needing someone I can actually relate to! Every other cleaning/organizing blog seems to be run by neat freaks with picture perfect homes all the time (at least that’s what the photos would have you believe.) With tips on dusting and cleaning under your appliances. O_o (I am not sure I have ever dusted my house except when moving out, and its amazing if the tops of my appliances are all clean!)
Thank you, thank you for being so real and honest. I am feeling hope after reading and watching your videos!
Dana White says
Thank you so much for this comment, Rose! And welcome!!
melinda says
Since I have to go to a friend’s house, I’ve fallen into Laundry DAy accidentally.
Yes, that’s a great felling to get it all washed and dried in one day! My downfall is, I get it home, and it sits in the clean hamper. Forever. till it’s worn, and back in the dirty hamper again. sigh
Jaime says
I don’t have enough clothes to go longer than a week. So I’m always caught up on laundry out of necessity!
Linda W. says
I agree. I would run out of clothes, also.
Dorothy Marlene Fuurtado says
When I first read your books I smiled. It appears that I was going to clean/organize my home but unfortunately was going to fail and/or lose my mind. After a week or two, I was surprised that the chores were doable. After a week or so, I noticed that I was not cringing over my to-do lists In fact, I grinned when I was ‘woking’ on a chore. Actually, the chores split up did not force me to do housecleaning/.organizing non stop or drop to my feet totally overwhelmed. Also, your Internet blogs made me smile. It was as if you were only talking to me. Since my place is starting to look reasonably neat and organized, I am totally happy. Items that I might have kept or ages now have to prove themselves that they deserve a space in my home. My kitchen drawers and closet shelves giggle with the space they have instead of fretting about being crammed in with loads of other things. When I need an item, I face Noni’s advise and thing about where I might have stored the item. Often it can be quickly fun. Still have to work on this part because I have very little storage space in my tiny apartment. Ah, well.. The items will have to convince me that they deserve their own. As for my loads of books, I’ll have eventually go through them and decide which I will keep. Refused to pile all of them on the floor and then hold each one up, hug it and ask it if I love it. As a 80 year old petite sized woman, I also do not want to pile all of my books on the floor and then attempt to climb over them and avoid falling.
Thanks, Noni, for your awesome suggestions and lighthearted comments. Never thought that housecleaning and downsizing could be doable and also enjoyable.
Marlene
Lisa says
It works, it really works to have a Laundry day. And yes that first day is a killer and you think you will never get through it, but the second laundry day is sooo much better. Also folding and hanging everything directly out of the dryer is a game changer. The other benefit is that when you go to your closet to pull out that outfit you want to wear, it’s there and ready for you to wear. No searching and last minuet clothing decisions to be made! I’ve been doing this since I retired in January and wish I had made this a habit years ago. However when working fulltime out of the home it may have had to be split over two half days.
AnnB says
I love the idea of Laundry Day. It’s not really a day, but a start day (Sunday or Monday) and I continue throughout the week as necessary until I’m done. Whether it takes two to four days doesn’t matter, it’s having a starting point that is the Key for me and then I can stop and not have to think about it until Monday knowing my husband has an abundance of underwear and socks.
Same with running the dishwasher. It doesn’t need to be crammed full to run it.
If your dishwasher isn’t up to snuff, check YouTube for how to clean the two filters in your dishwasher. Ours was so full of greasy paper-like stuff it’s no wonder the dishes weren’t getting clean.
Using citric acid (the same ingredients in Lemi-Shine) poured in the bottom of the dishwasher in addition to good DW pods also cleans and keeps the calcium deposits off the walls of the dishwasher and dishes. Drinking glasses are sparkly now.
Anita Esser says
I haven’t read every comment, but about doing dishes, you do them after every meal and after every snack, so that the next time you have to eat, there aren’t dirty dishes in the sink, so much better.
About laundry, I do laundry 2 times a week, and do it first thing in the morning. On Wed. morning, I manly do the sheets and pillowcases, and then one more odd load. On Sat. morning I do all the towels and then one more odd load. then immediately when the dryer is done, I fold and put away the clothes, by noon, the laundry is totally done. i am retired and it is just the two of us, so this is easy.
Anita
Anita Esser says
I did my comment, up there.
Anita Esser says
What do you mean, I already typed it all out. What am I doing wrong?