I received an email from a subscriber asking for some tips on setting up a laundry system for a large family. I suggest that you involved the entire family in the process. Consider their ages, but even a toddler can help sort the laundry, if you have the patience to work with them.
Give each family member their own basket; you can color code if you would like, to give each person a different color of laundry basket. Have each family member bring their own dirty clothes to the laundry room and sort them into larger bins. Each large bin is labeled with the category of clothing that you use for washing clothes - darks, colors, whites, etc. Once the basket is empty, it can be exchanged with another basket, sitting on a shelf in the laundry room that has clean folded laundry in it, waiting to be redistributed to the individual's dressing room. Once the clean clothes have been put away, the empty basket is ready to collect dirty laundry and the process repeats itself.
Each time you implement a new system for any organizing project, you want to remember that it takes time to develop new habits and your family may need to be reminded of how the process works a few times before the system moves smoothly. The key is consistency. The natural consequences are no clean clothes to wear if you haven't followed through with your part of the bargain.
2 comments:
Do you have any ideas for those of us who are 'space challenged'? I have a small laundry room and it serves other purposes. I don't have space for a large system. Any thoughts?
Great question, Kristine. In a small space, it is critical to use your vertical space efficiently. Many racks that are intended for the kitchen may work for the laundry room as well. Here are couple from The Container Store - http://www.containerstore.com/browse/index.jhtml?CATID=74107
You may want to consider storing backup supplies in another area of the house where there is more room. Keep only the supplies you need in the laundry room.
Thank you for the great question.
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