It's time to get family laundry under control

I do a lot of home organization coaching.

Many women, when they first contact me, say they don't want to focus on their laundry problems when I come to their homes. They want to make big strides in their organizational efforts. And so we clean closets, sort through clothes, and decide upon methods to change their lives.

But over and over again, I notice their laundry piles and am struck that some women have not figured out how to handle this consistent irritant in their lives: the never-ending, always-present, never-will-go-away laundry.

May I help you along the way to better laundry techniques using what I have learned myself and from what I see in others' lives?

1 — Hesitate to buy anything white (except boy's and men's white Sunday shirts, of course). This is because it will never be white again, ever. There will be mustard or catsup or dirt or chocolate to disfigure that beautiful white item. Yes, I know that you can bleach a lot of things. But that is two steps back and only one step forward. Why complicate your life? Just keep to darker neutrals, patterns, and durable fabrics until your family is grown to save yourself a lot of laundry time.

2 — Don't plan on doing an occasional marathon laundry. I know there are miracle workers down the street who do laundry on Mondays and are done for the week, but most of us are moodier than that and if Monday comes and we don't feel like it, it is two weeks' of laundry the next Monday before we know it. Instead, plan to do laundry every day. Yes, Mondays two batches of weekend clothes, Tuesdays one batch of bath towels, Wednesday two batches of weekday clothes, Thursday however-many batches of sheets, Fridays two batches of weekday clothes. Save Saturdays for unusual items or a batch of heavily soiled clothes.

3 — Always have the washer and dryer going while you are doing something else. Buy a timer to remember to get back to it. My favorite ones clip right to my shirt. I put the wash in, set the timer, and off I go to do whatever. Timer dings, wash to dryer, timer set, and off I go again. Time dings, laundry to counter, 4-5 minutes of misery while I hang it up and fold it neatly into my containers and off I go again to do whatever. This way it is part of my daily dance, not an interruption to it.