Laundry:  The Unending, Never Finished Job ... How to Make It Easier 

    When you are trying to get the laundry done in a more timely manner, you review three things:  tools, timing, and technique.  

    Laundry Tools:  Do you have your laundry room set up to make the best use of work flow?  Put your laundry soap (dry or liquid) next to the washer.  Have a wastebasket next to the dryer for discarding the lint ball.  Have a towel rack hanging nearby for those inevitable pieces of wet laundry that stick to the sides of the washer and need a place to hang dry.  Have an shower extension rod installed for hanging up clothes warm from the dryer.  Have a table or counter close by for folding the laundry (if you have the luxury of that extra room, otherwise fold the laundry on the tops of your washer and dryer).  Do everything you can to make doing the laundry convenient.  The easier it is to do, the more likely you will feel like doing it.

    Laundry Timing:  Deciding on your laundry routine is paramount to your success.  Many families do their regular laundry on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays.  They do towels on Tuesdays and sheets on Thursday.  Saturdays is reserved for heavy duty washing, work clothes, and miscellaneous wash.

    One creative family puts their laundry in before dinner time, dries it while they do the dinner dishes, folds and puts it await just before bedtime.  Another family puts their laundry into wash as they are preparing for bed, and then dries, folds, and puts it away first thing in the morning before leaving for work and school.  It really doesn't matter the pattern of your laundry routine.  It does matter that you have a regular routine to follow.

    Sometimes families, especially those with both spouses working, save the laundry for doing on the weekend.  This is fine if you always have a whole day for laundry or make a trip to the laundry mat to make use of multiple washers and dryers, but this option should be used as a last resort.

    Laundry Techniques:   More than any other single thing, most homemakers struggle with finishing the laundry.  They might get it in the washer, but then they forget to put it in the dryer.  They might even get it to the dryer, but then they neglect to get the laundry out until it is a wrinkled mess.  Or they might even get it out, but then shift they it from place to place until they finally just pull what they need from the pile instead of ever getting it put away.

    The best way to get the laundry done, is to think:  finish, finish, finish.  Get it into the dryer (use a timer to remind you when the wash will be done).  Get it out of the dryer as soon as you hear that "ding".  But most of all, get it folded and put away.  It only takes minutes to make order from the mess, and only a few minutes longer to get it back into its "home".  But get it done.

    Some families have everyone help with putting the laundry away.  This is a wonderful system of cooperation and appreciation for the laundress.  However, the laundress needs to get it washed, dried, and folded for the others to do their part.  So time yourself.  You will find that folding a load of laundry just takes a few minutes, usually less than four.  If it will help, put a radio in the laundry area to provide diversion while you are finishing, but finish!  Soon doing laundry will become natural part of your every day routine.  You will have gained a new skill, and have a feeling of control like never before.  Try it, it can work for you, too!

    Find more helpful ideas in the "House of Order" Handbook, Chapter 4, "Laundry".