I’ve been sticking pretty close to the same laundry system for nearly a decade. If something works, don’t change it.
Here is my post from 2014 that explains how I use separate laundry hampers.
Our boys are now 8 and 14 and their cute little Target hamper pictured above was filling up too quickly. As kids get older, they produce more laundry thanks to sports, school, etc. Their clothes are bigger too. I know babies generate a lot of laundry as well, but each season has the same theme: lots of laundry.
All that to say, the boys inherited a bigger hamper from another room and my husband and I got this woven laundry hamper from Amazon. I was looking for something stylish for our room, but also functional. It’s big enough to hold a few loads of laundry and the handles make it very easy to carry the whole hamper to the washing machine.
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The hamper arrived folded. It did take a few days to take its proper shape, but I’m very pleased with how it functions, the quality, and the look of it in our room. This basket could also be a great way to store blankets, pillows, and more.
For under $40, this is a great sized hamper. If you implement THIS 5 step laundry system, you will want a good sized hamper and one for each bedroom.
Tip 1: Don’t start a load of laundry unless you can finish it.
Define finish? You must wash, dry, and put the load away before the day is done.
Tip 2: Get a laundry hamper for each bedroom.
We had one hamper for 5 of us and it always looked like it was throwing up clothes.
Tip 3: Each hamper = a load or loads of laundry. WHITES, LIGHTS, or DARKS.
I still sort colors, but I don’t combine hampers. They are already sorted per room. In our case 2 boys are in one room so their clothes get washed together. Our one daughter is basically her own pink load. My husband and I share the 3rd hamper in our room.
Tip 4: Disperse your towels and sheets to make up enough clothes for a full load IF you are short.
That’s laughable, right? You may need to throw in a load of towels and sheets if you can’t sneak them in to other loads.
Tip 5: Fold the clothes right out of the dryer and put them away.
I am finding the loads of laundry are a little smaller since it’s not 5 people’s worth of whites, darks, etc. It’s very manageable to take a few minutes to fold the clothes right out of the dryer and get them back in the appropriate dressers. Now that our kids are older I give them their basket of clothes fresh out of the dryer and they fold them.
Why it works?
I can’t really put my finger on why this system works other then the fact that you are cutting out the sorting time when you fold clean clothes. You are also doing more manageable sized loads of laundry. It gives you a better chance of being able to finish up from start to end. If you need to fudge on tip #1, you can always put your clean clothes in a laundry basket and tuck them in the designated room until you can fold and put them away. No more piles sitting around in your main living space.
If you like the style of this hamper, you may also be interested in this stain resistant tablecloth from Amazon.
