12 Ways to Organize Your Laundry

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12 Ways to Organize Your Laundry
by Barbara Myers

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1. Develop a system and follow it consistently. Allow your family one month to adjust to it before you alter it.

2. Enlist your family's help. Make each person responsible for transporting their clothing to and from the laundry room. Even a five-year-old can handle that task.

3. Let children help you with the laundry. It's the best way for them to learn.

4. Do all your laundry in one day OR do a couple of loads each evening -- whichever works better for you.

5. Take the lids off your hampers. Make it easy to put dirty clothes where they belong.

6. Have a hamper in each room. However, if you have enough space, place all hampers in the laundry room. Label them according to wash loads (whites, towels, jeans, dark colors,....) Have each person sort their clothes into the hampers each night. Wash a load whenever a hamper is full enough.

7. Teach everyone in the family to make a decision about each piece of clothing as they take it off. There are three options: clean (return to closet), hang to air (designated place) or dirty (hamper).

8. Keep a backup supply of detergent, softener and stain remover. When you open the last one, add it to the grocery list. Laundry items are so expensive it pays to stock up whenever there is a sale.

9. Pick up a good stain remover chart and POST it in the laundry room.

10. Have a designated place for items which need mending. Every week or month, mend them or drop them off at the seamstress.

11. Hang a bag in your closet or in the laundry room for dry clean only items. Set up a routine to drop off and pick up on certain days each month. Some dry cleaners will even deliver.

12. Keep a small basket in the laundry room for "found" items such as money and buttons. Use another one for mate-less socks since they will probably show up next time.

Barbara Myers is a professional organizer and author of "Manage Your Wardrobe System." Enjoy free tips and articles to help you take control of your time by organizing your life. Visit http://www.ineedmoretime.com.