Getting the Laundry Done with a Family of Six

Laundry, it can end up being a dreaded never ending chore, especially if you have large family.  Today, I thought I'd share a few "tips" and ideas that I use to get the laundry done at our house with our family of six. :) 

1. Involve the kids! 

* one thing that our kids LOVE is bringing the laundry down from upstairs. They all sit on the landing downstairs while I will throw the clothes down. They think it's the greatest game and after I throw down one pile, they all help carry the clothes to the laundry room running as fast as they can, and then come back for more. :)

* My two year old especially likes helping me unload the dryer! It's nice for me since she will hand me the clothes to fold and I don't have to bend over, (Trying to bend over to pick things up at 36 weeks pregnant is lots of fun I assure you. lol)

* All the older kids (ages 4, 3, and 2) have their own accessible drawers, and all of them carry their pile of clothes upstairs and put them away after I finish the laundry for the day. They seem to think it lots of fun, - working to help that attitude continue!  I'm not too worried if their drawers are organized or even if the clothes stay folded. Maybe it's laziness on my part, but I will be the first to admit, I can't do it all.  Keeping up with all I have to do with small children overwhelms me at times and I don't want to stress about everything that's not perfect, at least their clothes are clean and put away! :)  

2. Get all the laundry done once a week, and try and finish it all in one day.  Growing up, this is how my Mom did it (and I have seven siblings), it is so freeing to only do it once a week! On the days I don't get it finished the same day, it can feel like it drags on and on, versus the great feeling of accomplishment when I finish it all.  Right now, I have three (once in a while, four) loads of laundry per week with our family of six.  All the children are little, so their clothes don't take up as much bulk as older kids would. All the kids have plenty of clothes, (they have never ran out waiting for the next laundry day) but at the same time they don't have excess either. Actually, I suppose I'm a bit of a  minimalist in some ways :),  I'd be overwhelmed with stuff and constant picking up etc. if I wasn't careful. 

3. Buy some good smelling laundry soap. :) Normally, I will buy the cheapest unscented brand, but
last time I got a different kind and I've been loving it!  It helps motivate me when walk into the laundry room now and it smells so fresh and good.  Plus, I love how the clean clothes smell now! :) I have been thinking about trying to make my own laundry soap as well, my sister-in-law just posted
her recipe for homemade detergent HERE if you want to check it out. :) 

4. Fold the clothes right out of the dryer while they are still warm! Doing this eliminates probably 98% of ironing.  I don't have a lot of time to spend ironing, if I end up buying an outfit for one of the kids that wrinkles very easily, I'll usually donate it right back to the thrift store. 

5. Right now I have just two laundry baskets for dirty clothes, one upstairs and one down. It makes it super easy for me to gather the clothes up on laundry day.  All the kids know when they change into clean clothes, the dirty clothes ones don't go on the floor, they go straight to the laundry basket which they can all access. 

Well, that is all I can think of at the moment, hope some of these "tips" will be of help! :)