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Our family laundry schedule keeps me sane. Weekly Laundry Day has had a huge impact on our home and on my sanity, and works better for our family than any other laundry routine I’d ever tried.
And I’m pretty sure I tried them all.
But today, I’m sharing a few laundry hacks that will make your life easier. Each of these three easy family laundry solutions remove a specific stress/irritation from my laundry life.
Yay for removing stress.
My favorite three easy family laundry solutions
Laundry Tongs
Yes. You read that correctly. Laundry Tongs are a thing.
Technically, these tongs weren’t made for laundry. For years, I used them to flip chicken breasts and such. But then I got a large capacity washing machine. A large capacity washing machine is great because I can wash a large load of laundry, but that means it’s deep. Like, really deep. So deep that even at my somewhat average 5’5ish” height, reaching those last few socks in the bottom of the washing machine was a struggle. I had to stand on a step stool to give myself enough height to bend at the waist and reach the bottom.
And the step stool would randomly disappear.
Or random clutter would block the place where the step stool needed to go.
Someone here in comments mentioned that they used tongs. LAUNDRY TONGS. Truly brilliant. They make my life so much easier that I stuck a Command hook on the wall of my laundry room and declared those particular tongs to be Laundry Tongs forever. I didn’t love them for cooking anyway since the attachment that keeps them closed was long gone. I do think it’s important that Laundry Tongs are smooth (as opposed to some of our super long BBQ tongs that I tried to use once) since I don’t want anything snagging my clothes.
I use those Laundry Tongs on every single load. I love not having to grunt and twist and turn to get to the very back of the dryer for that last sock.
Yay Laundry Tongs.
The Family Sock Bin
This is our newest family laundry solution that is rocking my world in a very good way.
I was so tired of sorting socks. My children’s mom (that’s me) isn’t the best at having any conscious awareness of when (or where) her socks leave her feet, and she (me again) has passed this cute and quirky quality on to her (my) children.
This means socks are never going to be pinned (or clipped) together. I was lucky if both socks ended up in the same load.
For years, we placed socks on top of the dryer as we pulled them out, matching them up as their mates came out. But sometimes the mates never showed. And sometimes a sock or six tumbled onto the floor of the laundry room where I noticed them a week later and wondered whether they were clean socks that had tumbled there or dirty socks that had wandered there.
None of us liked this method.
I bought a storage basket and made it the Family Sock Bin.
Now, socks go straight into the Family Sock Bin as they come out of the dryer, and the Sock Needer digs to find two that match (or not) as needed.
I can’t even express how much low-grade, not-really-in-my-consciousness-but-totally-there stress this has removed.
How does the family like it? One kid said he always wondered why we didn’t do this (BIG EYE ROLL FROM MOM ON THAT ONE), another said he liked it better when matched socks magically appeared in his drawer (HEAVY SIGH FROM MOM, BUDDY), and another is supportive but felt the need to be clear that she did not agree with what I said when I shared this idea on Instagram. I said, “I like it and they like it” . . . but she does not like it like it.
Hubby? Oh. He is a Conscious Sock Taker Offer and makes use of zipped laundry bags to keep his socks together all the way through the wash. Though I feel the need to note that his obsession with using this method to keep up with his personal socks only came about after four other feet in our house grew hairy and man-sized and started stealing his socks.
Color Coded Hangers
I’ve shared this one before. It deserves to be included in this list because it continues to work so well and make life so much easier that I often wonder how in the world I didn’t think to do it sooner.
Each kid has an assigned color of plastic hanger.
We hang school clothes, but school clothes all look a lot alike since our school district has “standardized dress” rules.
Using color coded hangers, clothes only have to be checked for size one time as they come out of the dryer. People can easily grab their own stuff to go put away without having to shift and search and send clean clothes falling to the floor.
I grabbed colored hangers for super cheap during back to school (dorm supply) time, but here are some on Amazon.
Now that I’ve shared my favorite three family laundry solutions, please share your best laundry tips!
If a laundry routine is your biggest struggle, I understand. Here’s a post explaining how I came up with a laundry routine that works great for our family. Also, there are TWO chapters on my laundry routine in my book: How to Manage Your Home Without Losing Your Mind.
--Nony
Dana,
Thanks for the great laundry tips.
Actually, I do pretty great at laundry. Where I struggle the most at is everything else.
Until I became a wife and mother of three, I never had issues with staying focused. I completed tasks and did great with staying organized. Now? Not so much. I start a job, get sidetracked. Get bored with what I’m doing? Decide to check Facebook. Then an hour has passed and I run out of time. It’s like I have ADD. My intentions are good. I write a to-do list on most days, I just wish I could complete it.
Any focusing advice or tips you may have would be greatly appreciated.
Yours truly,
A Slob Who’s Trying to Become Clean
Yay for the sock bin! I’ve done this forever and my boys didn’t know there was any other way to do socks. My mother however takes it upon herself when she visits to match the socks in the sock bin. Go for it mom!
I’m that mom!!
Ditto for the sock bin! With three teen girls it is the only solution. They seem to enjoy mismatched socks better then matching socks anyways. My partner only buys one type of sock so his are easily separated and matched and I usually keep mine together, but for my kids it is perfect. I’ve been employing it for almost five years. I do occasionally have a sock matching “party” while watching a movie at night and try to toss holey socks, or ones that obviously are too small, so it continues to work well.
Oh, I have GOT to get me some laundry tongs. The struggle for the bottom of the washing machine is real…..
My secret laundry weapons:
* card table next to the washing machine to hold detergents (they used to be on a fixed shelf much farther away from the washer).
* getting my laundry on a once-a-week schedule, and on a fixed day. I hadn’t realized I would react this way, but like Dana it turns out I really like knowing laundry is DONE for the week.
* listening to Dana’s podcasts while ironing. This has turned a deadly dull task into a pleasure.
I also use tongs like that to get items from the back of the shelves in my refrigerator. Can’t reach their either.
My sock solution- my two boys, close in age, have identical socks. All of their socks are the same brand, same color- NO matching!
Also essential for laundry- quick dry towels.
Suzanne- first I should tell you that depression can do that to your brain. Definitely get help if you think you have depression.
Otherwise, there is another explanation- the effort required to keep track of “everyone’s everything” is truly taxing. All those appointments, food likes and requirements, extra curriculars, medications…. that’s a huge amount of information to keep and manage.
My husband and I keep a shared digital calendar for the whole family which keeps us both informed. Also my kids are old enough to remember things like packing lunches and washing sports clothes. Refuse to take care of “everyone’s everything”, push some burden back onto others. Decluttering like Nony is essential.
I love your podcasts Dana! I look forward to them every week! Question- so clean socks never get put away in drawers? Every morning each person goes to the sock bin? Just wanting to understand the magical system. Thanks!
Right. They don’t go into the drawer at all.
Or each individual could match their own socks! What a novel idea!
We use a small sock bin on a shelf for each person (6 of us), still sorted straight out of the dryer. The boys do like “shooting” socks to the right bin. Each person can chose—match up your whole bin, grab as needed…If you need socks, go get your bin. It also helps narrow down the long time loner socks. We started doing it this way as my special needs sons didn’t excel at picking appropriate sizes for themselves, but now they can just get their bin. They have gotten better at distinguishing sizes now though as they help me sort. I have come close to trying colored hangers—we did it at work to separate doctors white coats though and that works great!
My newest solution- in addition to the one day a week laundry is, giving my 8 yr old her own laundry basket. Right now I am showing her how to use the machines with the intent she will do it all on her own shortly. Sorting 5 people’s laundry, soon to be 6, was the biggest challenge. Now she folds in her room (with help) and the clothing goes straight to her drawers.
I plan to either give my 5 yr old his own basket or have him and the three yr old share as my next step.
Your tongs remind me of my laundry tweezers also! The rubber seal of our washer door has three little holes that get clogged with pet hair and goo. It’s hard to reach to clean (and gross), but things don’t get spun as dry if I let it build up. I have an old pair of serger tweezers that reach right in, and then flick the goo and hair to the trash.
When my 2 sons got to be teenagers sorting socks and underwear was a challenge. Everyone got their own color. One son had white socks, another grey, another only wore ankle socks.
As a mom of four boys and two girls, I had my children start doing their own laundry around age 9-10. Each one had a large hamper in their bedroom for dirty clothes. Once a week or so, he/she washed and dried dirties, and put away (or sometimes didn’t) clean clothes in drawers or closet. Worked great and meant one less thing for me to do even though I enjoy doing laundry. Hubby and I have separate hampers because his clothes often have yucky stuff on them like oil, creosote, and paint. I wash, dry, and put away his and my clothes and towels from the kitchen and bathrooms, so I usually end up doing just three loads per week on the same day each week.
I’m constantly looking for ways to make laundry easier so thank you for the ideas!
With 7 people in our house and all shirts on hangers, I never knew what to do with all the loose hangers. They were always falling off the dryer or I just didn’t know what to do with them. A few years ago I took a metal wreathe hanger and bent it out about 10 inches. It now hangs on my laundry room door with about 40 hangers on it. It’s high enough that no one hits their head and always in reach.
Oh my word I do all but one of these. It’s time I get me some tongs!!
I love seeing how everyone has managed to take your laundry routine and made it their own.
Our current routine is Four Loads of our stuff on Sunday: Delicates that need to hang dry (my work clothes and yoga clothes), small stuff (socks, undies, and the 4-year-old’s clothes), t-shirts/pajama pants, and heavies (jeans and sweatshirts).
Kitchen linens on Wednesday.
Bathroom towels on Thursday.
Sheets on Friday.
However, we’re about to have another baby, and the whole thing will need to be revamped when we add cloth diapers back into the mix. Last time, those were Tuesday, Thursday, and Sunday… so we’ll see what happens this time around.
Thanks for all you do!
Yay to you for daring to use cloth diapers!! Do you have any psychologically necessary routine for after the diapers have washed and before other stuff is washed? That’s what stops me from using them…Is the washer REALLY clean for clothes washing????
I have LOVED once a week laundry day! It makes me so happy! Unfortunately my septic system (and check book) not so much 🙁 Just a caution… one load a day is recommended for septic system users. Hopefully my slob- brain can adjust 😊
Tongs! What a great idea. I can’t count the number of times that I’ve tweaked my back trying to reach those last few socks. It’s only my husband and me for laundry but one thing I do is turn my tops inside out when put them in the hamper. If I have a spot that I need to use stain remover on I leave that top right side out so that I know it needs extra attention. Now if only I could get my husband to do it. Thanks for all of your great ideas. My brain and your brain speak the same language!
Oh my gosh….I laughed out loud when you mentioned laundry tongs! I bought a new washer and dryer online based on ratings and never went to the store to look at them. They were delivered last week and this 5’3″ fluffy lady has had quite the time getting clothes out! Your tong idea is fabulous…I’m headed out to get a pair and a command hook to hang them on! Thanks so much for both ideas!
Your vertically challeneged reader! 🙂
Loving the laundry tongs!
My tips are:
Ironing as you take a load out. I bought a folding, counter-top ironing board from ikea that slides into a space between my washer and counter. When I’m folding I might give a quick swipe to a hem or collar but like dishes math I’ve learned that creases multiply exponentially when you leave the ironing til later. I used to have an ironing mountain (range with foothills, avalanches and possibly a yeti) and I dreaded ironing. It wasn’t even unusual to find my kids had outgrown their clothes by the time they got ironed. Now there’s no pile, and virtually no ironing.
I make a Herculean effort to return the detergent bottles and colour grab sheets to their shelf each time, helped by decluttering all the oh-so-useful-but-never-actually-going-to-use-them laundry aids, stain removers and soda crystals. Instead I keep seemingly random things like shampoo for refilling the swimming supplies without traipsing up to the bathroom.
Which segues into the third tip which is to pack sports and kit bags straight out of the drier. I used to sort it all, put it away and then fish it all back out of closets again before I gave my head a wobble. And now I don’t forget to pack things because something was still in the wash because now it automatically comes straight out of the drier and into its bag. That has cut down on a chunk of mental load right there.
I may have to give the tongs a try!
We have a sock bin…unintentionally. I have a small laundry basket that I would drop them into planning to go back and match and fold. The kids ran out and have been going to the basket to find socks every day. I’ve been feeling so guilty about this. Maybe I just need to declare it a sock bin and never fold/match again?! I’m liking the sound of it!
My current set up:
We have a laundry room on the 2nd floor, near our bedrooms.
I use a sturdy laundry basket for Boys. Girls. Reds.Towels.
My husband keeps his own laundry basket in his room, and I also have my own near a downstairs bathroom that I use the often.
We have a hamper in the kitchen directly outside our current main bathroom, for bathroom things and kitchen towels and rags. That is the only basket that has to be carried up or down steps.
The older kids usually do their own laundry, as does my hubby. We have one daughter that wanted to be in charge of laundry. I felt that made sense because she was near the laundry room for most of the day.
We have a long counter with a square marked for each of our piles.
For socks, it’s catch and release, haha. We match what we can find and the others go in a sock drawer. I should call it a HOPE drawer.
I discovered that having my washer and dryer side by side was hurting my hips, as I had to take side steps to load from one to another. So in this newer laundry room, I asked Hubby to place them face to face. Now, I just have to swivel from one machine to the other, and my hip NEVER goes out. That was the biggest blessing to me.
We are now done from 11 in our household to 6, so I expect things will get much easier (less hard?)…but yes, I miss the other 5 members. 🙂
Saba… Just curious because your name is unusual, was your maiden name Abraham by any chance? I had a best friend at Reading College in England called Saba & my name is Atia. We lost contact after she moved to Atlanta, Georgia many years ago & I have been trying to look for her ever since, if it is you please would you let Dana know & she can let me know, then we can exchange emails/mobile no.s x
Laundry tongs! I didn’t know anyone else did this. We bought a new, very deep washer when I was pregnant with my daughter, and I knew right away that I would need some sort of grabber to be able to reach all the way down to the bottom. Thankfully, we had a pair of grill tongs that my husband never used, so I repurposed them into laundry tongs! The tongs have a designated space on the shelf above the washer, and now that I am pregnant again, they are getting more useful every day. And they are multipurpose. When we go on a road trip, I try to remember to bring the laundry tongs so I can reach any toys or water bottles my daughter drops from her car seat during the drive!
Omg! I have the same laundry tongs! It started a year ago while I was pregnant with my now ten month old and they stuck. 5’4” with a top loading high capacity dryer.
Mine still have the tab though so they lock.
We used to have an endless basket of mismatch socks that nobody would claim. I fixed it by giving all of my kids $10 and told them I was never buying their socks again. I stuck to it and believe it or not the basket of Mismatched socks went away
I need the laundry tongs…but I decluttered the long kitchen tongs and haven’t bought another set yet. When I was in junior high, my sister was in high school, and both our feet caught up to Mom’s about that time. We had a universal sock drawer. We did fold them (or rather roll them into balls), but we had one drawer in a dresser that stayed in the dining room where we kept all the socks for the three of us. We also had a basket for mismatched socks. When the match was located, we rolled the pair up and put them in the universal drawer.
The tongs are genius! I am tall and can reach the bottom of the washer, but because the door is in the way, I can’t reach the back of the dryer. I have extra tongs and one pair is going to the laundry room today. When I worked full-time, we had a sock basket. Once every blue moon or so, we sat down and matched what we could, but most of the time, we had to get socks out of the basket.
I never thought of laundry tongs. I use an exercise step used for step aerobics. I’ve had it for years and occasionally used it for actually exercising. When I got the high efficiency washing machine, I would hurt my ribs trying to reach the bottom until I remembered my step. It is pretty close width of the washer and is pretty sturdy; so it just lives in front of the washer. It works great and I don’t have to worry about some flimsy step stool. On rare occasions when I get the idea that I might want to combine exercise with laundry, I can get fewer items or one item at a time out and step completely up and down from the step to transfer each item to the dryer.
Best laundry tool investment our family had: Laundry nets!
We have clothes that we just can’t plop in directly in the washing machine. Our machine’s spinner is still strong even at its minimum level of speed, it can wreak havoc on our lounge wears made of thin textiles.
What we did: We bought laundry nets to put in such types of clothing items, and then we put these filled nets in the washing machine along with other clothes.
Result: Clean lounge wears, but undamaged cloth! No need for us to handwash them anymore.