Laundry: Why Is There So Much of It?

Laundry. Why? Why is there always so much laundry? I swear, we wear the same three outfits on repeat, yet somehow the laundry multiplies like it’s the one training for a marathon.

Now, I try to stay on top of it. I really do. Our laundry system—like everything else in my life—is scheduled down to a T. I even printed it out, laminated it, and hung it next to the washing machine. I have alarms set on my phone daily to remind me. And yet, I still fail. I’d like to blame ADHD for this one but honestly? I just really don’t like putting laundry away.

The “Perfect” Laundry System (That I Still Manage to Mess Up)

Let’s start with the schedule:

• Monday: Kids’ laundry
• Tuesday: Towels & rugs
• Wednesday: Our laundry
• Thursday: Kids’ laundry (again, because their clothes multiply overnight)
• Friday: Sheets (as needed)
• Saturday: Our laundry (again, because we don’t get to wear repeat outfits like the kids do. Actually that’s not true. We probably repeat our outfits more than the kids too. Do your kids have multiple costume changes a day like mine? And yet despite the number of wardrobe changes in an hour I still find them running around in their undies most the time?)

I have to do laundry every single day or I will drown in it. The problem? I struggle to move the laundry from the washer to the dryer. And boy will it backup quickly when this happens. Second biggest problem? Actually putting it away.

And get this—my washer and dryer are smart. They send reminders to my phone if I forget to move the clothes over. Does it help? Absolutely not. I will still ignore those notifications like they’re spam calls. Technology is incredible, but unfortunately, it doesn’t come with a setting for “physically removes and folds laundry for me.”

Cloth Diapers? Yeah… Not Anymore.

I really wanted to be that mom. The one who successfully cloth-diapered all her kids. And I did—for the girls! But then came my son. Different diet. Different poop. A completely different ballgame. I gave up. No regrets. Plus, he’s actively trying to potty train himself, so my guilt over stuffing disposables into the landfill is almost short-lived.

What Actually Works (When I Follow Through)

Here’s the part of my system that actually works:

• Every kid has an assigned basket with their name on it.
• As I pull clothes out of the dryer, I sort them straight into the correct basket.
• Theoretically, the kids take their baskets to their rooms the next morning and put their clothes away.
• In reality, those baskets sit in the laundry room till they either have no more clothes to wear or the baskets are overfilling onto the floor.  
• For our clothes? They usually just sit in a basket until I get so tired of staring at them that I put everything away.

And it’s not like we even have that many clothes—I’ve minimized our wardrobes significantly. But still, the putting away part just doesn’t happen in a timely fashion. Sometimes I think it would be easier to just leave the laundry in piles sorted on the floor. At least that way, I can see all my options without having to open drawers.

The Small Laundry Wins

• Towels – The best surprise is when I open the dryer and realize it’s towels. No tiny socks to match, no sorting, just a few folds, and done. Glorious.
• Sheets – Easy. They go straight back on the beds. We don’t even own spare sets of sheets because what’s the point? The girls don’t even sleep under sheets. Just a fitted sheet, a blanket, and goodnight.

And there you have it—the mysterious world of our laundry system, no longer a secret. It’s far from perfect, but hey, we have clean clothes (eventually), and that’s what really matters. What are your laundry wins or laundry hacks?