There is a constant battle happening in my house. I know that I have been very careful about what I talk about here so to keep personal stuff private and kept personal, but I have to share this....because I am looking for advice on how to handle this situation.
We are battling everyday, many times a day with...
MOUNT NEVEREST!!!
That would be the humongous pile of clothing in my laundry room. Did you think it was going to be too personal? Well, we are talking dirty clothes, which may include some personals...
We are a family of 6. 2 Adults, a preteen, a wannabe teen, a 5 year old and a toddler...and we have WAY too many clothes.
So, I have come up with a solution that we are going to try and if you think this may work, or have other suggestions, please pass them on, I would be ever so grateful.
I have made a checklist. I make lots of lists, though I don't usually follow through on them for whatever reason. This time I am determined to follow through. Here is what is on my list:
10 underwear, 10 socks, 5 pants, 7 shirts, 5 long sleeve shirts, 3 sweaters, 4 dressy outfits, 3 pj's, 5 tank tops, 7 shorts, 2 bed sheets, 1 swimming towel, 1 bath towel, 1 housecoat.
I think this is all that anyone really needs to live comfortably? What do you think? Then, everyone would have their own laundry day and clothes would be washed all week long and no one would ever run out. I want everyone to pick what they want to keep, and if they need more of a certain item we willbuy it, but everything else that is left will be donated to the wonderful truck that picks up bags of clothes!! ( I would love to just throw it all away and start with everything brand new, but have to think realistically!!)
How do others keep their laundry caught up and why do I struggle so much. PLEASE, I AM PLEADING WITH YOU TO HELP ME!!!
My kids have a lot of clothes and I am sure there are things they don't even wear. I try to keep up with wash almost daily. If I can do one load a day it seems as though I am not so overwhelmed. Now I am not saying that this always works because there are times when I can't or don't feel like washing. I may not even get to folding them the same day but if I can wash the clothes one day and fold them the next it seems to work, and I don't have a huge pile on the laundry floor.
ReplyDeleteI also try to get the kids to go through their clothes regularly and they choose what they would like to bless others with.
My boys have a ton of clothes too, I've had to stop it from coming in the door at times, you know -- the free hand-me-down's that I really don't need but take anyways 'cause it's free clothing.... I'm sure I'm not the only one who has had that thought either.
ReplyDeleteAnyways, we just went through Q's clothes, he seems to have the most (Em's doesn't see as much in hand-me-down's) he also hasn't grown quickly so he still wears clothes from a couple of years ago.
My rule of thumb is - if you have too many clothes to fit in your dresser (a three drawer unit from IKEA, not a large dresser) than it's too much. Then we go through the items individually, pants first. What pants I haven't seen on him go out, then pants he's not comfortable in next. And so on.
The same thing goes for the toys. If it doesn't fit in their toy box (one bin right now) then it goes. I no longer keep those McDon*ld's type toys. Broken or missing pieces go as well. I'm constantly going through their toys, especially after big toy gift times like birthdays and Christmas.
I saw on Oprah the other day, talking about living in small spaces. A family of 3 live in a 230 sq ft apartment in NY, NY. That's smaller than most North American garages!!! The key is not taking this in the door. Deciding either at the store or at the door whether or not to bring it in because space is at a premium. I want to live that same way in my house. Big doesn't mean you have to fill it.
I think a lot of people have a fear of lack and take everything in and keep it. It happened to my in-law's - after not having much at all when they were growing up and still not much when they were first married. They kept everything - and I mean EVE-RY-THING! Could not let anything go. That to me is a problem, it's allowing stuff to control you.
Declutter and simplify -- it will be extremely freeing!!!!!!
having scheduled laundry days would help too I think, I do it 2 times during the week and then on Saturdays I do the rest, my kids have a lot of clothes too, with 4 girls it is bound to happen. I go through their stuff every couple of months and toss the stained or holy stuff!
ReplyDeleteI wash clothes for 4 adults (hubby, my parents and me) and a 2 year old. I usually do a load of laundry everyday to keep up. I throw it in the wash after breakfast, put it in the dryer after lunch and fold it and put it away after dinner. Works for me and it isn't too overwhelming.
ReplyDelete