My house is starting to look good. I am decluttering zone 1 as we go along and today I did my entry way mail basket. By the time I reach the zone 1 cleaning I will have the dining room and entry way decluttered. Thank you so much Steph
“Don’t start a new load until you have put away the last one”. What s simple concept, but it’s brilliant! Love this series. You’ve helped me so much! Have a great day
I don't have a dryer so I set the timer on my washing machine when I go to bed to start at 5am, so when I wake up, there is a load done and ready for me to hang out to dry. I only discovered the timer on my machine this year, even though I've had the machine for 5 years. It's definitely helped me keep on top of our laundry. Xx
This idea of doing a little bit every day has been helpful since I first found your channel in January. I live in Europe and this system really helps manage the flow of laundry. I sort the clothes in the evening and put the load in the machine, adding the soap and setting the delayed start for when my husband’s alarm goes off in the morning (the machine is in the bathroom next to our bedroom). The machine’s wash cycle normally takes about 2 hours. I fold and put away what is on the drying rack in the morning so that I can put the next load on the rack. If the loads are small, I might do 2 to fill the drying rack. Monday- Darks Tuesday- Dark Delicates Wednesday- Colors Thursday- Whites, Towels, Cleaning rags Friday- bedsheets
As a child/teenager, I hated doing laundry (had to do it in my grandmas creepy basement or go with my dad to the laundromat on a Saturday) and this dislike followed me into adulthood. Then a number of years ago, I was on social media and someone gave a challenge of doing laundry from start to finish for one month. Every. Single. Load. As I have to do laundry in my apartment laundry room, I cannot let it wait in the washer or dryer until later. You need to wash and dry within the appropriate timespan. 30 minutes for washer, 1 hour for drying. I took this challenge and it changed my life. I wash, dry, hang up or fold AND put it all away as soon as it is done. One recommendation I have is to wash your bras in the washer but let them hang dry. They last a long time that way. At $40-$50 a bra, I need them to last as long as possible.
Your doing so much for this planet Steph! U helped me so much especially with my cloths. Bless u and your sister. I no longer worry about how neat my drawers look!!! Thanks so much!!
Luandry for mucky mountains Pro tip...take it to the luandromat if it gets overwhelming. Throw it in the super 5 load machines. Fold the luandry there and seperate. Also many laundromats offer wash and fold services if you can spare the extra . Its usually around two dollars for every pounds. Remember that you can always just have them wash and fold all your bedding too. Then you can wash and fold the rest. After the slate is clean uou can keep on top of it by intiating a system. Its about $14 dollars to take a huge mountain to the luandromat and was it yourself. Definately worth it when things have gotten embarrassingly bad. Lol
Mondays I do sheets (bc it's the day for the Home Blessing). Tuesday is cleaning rags and towels. Wednesday is me and my husband's clothes. Thursday used to be cloth diapers (but after 4 1/2 years and 2 children we are out of diapers!) Friday my oldest does her and her sisters clothes. Saturday is my 2 Littles clothes (I used to be able to wash all 4 children's clothes in one load, but I wanted my oldest to start doing things on her own.) Sunday used to be a cloth diaper load but now it's catch-up day. I like the idea of having Sat & Sun off of laundry. I am going to change my Littles load to that open Thursday. 👍🏻
Thank you@@margaretsofocleous8137 that does seem to help with less ironing 🙂 I do my best to hang up the shirts directly from the washing machine to save time. That way at least its only half the pile Iv left myself to tackle 🙈 Progress... We have Got This! Tick it off the list.
Rox Rox.... Can i make a little suggestion that really helped me.... Declutter your clothes and only keep what you love and what makes you feel great wearing.... The less clothes you have, the less chance of piles of clothes to deal with. Check out the minimal mom on TH-cam, she explains this way better and this can be applied to dishes, which I now do too!! X
When there was more people in the house I used to keep 2 baskets for dirty laundry. One was for dark colours and the other for everything else. When a basket was full it was time to do laundry. It worked for me. You do a great job. 🇨🇦
We're a family of 6 (4 kids ranging from 10-4 years old). About 6 months ago I got rid of all of our laundry baskets except for the one I use to carry the clean laundry upstairs. The clothes never seemed to make it into the basket anyways. Instead I've trained my kids to put their dirty clothes directly into the washer (Thanks minimal mom) and I turn the washer on as soon as its full.
I just recently discovered the concept of only having one load going at any given time. It is a game changer! The rule of waiting to start a load has taken away a lot of my common laundry problems, like having clothes rotting away in the washer lol and piles of Mount Foldmore. It just slows me down to the point of doing quality work rather than biting off more than I can chew and then having the job half done all week long.
I had an older friend of mine once tell me she hung all her shirts, even T-shirts. That was 13 years ago. This keeps them wrinkle free!! What I do is I put them in the dryer for about 10 minutes then hang them up to dry. It also keeps them from shrinking & needing ironing. I don’t iron LOL The other awesome thing is you find out how many shirts you actually have. When you fold them up and put them in your drawer sometimes you don’t even wear them. This really helps to minimize what you buy. It really cuts down on laundry time. 😃
Hi Steph, breaking it all down is lovely ..Wgen I was clinical depressed years ago in London..my first month I did things in small steps and it really helped me feel good . So now I find this method works for me as I dont feel worn out or ocerwhelmed. . Aopreciate this series alot ..Thank you and miss seeing your little helpers. XxLia
@@mariabrigitte6083 yes Maria, Im Lia, yes..Since then I discovered how this way of doing things is best for me..It comes from my inner rythm and flows rather than from outside..Its been 8 years since and it was a lesson to allow mself to connect to my natural rythm and feel that if Im comfortable I can acheive things in a harmonious way. THANKS FOR YOUR FEEDBACK xLia
We have 6 of us so I do a load a day. Usually towels mostly because I can’t comply with reusing them🤢 My husband usually does his own clothes and I’ll put them away for him on times he doesn’t get to it. So that helps. My kids range from ages 2mo-13 so I’ve taught my older two how to do their own. One thing that has helped so much is I don’t keep baskets upstairs at all! I got myself and my kids in the habit now of taking it downstairs to our dungeon laundry room into their designated basket. I have one for each of them, one for towels and one for sheets/blankets. It has helped with not seeing it all piled up in our living areas. And I don’t have to lug it all around now👍🏼 I do have one basket I use for clean clothes only so that way I know to fold and put away in a timely manner. I’m guilty of having clothes sit clean forever in the basket and it makes me crazy!
Having a laundry system makes it a non problem. I did learn that one years ago thankfully. I sometimes do all 3 loads, dark, light coloured, and white in one day and never end the day without having it all put away. There are only 2 of us, but when I had children, (4) I learned that by about age 12 they wanted to do their own laundry. It was a good lesson in independance. My youngest daughter once had tons of clothes because of so many hand me downs and gifts. She was about 8. I kept any clothes of hers that I washed until she was down to just a few. Then together we put her clothes in the hall in stacks. All sweatshirts, pants t-shirts, etc were stacked, and she went through her stacks and chose what she wanted to keep. It was an early form of Kon Marie! She is 35 now and a very organized person!
Hi Steph, A friend told my about the fly lady system and your youtube channel this summer. Just wanted to let you know that your are such an inspiration. I've been a (not so secret) slob al my life and tried to change my ways before. You're video's are a big help and it all feels so manageable. Thank you so much! Greetings from the Netherlands :-)
Just gotta say my house is looking so nice since doing this challenge and my family are noticeably more relaxed and so am I. I have a family of 6 and do a small load 5-6 days a week cos I find it easier to fold a smaller amount. We mostly hang-dry our clothes in Australia so in the Winter I will hang it up inside first thing in the morning and let it dry all day and all night. Then I fold it and put it away before I put the next load up. In the interest of doing this specific days task I timed myself this morning and noted that even the largest of loads only takes less than 15min to fold and around 8 or less to put away. In the summer I hang it on the line outside but bring it in usually after I get the kids from school. I am always more successful with a laundry routine in the winter and I think it’s because I’m folding it in the morning as opposed to the evening. I’m gonna try just leaving the clean load in the basket overnight and folding in the morning as the weather warms up here and I use the clothesline more.
Laundry is so household-specific! I live on a boat and can only do laundry when we can get to a dock to refill our water tank. Sometimes that's only every 2 weeks, so it's important for me to have a place to store all the dirty laundry out of sight! Fortunately, there are only two of us and my DH is happy to fold and put away clothes, so even the giant laundry day goes pretty smoothly :)
I have a rotating laundry cycle goin on all week (it's just me and hubby, but my mom did it for a house of 4 when I was growing). Every morning you 1) put away clothes that are in the dryer, 2) switch laundry from the washer to the dryer, 3) start a new load in the washer. It made it so one load was getting done per day.....you only had to put away one load per day.....and it took her 5 minutes to do #1-3 every morning. The weekends were reserved for washing bedding if it didn't get done during the week.
With four children and the two of us laundry is a big deal! From when kids were around 2-3 years old I got them clipping socks and undies to dry. Then bit by bit we got them to take dry washing off, fold and put away their own stuff. Since I wash in the morning I tend to hang it out, but at other times I ask them to help hang too . They are pre-teens and teens now. Getting them to do this has been major!!! Good for them and me😁 Even if they did a bad job when they were little, it was easier to straighten it up than be the only one doing it!
I must say laundry has gone well for me for almost two years now. It is daily, and I have a list of which load to do which day. It helps Sooooo much! Sunday, linens. Monday, towels. Tuesday, rugs. Wednesday, my clothes. Thursday, Hubby's clothes. Friday, whites. Saturday, a break or catch up. I wash, hang on the line, fold, and put away every day. Oh also, most Days since lockdown I also do a load of rugs because of puppy messes and fleas. In winter, my loads have to be smaller so I can hang them on the indoor drying racks in front of the heater. All year, there is simply no way to even have any laundry sitting around for weeks. However, when my kids were little and I lived elsewhere and had a dryer, then yeah, there would be baskets and piles everywhere.
I have always struggled with laundry. I recently found a system that seems to be working. We have 5 people; 3 boys and 2 adults. The boys have a day of the week allocated to.washing their own clothes. But the no folding is a life saver.
Alternative for working mums: I work in the week and can't have the washing machine on when out of the house at work due to insurance (they don't pay if there is a fire or flood from the machine if you weren't home) ... So I do it at the weekend... Then I run it all.. I can't put away before I do the next load because then I would never get it all done because I air dry my stuff outside/or inside to save money (electric bills) and the environment... I only use a dryer when I "have to"... But I also have a lot that can't go in the dryer.. So I wash and dry at weekend.. And if dry.. Fold and put away Mondays and/or Tuesdays if not quite dry Mondays, while watching a film! Another tip which is good for your wallet and the environment is.. Don't have so many clothes etc... I have been on a serious minamalizing journey for 4 yrs.. And I "do catch up with washing"... Because we don't have so much..so it takes 1 week to collect a load, then I wash big loads with energy programs which used less water and electricity. So I only have enough of all my different wash-load types every 1 to 2 weeks: We wash all the towels 1x load a week... A "boils" wash. We do 1x load "darks"wash 1x week We do 1x load " lights" wash every 1-2 weeks (just Sport stuff mainly) We do 2x load blankets/throws wash every 2 weeks.. Using the " 15min fresh-up" cycle. (on the alternative week to bedding). We do bedding every 2 weeks... Which for 1x double/king and 2x Single beds makes 2x wash loads on "hygiene cycle". (on alternative week to blankets/throws) In addition : 2x a yr I wash coats, jackets, rain clothes etc (1x end spring/summer , 1x end fall/winter). 1x a year curtains ( after the Spring tree pollen season). Hope that might help someone!
I like to start my laundry before I get dressed and prepare to leave the house with the kids. The washer only takes 20 minutes so the washer has stopped before I leave.
@@nataliean4 Lucky your washer only takes 20mins! Never seen that speed wash program for normal washing! ...I do have a 15min rinse wash.. But that's only good for non- soil stuff that just needs a "fresh-up" eg throw blankets. All my normal wash programs take between 1 and 2 hrs.. Most normal washes for kids soiled clothes (Which I have with 2 boys due to: sports, cycling to and from school in all weather and my teenagers BO, and my work/lab clothes) .. I have to take a "soils wash" which is 1hr 40 mins... So no way I would get a load done before we go out the door at 0710!... especially with getting us all ready, finishing our breakfasts and lunches to take to school and work! I find getting up at 0600 early enough!
Yes! A load a day is key. This includes not just clothes, but time has to be made for non clothing like bedding, rugs, kitchen towels and dish mats . tfs 💗
I'm blessed that everyone in our household are adults, so I don't have to do laundry for everyone, just my husband and I. That being said, I only do our laundry 1or sometimes 2 days a week, and fold it straight out of the dryer. I 100% appreciate what you're doing here and I'm definitely working on getting our home in order. With elderly parents and working young adults in the house it seems that I'm the only 1 who actually cleans. My husband works 10 hour days, my daughter works 6 days a week. I do all of the shopping, most of the cooking and am currently looking for a new job (thanks to Covid) I'm so glad you are putting your own spin on the flylady system. I have tried watching her and it's just an infomercial for her products. Thanks again!!
Your baby steps series came at a perfect time. Hurricane Laura devastated my home, and I’m taking baby steps to put our life back together. I love you and Diane!
I use a rack to dry my washing. So my load takes 2-3 days. 😅 but not waiting for motivation to fold a huge pile at once was key for me. Small pile, less motivation needed 😁
Yes Thank you for sharing the Truth! Laundry is never done. If I had accepted that truth in my younger years, it would have saved me years of frustration. I would feel angry when I finished laundry to see more dirty clothes that very same day. I hope young people take this messaged heart, Laundry is never done, and that's O.K, just find a system that works for you! Thank you Stephanie!
I hang all my clothes except for leggings, PJs, bras and undies, they go in one of those storage chests at the end of my bed. I fold my extra sheets and blankets and put them on the top shelf of my closet. This seems to work well for me keeping my shopping down because my closet can only hold so much and I have 4 Canadian seasons in there! I own a lot of clothes in the same colour range so I don't have to worry about sorting too often. My colourful clothes sorta get put together in a waiting queue until I have enough to wash. If you hang your clothes I highly recommend pulling the hanger out and placing it on the end or even in your basket so all the hangers are ready for use instead of having to look through the closet to put things away!
I suck at laundry. I’ve adopted washing really small loads daily and have been getting it dried on time and am doing better at getting it put away. I’m trying to break my ocd /perfection about how everything is folded (way I was taught). I’ve adopted those cube bins for socks, underware, scarves. Mini size loads has been the key. Thank you for suggesting that in a previous video. Hugs! 🌸💜
If reasonable, try to reduce what you have in your closet and drawers so each category fits into 1 load. For me and my little one we can fit all of our clothing for the week in 1 load, our whites/towels in 1 load and each "bed" in 1 load. This means we can't get insanely behind or I won't have any 🧦/🩲
I was so bad at laundry like my whole life and my mom never understood. I finally do qhat many older ladies do and did and that is I do all my laundry on Monday. All of it one day and then done. It is put away and everything. I knoq this does not work for some but it was a life changer for me and I am not young! 🤣 Jist wish I would have done it sooner.
I do a white load one day, dark colours the next day and mixed colours the next and repeat. Don't have a dryer. If the weather is dry they get hung out or if raining then dry indoors on a clothes horse. Usually iron once a week. Love from Scotland xxx
My laundry system is basically to do all the laundry every single day. And fold directly out of the dryer. That way I'm not starting loads without the load before it getting dried. As a large family this system has worked pretty well for me if I ever skip a day then it's only 2 days worth of laundry to do.
I do 1-2 loads a day for a family of 4. I don't have designated days, just whatever needs doing. I fold clothes off the outside undercover line straight in to the basket, even roll socks in to their pairs. I don't iron anything, but will hang clothes prone to wrinkles.
Hi, Steph! I also do laundry 5 times a week. I often get the reaction "You do laundry every day??" Sounds like a lot but in truth, it takes me so much less time to do it this way. So easy to put it away!
Maybe the 'every day' reaction is from people who do 5 loads all on one day. They think that you're doing 5 loads every day 😨 when you're actually doing just 1 load a day.
Lovely clean laundry in a drawer or hanging up in a wardrobe is the aim, so that's the last piece of the laundry process here. Just one central basket in upper hall. We do one or two loads depending on weather (no tumble dryer!) Never used to do much on weekends but do a school uniform wash first thing on a Saturday nowadays. Neat series on habit formation, thanks.
Popping back in to report this here...to people who will be happy with me 😁 ALL the laundry is done in our house! 🎉🎉 Of course, this will only be true for a few hours, but yay for now!
i don't do this most off all i start a second load when the dryer is on. But i put it away and that is important. declutter on clothes is also very important. less clothes is less piles of cloth's in your home. i wish that i had that vision when the kids where smaller back in the day's.
I have a cabinet in my laundry room that holds three wrapping paper containers without lids. It has a piano hinge top so it lifts straight up. This is our clothes hampers: one for whites, one for my husbands clothes, and one for my clothes. I do laundry when the hamper is full. Our good clothes or church clothes hamper is in the master bath. Same thing, when it gets filled, the clothes get washed. Both of us do laundry. We both wash, dry in dryer or hang up clothes, and we each put away our own clothes. When I worked full time and had two kids living home, I spent all day Saturday doing laundry in between cleaning the house. Didn’t like doing laundry then.
We used to just do laundry whenever, spending way too much time moving baskets of clean laundry from one place to another to get it out of the way, not being able to find some particular piece of clothing. We now each of us do our own laundry once there is enough for a load in our individual hampers. So that is maybe every 3rd or 4th day for each of us, except the towels and cleaning cloths which I wash once a week. Nothing is in a basket except while being carried from the dryer to be folded then back to be put away immediately. I now have 10 empty laundry baskets pretty much all the time! That's a ridiculous number of laundry baskets!
I only do laundry on Friday night and. On Saturday morning I fold and put everything away before 8am -linens on Tuesday or Wednesday. Also I try to wear the same thing several times during the week to avoid large loads
Oh laundry drives me nuts. A good friend of mine suggested a load a day and that does work really well for me. My husband does his load when his needs it. I need to get back to it.
I do my laundry on the weekend because it's only me. Lately I've been washing sheets last so they just stay in the dryer until the next weekend when I change them again. No folding or putting away :)
Except for today, the laundry process is the easiest task for me. Although I do a lot, I seem to enjoy. But my machine was pronounced dead this morning, I do have what I want picked out But do not think I can get to the store tonight.
I live in an older house with a laundry chute in the hall by the main bathroom- SO convenient- everything drops down to the basement laundry area, so no need to have baskets or hampers. For some reason this feature has disappeared in new home building- don't know why!
I have just one big laundry basket in my laundry room And my husband and kids all knows Thst they have to put their clothes in laundry room in the basket Even my kids 6 years and 3 year old We don't have dirty clothes all over the place I do 2 L of laundry every single day + bedsheets +home rugs +shoes Yeah because I am OCD IT'S is problem but what to do!
Mine was too until I really really paired down my clothes and the kids ... it makes such a huge difference. If you are hesitant to try it when you get a Mt FoldMore next grab what’s left in people’s closets ... clearly it’s what they least like and put it in box or bin and make it off limits. Try to live without it and see how it works out. I was skeptical but having to do laundry because we don’t have anymore clothes really prevented having to much to wash and the piles are less overwhelming. Figured I’d share as it was even more of a game changers to reduce inventory one I had the system down.
Question, do you not sort your laundry? Like darkseid, colors, lights and whites? If not, why not? My whites get so dingy if I wash them with whatever. I see other youtubers never separate their clothes either. I didnt even know that's a thing lol I have 6 separated loads plus 2 loads of bath towels, a load of kitchen towels and clothes and then 3 loads of bedding. 1 load a day isn't ideal for our family so I use my monday daily focus for laundry. I still get to do laundry every day of the week tho haha
I find whites need a seperate hotter wash. 60 c but all my darks and colours get washed at 40 c with a colour catcher unless delicate which then I would wash by hand as I don't buy many delicate items
@@lyssamedana2224 The only way I've found to enjoy ironing is to put on an interesting podcast to listen to and just get going with it. I keep my spray starch and iron together in the cabinet above my dryer, so they're always handy and easy to find. On the day I launder and iron my husband's shirts, that's the only laundry I do that day. I hope this helps!
Mine is- Mon: Child 1 Tue: Child 2 Wed: towels and Mic Thu: Child 3&4 Fri: Parents Sat: Blankets Sun: Rest... Now I have to fit in baby 5 at least I have until mid February. :)
I love the idea to not start another load until the current one is put away. Thanks.
My husband does laundry daily, I am so thankful I don’t have to worry about it! I like the idea of laundry basket to catch laundry in every room!❤️
My house is starting to look good. I am decluttering zone 1 as we go along and today I did my entry way mail basket. By the time I reach the zone 1 cleaning I will have the dining room and entry way decluttered. Thank you so much Steph
You make this so simplified with your printable, etc. this series is so helpful. The Fly lady website and emails was so overwhelming to me.
“Don’t start a new load until you have put away the last one”. What s simple concept, but it’s brilliant! Love this series. You’ve helped me so much! Have a great day
I don't have a dryer so I set the timer on my washing machine when I go to bed to start at 5am, so when I wake up, there is a load done and ready for me to hang out to dry. I only discovered the timer on my machine this year, even though I've had the machine for 5 years. It's definitely helped me keep on top of our laundry. Xx
This idea of doing a little bit every day has been helpful since I first found your channel in January. I live in Europe and this system really helps manage the flow of laundry.
I sort the clothes in the evening and put the load in the machine, adding the soap and setting the delayed start for when my husband’s alarm goes off in the morning (the machine is in the bathroom next to our bedroom). The machine’s wash cycle normally takes about 2 hours. I fold and put away what is on the drying rack in the morning so that I can put the next load on the rack. If the loads are small, I might do 2 to fill the drying rack.
Monday- Darks
Tuesday- Dark Delicates
Wednesday- Colors
Thursday- Whites, Towels, Cleaning rags
Friday- bedsheets
I really like your upbeat way of encouraging people and your printables are awesome!!!!!
As a child/teenager, I hated doing laundry (had to do it in my grandmas creepy basement or go with my dad to the laundromat on a Saturday) and this dislike followed me into adulthood. Then a number of years ago, I was on social media and someone gave a challenge of doing laundry from start to finish for one month. Every. Single. Load. As I have to do laundry in my apartment laundry room, I cannot let it wait in the washer or dryer until later. You need to wash and dry within the appropriate timespan. 30 minutes for washer, 1 hour for drying. I took this challenge and it changed my life. I wash, dry, hang up or fold AND put it all away as soon as it is done. One recommendation I have is to wash your bras in the washer but let them hang dry. They last a long time that way. At $40-$50 a bra, I need them to last as long as possible.
Me too. I put my washing away as soon as the buzzer goes off on the tumble dryer. I can’t stand washing hanging around the house all day.
Your doing so much for this planet Steph! U helped me so much especially with my cloths. Bless u and your sister. I no longer worry about how neat my drawers look!!! Thanks so much!!
Luandry for mucky mountains Pro tip...take it to the luandromat if it gets overwhelming. Throw it in the super 5 load machines. Fold the luandry there and seperate. Also many laundromats offer wash and fold services if you can spare the extra . Its usually around two dollars for every pounds. Remember that you can always just have them wash and fold all your bedding too. Then you can wash and fold the rest. After the slate is clean uou can keep on top of it by intiating a system. Its about $14 dollars to take a huge mountain to the luandromat and was it yourself. Definately worth it when things have gotten embarrassingly bad. Lol
Yes, and makes efficient use of your time too
Mondays I do sheets (bc it's the day for the Home Blessing).
Tuesday is cleaning rags and towels.
Wednesday is me and my husband's clothes.
Thursday used to be cloth diapers (but after 4 1/2 years and 2 children we are out of diapers!)
Friday my oldest does her and her sisters clothes.
Saturday is my 2 Littles clothes (I used to be able to wash all 4 children's clothes in one load, but I wanted my oldest to start doing things on her own.)
Sunday used to be a cloth diaper load but now it's catch-up day.
I like the idea of having Sat & Sun off of laundry. I am going to change my Littles load to that open Thursday. 👍🏻
Laundry.. Iv been looking forward to this motivation 🙏. My spare room is piled up with 3 weeks of clean unfolded clothes. LETS DO THIS!
My tip would be to put things on clothes hangers as soon as they are dried . That way I iron very little.
You got this!
Thank you@@margaretsofocleous8137 that does seem to help with less ironing 🙂 I do my best to hang up the shirts directly from the washing machine to save time. That way at least its only half the pile Iv left myself to tackle 🙈 Progress... We have Got This! Tick it off the list.
Hi steph, im just curious what is the miscellaneous thing in your laundry routine?
Rox Rox.... Can i make a little suggestion that really helped me.... Declutter your clothes and only keep what you love and what makes you feel great wearing.... The less clothes you have, the less chance of piles of clothes to deal with. Check out the minimal mom on TH-cam, she explains this way better and this can be applied to dishes, which I now do too!! X
When there was more people in the house I used to keep 2 baskets for dirty laundry. One was for dark colours and the other for everything else. When a basket was full it was time to do laundry. It worked for me. You do a great job. 🇨🇦
We're a family of 6 (4 kids ranging from 10-4 years old). About 6 months ago I got rid of all of our laundry baskets except for the one I use to carry the clean laundry upstairs. The clothes never seemed to make it into the basket anyways. Instead I've trained my kids to put their dirty clothes directly into the washer (Thanks minimal mom) and I turn the washer on as soon as its full.
This is very nice 💞
I just recently discovered the concept of only having one load going at any given time. It is a game changer! The rule of waiting to start a load has taken away a lot of my common laundry problems, like having clothes rotting away in the washer lol and piles of Mount Foldmore. It just slows me down to the point of doing quality work rather than biting off more than I can chew and then having the job half done all week long.
I had an older friend of mine once tell me she hung all her shirts, even T-shirts. That was 13 years ago. This keeps them wrinkle free!! What I do is I put them in the dryer for about 10 minutes then hang them up to dry. It also keeps them from shrinking & needing ironing. I don’t iron LOL The other awesome thing is you find out how many shirts you actually have. When you fold them up and put them in your drawer sometimes you don’t even wear them. This really helps to minimize what you buy. It really cuts down on laundry time. 😃
I like putting things on hangers too
I hang up all my "good" t-shirts and fold and put in a drawer my "work" t-shirts. same for my husband.
For us we are most successful having everyone put laundry directly in washer! Then start every morning!
Hi Steph, breaking it all down is lovely ..Wgen I was clinical depressed years ago in London..my first month I did things in small steps and it really helped me feel good . So now I find this method works for me as I dont feel worn out or ocerwhelmed. . Aopreciate this series alot ..Thank you and miss seeing your little helpers. XxLia
Yeah, we want to see more of the little pumpkins! 💚💜💛
@@mariabrigitte6083 yes Maria, Im Lia, yes..Since then I discovered how this way of doing things is best for me..It comes from my inner rythm and flows rather than from outside..Its been 8 years since and it was a lesson to allow mself to connect to my natural rythm and feel that if Im comfortable I can acheive things in a harmonious way. THANKS FOR YOUR FEEDBACK xLia
We have 6 of us so I do a load a day. Usually towels mostly because I can’t comply with reusing them🤢 My husband usually does his own clothes and I’ll put them away for him on times he doesn’t get to it. So that helps. My kids range from ages 2mo-13 so I’ve taught my older two how to do their own. One thing that has helped so much is I don’t keep baskets upstairs at all! I got myself and my kids in the habit now of taking it downstairs to our dungeon laundry room into their designated basket. I have one for each of them, one for towels and one for sheets/blankets. It has helped with not seeing it all piled up in our living areas. And I don’t have to lug it all around now👍🏼 I do have one basket I use for clean clothes only so that way I know to fold and put away in a timely manner. I’m guilty of having clothes sit clean forever in the basket and it makes me crazy!
Good idea making them take it straight to the laundry room!
Having a laundry system makes it a non problem. I did learn that one years ago thankfully. I sometimes do all 3 loads, dark, light coloured, and white in one day and never end the day without having it all put away. There are only 2 of us, but when I had children, (4) I learned that by about age 12 they wanted to do their own laundry. It was a good lesson in independance. My youngest daughter once had tons of clothes because of so many hand me downs and gifts. She was about 8. I kept any clothes of hers that I washed until she was down to just a few. Then together we put her clothes in the hall in stacks. All sweatshirts, pants t-shirts, etc were stacked, and she went through her stacks and chose what she wanted to keep. It was an early form of Kon Marie! She is 35 now and a very organized person!
Hi Steph, A friend told my about the fly lady system and your youtube channel this summer. Just wanted to let you know that your are such an inspiration. I've been a (not so secret) slob al my life and tried to change my ways before. You're video's are a big help and it all feels so manageable. Thank you so much! Greetings from the Netherlands :-)
Welcome! :)
Just gotta say my house is looking so nice since doing this challenge and my family are noticeably more relaxed and so am I. I have a family of 6 and do a small load 5-6 days a week cos I find it easier to fold a smaller amount. We mostly hang-dry our clothes in Australia so in the Winter I will hang it up inside first thing in the morning and let it dry all day and all night. Then I fold it and put it away before I put the next load up. In the interest of doing this specific days task I timed myself this morning and noted that even the largest of loads only takes less than 15min to fold and around 8 or less to put away. In the summer I hang it on the line outside but bring it in usually after I get the kids from school. I am always more successful with a laundry routine in the winter and I think it’s because I’m folding it in the morning as opposed to the evening. I’m gonna try just leaving the clean load in the basket overnight and folding in the morning as the weather warms up here and I use the clothesline more.
Laundry is so household-specific! I live on a boat and can only do laundry when we can get to a dock to refill our water tank. Sometimes that's only every 2 weeks, so it's important for me to have a place to store all the dirty laundry out of sight! Fortunately, there are only two of us and my DH is happy to fold and put away clothes, so even the giant laundry day goes pretty smoothly :)
Yes, it’s so different for everyone! Sounds like you have your own particular unique challenges! Very cool!
Team work makes the dream work ✨
I have a rotating laundry cycle goin on all week (it's just me and hubby, but my mom did it for a house of 4 when I was growing). Every morning you 1) put away clothes that are in the dryer, 2) switch laundry from the washer to the dryer, 3) start a new load in the washer. It made it so one load was getting done per day.....you only had to put away one load per day.....and it took her 5 minutes to do #1-3 every morning. The weekends were reserved for washing bedding if it didn't get done during the week.
With four children and the two of us laundry is a big deal! From when kids were around 2-3 years old I got them clipping socks and undies to dry. Then bit by bit we got them to take dry washing off, fold and put away their own stuff. Since I wash in the morning I tend to hang it out, but at other times I ask them to help hang too . They are pre-teens and teens now. Getting them to do this has been major!!! Good for them and me😁 Even if they did a bad job when they were little, it was easier to straighten it up than be the only one doing it!
Good mama 😊
It's a good life skill for everyone to learn. 😊
I must say laundry has gone well for me for almost two years now. It is daily, and I have a list of which load to do which day. It helps Sooooo much! Sunday, linens. Monday, towels. Tuesday, rugs. Wednesday, my clothes. Thursday, Hubby's clothes. Friday, whites. Saturday, a break or catch up. I wash, hang on the line, fold, and put away every day. Oh also, most Days since lockdown I also do a load of rugs because of puppy messes and fleas. In winter, my loads have to be smaller so I can hang them on the indoor drying racks in front of the heater. All year, there is simply no way to even have any laundry sitting around for weeks. However, when my kids were little and I lived elsewhere and had a dryer, then yeah, there would be baskets and piles everywhere.
Sounds like you have an awesome system worked out!
I have always struggled with laundry. I recently found a system that seems to be working. We have 5 people; 3 boys and 2 adults. The boys have a day of the week allocated to.washing their own clothes. But the no folding is a life saver.
Alternative for working mums:
I work in the week and can't have the washing machine on when out of the house at work due to insurance (they don't pay if there is a fire or flood from the machine if you weren't home) ... So I do it at the weekend... Then I run it all.. I can't put away before I do the next load because then I would never get it all done because I air dry my stuff outside/or inside to save money (electric bills) and the environment... I only use a dryer when I "have to"... But I also have a lot that can't go in the dryer.. So I wash and dry at weekend.. And if dry.. Fold and put away Mondays and/or Tuesdays if not quite dry Mondays, while watching a film!
Another tip which is good for your wallet and the environment is.. Don't have so many clothes etc... I have been on a serious minamalizing journey for 4 yrs.. And I "do catch up with washing"... Because we don't have so much..so it takes 1 week to collect a load, then I wash big loads with energy programs which used less water and electricity. So I only have enough of all my different wash-load types every 1 to 2 weeks:
We wash all the towels 1x load a week... A "boils" wash.
We do 1x load "darks"wash 1x week
We do 1x load " lights" wash every 1-2 weeks (just Sport stuff mainly)
We do 2x load blankets/throws wash every 2 weeks.. Using the " 15min fresh-up" cycle. (on the alternative week to bedding).
We do bedding every 2 weeks... Which for 1x double/king and 2x Single beds makes 2x wash loads on "hygiene cycle". (on alternative week to blankets/throws)
In addition :
2x a yr I wash coats, jackets, rain clothes etc (1x end spring/summer , 1x end fall/winter).
1x a year curtains ( after the Spring tree pollen season).
Hope that might help someone!
Great tips!
I like to start my laundry before I get dressed and prepare to leave the house with the kids. The washer only takes 20 minutes so the washer has stopped before I leave.
@@nataliean4 Lucky your washer only takes 20mins! Never seen that speed wash program for normal washing! ...I do have a 15min rinse wash.. But that's only good for non- soil stuff that just needs a "fresh-up" eg throw blankets. All my normal wash programs take between 1 and 2 hrs.. Most normal washes for kids soiled clothes (Which I have with 2 boys due to: sports, cycling to and from school in all weather and my teenagers BO, and my work/lab clothes) .. I have to take a "soils wash" which is 1hr 40 mins... So no way I would get a load done before we go out the door at 0710!... especially with getting us all ready, finishing our breakfasts and lunches to take to school and work! I find getting up at 0600 early enough!
Yes! A load a day is key. This includes not just clothes, but time has to be made for non clothing like bedding, rugs, kitchen towels and dish mats . tfs 💗
I'm blessed that everyone in our household are adults, so I don't have to do laundry for everyone, just my husband and I. That being said, I only do our laundry 1or sometimes 2 days a week, and fold it straight out of the dryer.
I 100% appreciate what you're doing here and I'm definitely working on getting our home in order. With elderly parents and working young adults in the house it seems that I'm the only 1 who actually cleans. My husband works 10 hour days, my daughter works 6 days a week. I do all of the shopping, most of the cooking and am currently looking for a new job (thanks to Covid) I'm so glad you are putting your own spin on the flylady system. I have tried watching her and it's just an infomercial for her products.
Thanks again!!
Your baby steps series came at a perfect time. Hurricane Laura devastated my home, and I’m taking baby steps to put our life back together. I love you and Diane!
Hugs!!! I am so sorry but glad you are safe!
Sara Phelan , bless you for your kind words!
My thoughts and prayers are with you and others going through tough times. May God give you the needed strength
I use a rack to dry my washing. So my load takes 2-3 days. 😅 but not waiting for motivation to fold a huge pile at once was key for me. Small pile, less motivation needed 😁
Yes Thank you for sharing the Truth! Laundry is never done. If I had accepted that truth in my younger years, it would have saved me years of frustration. I would feel angry when I finished laundry to see more dirty clothes that very same day. I hope young people take this messaged heart, Laundry is never done, and that's O.K, just find a system that works for you! Thank you Stephanie!
I hang all my clothes except for leggings, PJs, bras and undies, they go in one of those storage chests at the end of my bed. I fold my extra sheets and blankets and put them on the top shelf of my closet. This seems to work well for me keeping my shopping down because my closet can only hold so much and I have 4 Canadian seasons in there! I own a lot of clothes in the same colour range so I don't have to worry about sorting too often. My colourful clothes sorta get put together in a waiting queue until I have enough to wash. If you hang your clothes I highly recommend pulling the hanger out and placing it on the end or even in your basket so all the hangers are ready for use instead of having to look through the closet to put things away!
I suck at laundry. I’ve adopted washing really small loads daily and have been getting it dried on time and am doing better at getting it put away. I’m trying to break my ocd /perfection about how everything is folded (way I was taught). I’ve adopted those cube bins for socks, underware, scarves. Mini size loads has been the key. Thank you for suggesting that in a previous video. Hugs! 🌸💜
Glad things are improving ❤️
If reasonable, try to reduce what you have in your closet and drawers so each category fits into 1 load. For me and my little one we can fit all of our clothing for the week in 1 load, our whites/towels in 1 load and each "bed" in 1 load. This means we can't get insanely behind or I won't have any 🧦/🩲
I was so bad at laundry like my whole life and my mom never understood. I finally do qhat many older ladies do and did and that is I do all my laundry on Monday. All of it one day and then done. It is put away and everything. I knoq this does not work for some but it was a life changer for me and I am not young! 🤣 Jist wish I would have done it sooner.
If that's what works for you, do it that way! Way to go!!!
Yes my mother did that too and on tuesdays she would iron all the clothes
I do a white load one day, dark colours the next day and mixed colours the next and repeat. Don't have a dryer. If the weather is dry they get hung out or if raining then dry indoors on a clothes horse. Usually iron once a week. Love from Scotland xxx
My laundry system is basically to do all the laundry every single day. And fold directly out of the dryer. That way I'm not starting loads without the load before it getting dried. As a large family this system has worked pretty well for me if I ever skip a day then it's only 2 days worth of laundry to do.
I do 1-2 loads a day for a family of 4. I don't have designated days, just whatever needs doing. I fold clothes off the outside undercover line straight in to the basket, even roll socks in to their pairs. I don't iron anything, but will hang clothes prone to wrinkles.
Not folding the kids' laundry has been game changing for me! Thanks for the permission!! 😅
Hi, Steph! I also do laundry 5 times a week. I often get the reaction "You do laundry every day??" Sounds like a lot but in truth, it takes me so much less time to do it this way. So easy to put it away!
Maybe the 'every day' reaction is from people who do 5 loads all on one day. They think that you're doing 5 loads every day 😨 when you're actually doing just 1 load a day.
Your idea of doing a small load every day has revolutionized my life! Thank you!
So glad!
Lovely clean laundry in a drawer or hanging up in a wardrobe is the aim, so that's the last piece of the laundry process here.
Just one central basket in upper hall. We do one or two loads depending on weather (no tumble dryer!) Never used to do much on weekends but do a school uniform wash first thing on a Saturday nowadays.
Neat series on habit formation, thanks.
Popping back in to report this here...to people who will be happy with me 😁 ALL the laundry is done in our house! 🎉🎉 Of course, this will only be true for a few hours, but yay for now!
I love the "me" time! Otherwise I feel like I'm always cleaning.
i don't do this most off all i start a second load when the dryer is on. But i put it away and that is important. declutter on clothes is also very important. less clothes is less piles of cloth's in your home. i wish that i had that vision when the kids where smaller back in the day's.
Multiple laundry baskets is the key!! I have a similar schedule but I don't do 5 days. Loved how you broke this down xo
I have a cabinet in my laundry room that holds three wrapping paper containers without lids. It has a piano hinge top so it lifts straight up. This is our clothes hampers: one for whites, one for my husbands clothes, and one for my clothes. I do laundry when the hamper is full. Our good clothes or church clothes hamper is in the master bath. Same thing, when it gets filled, the clothes get washed. Both of us do laundry. We both wash, dry in dryer or hang up clothes, and we each put away our own clothes. When I worked full time and had two kids living home, I spent all day Saturday doing laundry in between cleaning the house. Didn’t like doing laundry then.
We used to just do laundry whenever, spending way too much time moving baskets of clean laundry from one place to another to get it out of the way, not being able to find some particular piece of clothing. We now each of us do our own laundry once there is enough for a load in our individual hampers. So that is maybe every 3rd or 4th day for each of us, except the towels and cleaning cloths which I wash once a week. Nothing is in a basket except while being carried from the dryer to be folded then back to be put away immediately. I now have 10 empty laundry baskets pretty much all the time! That's a ridiculous number of laundry baskets!
I only do laundry on Friday night and. On Saturday morning I fold and put everything away before 8am -linens on Tuesday or Wednesday. Also I try to wear the same thing several times during the week to avoid large loads
Thank you Steph 😊 💟 Love to follow you. Really needed this restart.
Laundry done! I've been enjoying following along :)
I.used to do a load every day then I got my electric bill and water bill so now I only do large loads every other day as saves $
Yes I do the same as there is only me and my husband. I have a 10 kg washing machine. 22lbs approximately.
Letting laundry pile up is an absolute nightmare for me, so thank you for this! I’m gonna do two loads a week...😁
Oh laundry drives me nuts. A good friend of mine suggested a load a day and that does work really well for me. My husband does his load when his needs it. I need to get back to it.
I do my laundry on the weekend because it's only me. Lately I've been washing sheets last so they just stay in the dryer until the next weekend when I change them again. No folding or putting away :)
Heading to the laundry room! Thank you Stephanie!
I do all my laundry on Saturday at the laundromat. Cause right now I don't have a place for a washer or dryer in my house
Thanks for these tips
With just me and my mom I just do laundry on Wednesday and Sunday.
Fair enough! No point running an empty machine!
Our bathroom is small. No room for a bin. Any suggestion? Just outside the door?( a hallway)
LOVE your laundry room!!❤
I am here with yu step by step
Except for today, the laundry process is the easiest task for me. Although I do a lot, I seem to enjoy. But my machine was pronounced dead this morning, I do have what I want picked out But do not think I can get to the store tonight.
I live in an older house with a laundry chute in the hall by the main bathroom- SO convenient- everything drops down to the basement laundry area, so no need to have baskets or hampers. For some reason this feature has disappeared in new home building- don't know why!
That’s so handy!
We had a clothes chute in the house I grew up in. It was great!
I have just one big laundry basket in my laundry room
And my husband and kids all knows
Thst they have to put their clothes in laundry room in the basket
Even my kids 6 years and 3 year old
We don't have dirty clothes all over the place
I do 2 L of laundry every single day + bedsheets +home rugs +shoes
Yeah because I am OCD
IT'S is problem but what to do!
This laundry routine has been my game changer. Except I still manage to get an epic Mt Foldmore!
Mine was too until I really really paired down my clothes and the kids ... it makes such a huge difference. If you are hesitant to try it when you get a Mt FoldMore next grab what’s left in people’s closets ... clearly it’s what they least like and put it in box or bin and make it off limits. Try to live without it and see how it works out. I was skeptical but having to do laundry because we don’t have anymore clothes really prevented having to much to wash and the piles are less overwhelming. Figured I’d share as it was even more of a game changers to reduce inventory one I had the system down.
Sometimes it happens to me too... but wayyyy less often:)
@@saraphelan9408 good idea. I'll have to try that. I think this job is my least favourite thing to do so I procrastinate terribly. 😂
Question, do you not sort your laundry? Like darkseid, colors, lights and whites? If not, why not? My whites get so dingy if I wash them with whatever. I see other youtubers never separate their clothes either. I didnt even know that's a thing lol
I have 6 separated loads plus 2 loads of bath towels, a load of kitchen towels and clothes and then 3 loads of bedding. 1 load a day isn't ideal for our family so I use my monday daily focus for laundry. I still get to do laundry every day of the week tho haha
I was wondering about that, hope someone replies! Happens even if I put in a colour catcher sheet 🤔
I find whites need a seperate hotter wash. 60 c but all my darks and colours get washed at 40 c with a colour catcher unless delicate which then I would wash by hand as I don't buy many delicate items
I don't separate them...I make sure when I buy clothing that it isn't too delicate and frankly I just don't own a lot of white clothes on purpose!
@@TheSecretSlob that makes total sense! Thank you for that. I was always curious about that. 😁👍🏻
What do you do about ironing? Both son and husband are in trouble if their shirts aren't ironed
You put it in the dryer for 10 minute's take it out and hang it up, you don't have to iron
@@utrnagel9441 They never look as good and husband's work will comment
@@lyssamedana2224 The only way I've found to enjoy ironing is to put on an interesting podcast to listen to and just get going with it. I keep my spray starch and iron together in the cabinet above my dryer, so they're always handy and easy to find. On the day I launder and iron my husband's shirts, that's the only laundry I do that day. I hope this helps!
@@marilyncausey9348 I think that will be a good way to go. Thank you. It helps to slot into a place in a routine
Mine is-
Mon: Child 1
Tue: Child 2
Wed: towels and Mic
Thu: Child 3&4
Fri: Parents
Sat: Blankets
Sun: Rest...
Now I have to fit in baby 5 at least I have until mid February. :)
I think our laundry multiplies like rabbits. There are 3 of us. I just folded 4 baskets... I have no clue where it all comes from.
I hear ya!
I sort my laundry while catching up with my TH-cam
Awesome! Multi-tasking for the the win3)
جزاك الله خيرا
Does your husband do his own clothes?
Folding kids clothes is a TOTAL WASTE of precious time! 👍
Unless... you are TEACHING them how to fold clothes and put them away. 👍
So true!
👍👏👏👏💕😍😘
You don't need to do your Husband's washing?