homemaking- never feel behind on laundry again

hello there and welcome. let me start off by saying, laundry for seven people used to overwhelm me. in the past, my approach to laundry was with the dreaded thought of having to suffer through it each day. i often asked myself, "why is there always another pile waiting for me when i've already been washing all day?!"

can you relate?

instead, i've learned to embrace scripture.

james 1:5 if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him.

proverbs 2:6 for the Lord gives wisdom and from his mouth come knowledge and understanding.

i knew god wanted me to be wise with how homemaking works within our home. last fall, i began seeking new methods to make it simple instead of so stressful and time consuming. i prayed and after trying many techniques, we found a system that works great for us. i want to share it with you, dear mommas, before you feel like losing your mind one more time over something as simple as laundry.

so here is my take on what "doing laundry" looks like in our home and the steps we take daily so i never feel behind.

i went to the local store and purchased the four older kids the same exact hamper.

two grey hampers were also purchased. one hamper is used for all our towels. the other hamper is shared among james, cai, and myself. once he turns two, cai will have his own hamper.

i also purchased erasable chalkboard stickers and an erasable chalkboard marker so each child would know which hamper belongs to which child.

the next few parts are the most important components for making this work for our family and my sanity:

1) each child's hamper of clothes gets unloaded and washed one day a week. right now, in the morning time, i go to the hampers and flip the lids to see whose is full and that determines who should do laundry that day. 
2) only one child's laundry gets washed per day. no more. no less. that's my goal.
3) each child is responsible for his/her own clothes. it is their responsibility, not mine anymore, to place all dirty clothes and towels in the correct hamper, to chuck them in the washer, to start the load with washing tablets, to toss them into the dryer when they finish washing, to hang shirts on hangers, to fold pants and pajamas, to match their socks, and to put it all away. it is their responsibility. i am always available if they need my help though.
4) be consistent

the only part i still help with is if some article of clothing needs ironing. ironing almost always happens immediately from me as the child continues to fold and put clothing away.

since i've implemented this type of thinking in my children, that they take ownership, i've yet to hear many complaints. i think they actually kind of like it. 

now in our house, instead of feeling like my days are consumed with laundry duty for seven, i only feel responsible for the remaining three of us. i don't have to worry about which boy's underwear belongs to who or which little girl's pajama top i am folding.

each day of the week, i'm partnering with a specific child and teaching them all to take responsibility and ownership. i think kids need to learn that they are part of the family unit and the family works together to get the tasks done.

as far as the laundry in the grey hampers...i usually rotate washing what is in those hampers. one day i will wash all the towels and the next day i will wash the other hamper load of our clothes. 

once towels are washed and dried, towels are divided among all four kids to fold and put away. sometimes i even ask them to wash the towels for me. all four (ages 11, 9, 7, and 5) can do that without any problems. 

finally, since socks always seem to go missing, all socks without a match get tossed in a small basket on top of the washer. when it is full, that basket is given to one of the kids and he/she is told to play the matching game. easy as that!

that's how we "do laundry" in our house, friends! this was a process that took months for us to all work on so everyone understood what to do and how to hang shirts and how to fold a towel. teach and train. teach and train, but now i'm seeing the fruit of being consistent with them.

remember, think it through, ask God for wisdom, and decide what will work best for your family. 

i'd love to know if you give this method a try. i'd also like to know what tips and tricks are up your sleeve for laundry. share away!