Whether you are a mama of many or only just a few (and I bet even mamas of one!) there is one nemesis that we all have... and that is.... MOUNT WASHMORE! Clothing is something that is handed down, shared, and donated by the bag fulls. Our family, particularly, has been blessed beyond measure in the clothing department. But along with this blessing comes a responsibility of taking care of it. So, for us, we ended up with way too much, and then a stressed out mama! I have tried a couple different laundry systems but after a day or two, maybe a week or two even, the system would fail and I would be right back to piles of dirty laundry sprinkled with clean clothes that the kids would just "assume" were dirty, when in reality it was never taken care of or worn for 2.5 seconds and then taken off. Come on, mama! I know you know exactly what I am talking about.
So, a few months ago I expressed to my older sister that I needed help in some areas of our home life. We are expecting a baby in July and we already have 8 kiddos this side of Heaven. So, needless to say, I would like to get some things a little bit more in order before we add one more tiny human to our already large crew. My sister is great! She was a public school teacher and has so many tricks up her sleeve for running a large group of tiny humans! She came over once a week for probably a month or two, and helped us in areas like lunch time, school time, laundry system, quiet time, etc. I am still working on all these areas but the one area that I feel like I can confidently say is working great, is the laundry system.
Let's see if I can explain this system without it being too wordy. Basically each day of the week is assigned to a child or group of children. On their assigned day, they do their laundry. I am hoping to get their sheets being washed and changed on those days too, but I am also trying to tackle other areas. So baby steps. Once I got this system mildly under control I ordered mesh laundry bags off of Amazon. Each child or group of children got their own bag for their socks, underwear, bras. This little addition has helped tremendously with keeping track of everyone's socks (which is ANOTHER nemesis all on its own!). Below is our laundry schedule.
Monday-16 yr old boy
Tuesday-14 yr old girl
Wednesday- 10, 8, 6 yr old girl
Thursday- 5, 3, and 1 yr old boy
Friday- Mom and Dad
Saturday- catch up
But what about the towels, wash cloths, random hats, coats, and gloves. I consider these items "community items". Items in the house that are generally used by everyone. These items can get washed on any day. Either as an individual load or just thrown in randomly with other loads. Our washer and dryer are located in the bathroom where the shower and bath tub are. So it isn't uncommon for a child to shower and leave their clothing in the bathroom. I call that child back and have them take their laundry to their laundry basket. I bought all new socks for the family, and I strategically bought them so I know who they belong to. If I find random socks throughout the house, I hand them over to the owner and the socks go into that child's laundry bag. Clothing and socks are not allowed to be washed with the community items. No exceptions! lol
This system is by no means perfect. On any given day, if you stop by my house, you may see a pile of laundry on the bathroom floor. The difference is, that is the laundry that is supposed to be washed and taken care of that day. It is no longer a pile that has been there over night. Mama, if you are stressed and overwhelmed by your Mount Washmore issue, give this system a try! If you have a system that works well, I would love to hear about it. Please leave a comment below!
Blessings from one mama just trying to do her best to another!
~Erin~
