I feel like I’ve tried all the laundry tricks in the book – one load a week, complete it all on the weekend, every other day. Let’s be honest, I’ve even purged clothes throughout my whole house so I would possibly have less to wash! Even still, it feels like it never gets easier.

Well, over the last few months I’ve made one small change that has changed my laundry life for the better, and I’m so excited to share it with you.

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The Inspiration

My inspiration came from Kristi Clover, author of “M.O.M: Master Organizer of Mayhem“, who suggested that every person in the family have their own basket. I was so overwhelmed by laundry at the time that I couldn’t even think about doing that. Is there even enough space in the bedrooms? I have three girls in one room! Where am I going to get all these laundry baskets? These were all thoughts that were racing around in my head.

As a family of six, the laundry loads were always present, and I felt like it was impossible to keep up. However, I couldn’t stop thinking about what she said – the benefits she listed seemed so wonderful, and I really wanted to find a way to make it work in my own home.

Laundry Baskets

Of course, I immediately searched Amazon to buy cute little narrow baskets so they wouldn’t take up so much space in the house. They were so expensive! I just couldn’t buy new baskets because I didn’t even know if I liked this method yet.

To save money, I started with the baskets I had and made it work. I made the decision that my husband and I would continue to share a basket. Then, I had enough for each of my three girls. That took care of everyone except my two year old son.

The solution – an Amazon box! I’m serious! I used an Amazon box to hold his dirty clothes. I didn’t want to spend the money on baskets because it’s possible this method wasn’t even going to work for me! So, I set the box in a corner in his room and threw his dirty clothes in there each day.

Well, spoiler alert – it worked, and I loved it! Want to know something funny? My son used that Amazon box for about 3 months before I bought him a basket! (ha!)

The basket I bought him was small and only cost $2.50 at Target. So, if you’re not into the box solution, make a quick trip to target for a great deal!

I do keep a basket in my utility room for towels. So, for example, if a towel is in someone’s basket, I’ll pull it out and put it in my towel basket. When that basket gets full, I wash it! That’s really the only separating I do. We wash everything in cold water and I wash all the colors in it. Is it the best for my clothes? Well, possibly not, but I (nor my children) are wearing anything fancy enough for all of that extra laundry care.

Sorting Before You Wash

The trick to all of this is that the sorting takes place BEFORE you actually wash the clothes. To do this, I had to change my picking up habits. Prior to this, anytime I picked up clothes, I just threw them in the nearest basket or just straight into the washer.

Now, I take the clothing item to the specific person’s basket. This may seem like a hassle, but it’s really not that bad. Most of their clothes are in their room anyway. Or they might be in the bathroom next to their room. So, it’s just a few steps here and there to get it done. The fact that I’m keeping up with laundry makes it all worth it!

I also had to teach my kids about putting their clothes in their own basket. I thought this would take time, but they really picked it up quick, even my three and a half year old.

Smaller Loads

I run a load of laundry almost every day. Because of this, when a child is ready to wash their basket, the load is actually not that big. It makes the folding process quick and easy. Everything in the basket belongs to the same person and it can go right to the drawers.

Each of my children get their basket washed about once a week, and so far it’s been great! The only basket that needs washing more than once a week is mine, but it holds clothes for two people.

My Older Children Wash Their Own Clothes

I’ve always wanted to train my kids to do this, but couldn’t quite find the method to keep it consistent. Most of the time I was wanting them to fold, but there would be so many different items in the baskets. I’d spend a ton of time sorting everything in piles before they could even fold.

With the multiple basket method, that whole step is eliminated. Their basket goes in the wash. (I usually switch it to the dryer when it’s ready) and then they fold it on their own and put it away. Back to the smaller load point – it’s really not too bad for them because the loads are small.

My oldest two girls are the ones that can do this. They are 8 and 6. Their folding is not perfection and many times it gets folded inside out, but I’m picking my battles. They are learning such great responsibility, and it’s saving me time to do something else if I need to.

Scheduling

This method might even work great to assign everyone a day, but I’m not very good about that. I try to put a load in every day, and I usually just pick the one that is the fullest. After doing it for so many weeks, a pattern has started to develop, but it’s not super strict.

I Love This Method

Since I’ve started doing this method, I can’t remember the last time I felt overwhelmed by the amount of laundry that had to get done. I think it’s because the folding and putting away just became easier! Plus, I was doing less thanks to the help of my big girls.

I have three girls, and the constant separating of girls underwear, and girls socks, and shirts that are just one size apart was exhausting! It took so much time to look at every. single. tag. Now, that rarely happens!

Give this a Try

So, what do you think? Want to try this out? Or, maybe you already to this too? I’m telling you this was a game changer for maintaining my home and it’s been an active practice in my home for about four months now.

I never thought there would be a day where laundry wouldn’t bother me, but this little hack has really changed my mindset. The loads are smaller and it feels like there’s a whole lot less. I’m so thankful for other moms out there sharing what works for them, because it inspired me to make one small change. I hope that sharing this here with you can be an inspiration as well.