Laundry Crisis

[Aubrey]

I'm going to list the problems & solutions that haven't worked. You all tell me what I haven't thought of.

 

Problems:

1. One Child puts clean clothes in the dirty clothes. I mean, already folded clothes. He's old enough to have been told for the better part of a decade not to do this.

 

2. Some children put anything in the floor in the dirty clothes. So a dress laying over the back of the chair waiting w/ other clean clothes to be hung in the closet gets knocked to the floor unwittingly, & then A Few Someones count it as dirty. Sometimes they know better, sometimes it's an honest mistake. I'm concerned w/ the former.

 

3. Some children aren't quite big enough to hang their clothes, so button-up sweaters & Sunday clothes get dumped on the floor. And guess where those end up? :glare:

 

4. Some children don't know that some items aren't really intended to be washed except when necessary. Coats, for ex. :glare:

 

5. The Big Problem: stuff gets put away wrong. Like a pair of underwear between two shirts will just get put away with the shirts. Worse, though, my stuff ends up in dh's drawers AND the girls' drawers. Etc. So last night, for ex, I couldn't find a single pair of clean pajamas, & I knew I'd just folded some that afternoon.

 

Solutions That Didn't Work:

 

1. Making them wash clothes themselves. They love it.

 

2. Dumping (a) drawer(s) & making them put everything away right while I stand & watch. :glare:

 

3. Charging fines.

 

Wow, that's not a lot we've tried after all. This has been going on for YEARS, & there's one kid who's the main culprit. I recently emptied all of their drawers, tried all of their clothes on them, etc, organized, refolded, & explained the "system" to them. By the end of the next day, the drawers were trashed. :svengo:

Edited October 25, 2011 by Aubrey

[k2bdeutmeyer]

As far as things getting put away wrong, I fold according to what drawer it goes in. So, all laundry gets put into piles according to where it is put away. Maybe that would help?

[ElizabethB]

They next time a child does not follow the system, you move all their clothes to your room and they must come get changed in your room under your supervision, being charged 25c for your inconvenience. After X times of proper compliance, clothes get moved back to room until they mess up again, this time fines are higher.

 

Just an idea, have not tried it here.

[Aubrey]

They next time a child does not follow the system, you move all their clothes to your room and they must come get changed in your room under your supervision, being charged 25c for your inconvenience. After X times of proper compliance, clothes get moved back to room until they mess up again, this time fines are higher.

 

Just an idea, have not tried it here.

 

Their clothes are all in the hs room, so that I *can* see (easily) if they've just stuffed stuff. We share a room, so getting dressed isn't an issue. And, unfortunately, this kid is GOOD at saving $$, so paying "fines" for things (like washing clean clothes) has never phased him at all. I mean, he'll pay the fine *cheerfully,* which I hate to discourage, but really defeats the purpose. :lol:

[Aubrey]

As far as things getting put away wrong, I fold according to what drawer it goes in. So, all laundry gets put into piles according to where it is put away. Maybe that would help?

 

Yeah, that would help. But...:glare: I also want them to *think.* They're old enough to do the folding themselves, so it seems backward to "help" MORE like this. Does that make sense? It's like they just zone out on auto-pilot & do the craziest stuff. I mean, I get kitchen towels in my t-shirts. :glare: If it were just a matter of not knowing or occasionally missing something, it would be different.

[4everHis]

Their clothes are all in the hs room, so that I *can* see (easily) if they've just stuffed stuff. We share a room, so getting dressed isn't an issue. And, unfortunately, this kid is GOOD at saving $$, so paying "fines" for things (like washing clean clothes) has never phased him at all. I mean, he'll pay the fine *cheerfully,* which I hate to discourage, but really defeats the purpose. :lol:

 

Sounds like this is the kid who is going to earn enough $$ to pay someone to take care of his laundry ;) I know that doesn't help you now. . .

[Bonnie in VA]

I charge the kids $.10 for each clean item that I find in the dirty laundry. I also charge $.10 per item to move their dirty clothes from the floor of the bathroom to the floor of their room.

 

If they do not put the clothes in their hampers or bring them to the laundry room, the clothes do not get washed. One of my children has worn a soiled uniform to a game before because said child did not put the uniform into the hamper after the prior week's game.

 

Good luck!

[Aubrey]

Sounds like this is the kid who is going to earn enough $$ to pay someone to take care of his laundry ;) I know that doesn't help you now. . .

 

No, lol, but fwiw--I mean cheerfully in the sense that, if the $ is going to his parents, he would give it ALL to us anyway. He sees himself as owing us an unpayable debt for raising him, educating him, etc. Very sweet kid. If only I could get him to translate that sweet enthusiasm to his LAUNDRY. :lol:

[Lara in Colo]

I charge money for clean clothes in the laundry. It costs money to rewash--soap, water, electricity.

 

I give HUGE lectures about how much this hurts the earth and how this makes momma work more and play with them less.

 

I also sort by the place it goes.---

I fold everything then we have a putting it away time--as a family.

I line them up, give everyone socks--send them to their sock drawer, then underwear, hanging clothes etc...

 

 

That's all I've got--sorry

 

Lara

[Laura Corin]

If they love washing the clothes and don't care for the clothes that you wash, let them wash them. Hand over the whole process to them and let them sort it out. I was washing and ironing my own clothes from age 11 - my mother never washed for me again.

 

Best wishes

 

Laura

[Aubrey]

If they love washing the clothes and don't care for the clothes that you wash, let them wash them. Hand over the whole process to them and let them sort it out. I was washing and ironing my own clothes from age 11 - my mother never washed for me again.

 

Best wishes

 

Laura

 

If it were dd, that would probably work. Ds...has a personality that I think will *eventually* care about how he looks & that *used* to care, but now? He shrugs. He'll wear stuff dirty, wrinkled, whatever. From what I know of boys, this is not something that's on the verge of improving. I would love to hear differently, though! :D

[Lily_Grace]

For quite a few years in our house we had:

 

1. Weekly drawer inspections. No bueno = redo them.

2. Adapted clothes rods. Currently the baby has one that hooks onto the regular bar and drops down about 3 feet, filling the space between with canvas pockets.

3. Daily room inspections. I require a made bed and a clean floor, the latter of which was made apparent the night I nearly broke my arm because The Kid pulled out his toys after bedtime. We check in the morning and evening, and yes, the laundry basket, too.

 

 

It doesn't eliminate it all but it does cut the amount of frustration down quite a bit.

[Aubrey]

I charge money for clean clothes in the laundry. It costs money to rewash--soap, water, electricity.

 

But how much? I don't want to overdo it, but 10-25c/pop just isn't going to get his attention.

 

I give HUGE lectures about how much this hurts the earth and how this makes momma work more and play with them less.

 

I wonder if that would make a difference. I tend to get puppy dog eyes, whispered apologies, & no change.

 

I also sort by the place it goes.---

I fold everything then we have a putting it away time--as a family.

I line them up, give everyone socks--send them to their sock drawer, then underwear, hanging clothes etc...

 

Lara

 

They put away as I fold. (I HATE putting away! And I'm kind-of a control-freak about folding, although I'm trying to be more laid back.) I guess I could go back to sorting by place/kid. I've done it off & on.

 

The weird thing is--our most successful laundry period (shall we call it the Golden Age of Laundry?) was when we didn't have a W/D but lived in apts w/ a wash area. My littles were newborn & 1yo, so I couldn't really leave them alone in the apt or cart all the laundry AND the babies, so I folded there in the laundry room, by kid/place, & the bigs would take appropriate piles back to the apt to put away. I even had hangers there, so for hang-ups, all they had to do was put them on the rod. AND they thought it was fun! (And nothing had time to wrinkle.) :lol:

[cjzimmer1]

We have many of the same problems compounded by a 3 year old who likes to change her clothes frequently throughout the day but lacks any sense of taking only one thing out of the drawer. Hence every time she changes, 3 or 4 things end up on the floor, all of which are then deemed dirty by the room picker upper.

 

What has helped somewhat is the older children are responsible for the folding an putting away of their clothes. So laundry is sorted in piles for each kid. If they fold their underwear and stick it between their shirts and can't find it when I KNOW they have clean underwear, then they get the privilege of emptying their dresser, re-sorting, putting away until they figure out where they put their stuff. By making it unpleasant to have to redo the job, they were more inclined to do a good job the first time. Also by having the clothes sorted out, my shirts don't end up in daughter's dresser because a child thought it was her dress etc.

 

I know you said you tried the above while you watched. I don't watch, then they've wasted my time as well as theirs (and if they are wasting my time, I'm less likely to follow through with the punishment in the future). I watch to make sure everything is emptied and then leave. They know the correct way do to something, they have to let me know when they are done, I come back and inspect. Either it's done right or we repeat the process. One kid did his dresser 3 times in one day. He finally learned it's much easier to do what mom says the first time, especially if he's hoping to get to play that day.

 

For hanging clothes, could you assign that task to whoever is tall enough to reach the hangers. If you could find a way to get them hung immediately, then hopefully they won't be getting knocked on the floor just to be rewashed again.

 

I still haven't got a good system for stopping 3 year old but right now my currently plan is to deal with it for a couple of years yet. Then she will be responsible for her own stuff and hopefully less likely to dump it on the floor.

[Laura Corin]

If it were dd, that would probably work. Ds...has a personality that I think will *eventually* care about how he looks & that *used* to care, but now? He shrugs. He'll wear stuff dirty, wrinkled, whatever. From what I know of boys, this is not something that's on the verge of improving. I would love to hear differently, though! :D

 

It wasn't, 'Wash your clothes when you need to'. It was, 'It's Saturday and you need to wash your clothes now'.

 

Laura

[momma aimee]

I'm going to list the problems & solutions that haven't worked. You all tell me what I haven't thought of.

 

Problems:

1. One Child puts clean clothes in the dirty clothes. I mean, already folded clothes. He's old enough to have been told for the better part of a decade not to do this.

 

2. Some children put anything in the floor in the dirty clothes. So a dress laying over the back of the chair waiting w/ other clean clothes to be hung in the closet gets knocked to the floor unwittingly, & then A Few Someones count it as dirty. Sometimes they know better, sometimes it's an honest mistake. I'm concerned w/ the former.

 

3. Some children aren't quite big enough to hang their clothes, so button-up sweaters & Sunday clothes get dumped on the floor. And guess where those end up? :glare:

 

4. Some children don't know that some items aren't really intended to be washed except when necessary. Coats, for ex. :glare:

 

5. The Big Problem: stuff gets put away wrong. Like a pair of underwear between two shirts will just get put away with the shirts. Worse, though, my stuff ends up in dh's drawers AND the girls' drawers. Etc. So last night, for ex, I couldn't find a single pair of clean pajamas, & I knew I'd just folded some that afternoon.

 

Solutions That Didn't Work:

 

1. Making them wash clothes themselves. They love it.

 

2. Dumping (a) drawer(s) & making them put everything away right while I stand & watch. :glare:

 

3. Charging fines.

 

Wow, that's not a lot we've tried after all. This has been going on for YEARS, & there's one kid who's the main culprit. I recently emptied all of their drawers, tried all of their clothes on them, etc, organized, refolded, & explained the "system" to them. By the end of the next day, the drawers were trashed. :svengo:

 

if you have room -- take their clothing away from them. move dressers to the laundry room, or even the garage!! each night have them come to you in a robe -- hand you their dirty clothing -- or have them drop them in to sorting baskets as watch -- then hand them a pair of PJs and an outfit for tomorrow.

 

In the morning, they must bring pj to the dirty clothing before they are fed breakfast.

 

This can be a motivator for a child that is embarrassed to have mom pick out their clothing. Also if they have no dresser they do not get to have thing that sit ON a dresser -- so they loose that stuff too till they earn their dressers back.

 

(hanging clothing can hang in a laundry or garage too -- get a cheap hang rod from target so some place)

 

if the kids get too happy with this 'service" start charging for clothing .25 for jeans, .25 for shirt, .25 for PJ's. If they have to do extra chores to pay -- so be it.

 

yes this sounds like a lot of work and it is -- but you have to think about how much work you are already doing -- rewashing, resorting, refolding, and fighting about it.

 

Children can be sat in the living room, or dinning room to fold their own laundry under mom's eyes -- then walked to the dressers (not in their room) and supervised putting it all up. this way they are not getting out of having to do that (fold and put up) since the dressers etc are not in their room. -if they can not do this as a group without silliness they can loos screen time, or play time, or scouts time, etc to do it one on one.

 

this is also a good motivator if the kids have friends over and have to admit why they do not have a dresser etc ...

[Perry]

I'm going to list the problems & solutions that haven't worked. You all tell me what I haven't thought of.

 

Problems:

1. One Child puts clean clothes in the dirty clothes. I mean, already folded clothes. He's old enough to have been told for the better part of a decade not to do this.

 

Solutions That Didn't Work:

 

1. Making them wash clothes themselves. They love it.

 

But... that sounds like it DID work.

 

Let that child take over doing their own laundry. Problem solved. That problem, anyway.

 

My oldest used to do this. On the last day of our summer vacation about 5 years ago, dh spent the entire day doing laundry while the rest of us went to the beach. When we got home 2 days later, the kids were told to put their things away. A few days later, I went to collect the laundry from each kids' room (they each have their own hamper). Dd had dumped her entire suitcase full of clean, folded clothes into her hamper, along with dirty stinky towels and wet suits, so it all had to be washed again. That was the last straw. I refused to do her laundry anymore, and she has done it herself since. She hates it, and does a crappy job, but oh well. They're her clothes, her problem.

 

5. The Big Problem: stuff gets put away wrong. Like a pair of underwear between two shirts will just get put away with the shirts. Worse, though, my stuff ends up in dh's drawers AND the girls' drawers. Etc. So last night, for ex, I couldn't find a single pair of clean pajamas, & I knew I'd just folded some that afternoon.

When I fold clothes, I stack them by person. I put away my and dh's clothes. I take dd2 and dss' piles into their room, and they put them away themselves. At least the clothes end up in the right room. If they end up in the wrong drawer, that's their problem. :D

[Aubrey]

We have many of the same problems compounded by a 3 year old who likes to change her clothes frequently throughout the day but lacks any sense of taking only one thing out of the drawer. Hence every time she changes, 3 or 4 things end up on the floor, all of which are then deemed dirty by the room picker upper.

 

Mine is 4yo, but she has a 3yo sidekick.

 

What has helped somewhat is the older children are responsible for the folding an putting away of their clothes. So laundry is sorted in piles for each kid. If they fold their underwear and stick it between their shirts and can't find it when I KNOW they have clean underwear, then they get the privilege of emptying their dresser, re-sorting, putting away until they figure out where they put their stuff. By making it unpleasant to have to redo the job, they were more inclined to do a good job the first time. Also by having the clothes sorted out, my shirts don't end up in daughter's dresser because a child thought it was her dress etc.

 

Yeah, now that you mention it...ds doesn't lose his OWN clothes very often...mostly just MINE. :lol:

 

I know you said you tried the above while you watched. I don't watch, then they've wasted my time as well as theirs (and if they are wasting my time, I'm less likely to follow through with the punishment in the future). I watch to make sure everything is emptied and then leave. They know the correct way do to something, they have to let me know when they are done, I come back and inspect. Either it's done right or we repeat the process. One kid did his dresser 3 times in one day. He finally learned it's much easier to do what mom says the first time, especially if he's hoping to get to play that day.

 

This is what I meant by "watched." But...I HATE going back to check. No speeches, please. :lol:

 

For hanging clothes, could you assign that task to whoever is tall enough to reach the hangers. If you could find a way to get them hung immediately, then hopefully they won't be getting knocked on the floor just to be rewashed again.

 

This is more of a problem particular to this house. Well, & the 4yo & her sidekick. :lol: I'll have to think about what to do about that...

 

I still haven't got a good system for stopping 3 year old but right now my currently plan is to deal with it for a couple of years yet. Then she will be responsible for her own stuff and hopefully less likely to dump it on the floor.

 

Yeah, we've been "just dealing" for a while now. When I found fresh mattress pad protectors & folded clothes in the laundry last mo, I lost it. Dh wanted to make ds wash ALL the clothes as a consequence. Fine, but it never happened, & now *I* am still stuck w/ all the clothes, plus they've piled up, & now? I'm mad. :glare: :lol: Can you tell we're catching up today?

[momma aimee]

PJs and clothes only get worn once? That seems like a lot of laundry.

 

all clothing but jeans only get worn once here as it is -- for the kids (Dh and I can choose) -- they are little and they get messy.

[Aubrey]

Ok...I'll sort by room/kid again. I still can't decide how to approach the clean laundry--whether to have ds wash his own clothes or pay a fine or some combination of those...

 

Thank you, though. Just hearing that you guys have some of the same problems makes me feel better.

 

ETA: 3yo just came in here & gathered up a pile of socks to put away. He's so proud! But I can't help wondering where they're going to end up...:lol:

[momma aimee]

Ok...I'll sort by room/kid again. I still can't decide how to approach the clean laundry--whether to have ds wash his own clothes or pay a fine or some combination of those...

 

Thank you, though. Just hearing that you guys have some of the same problems makes me feel better.

 

ETA: 3yo just came in here & gathered up a pile of socks to put away. He's so proud! But I can't help wondering where they're going to end up...:lol:

 

that happens here too

 

could you put labels on their drawers (pictures is necessary)?

[Aubrey]

that happens here too

 

could you put labels on their drawers (pictures is necessary)?

 

I have a label-maker. I'm an organization freak. Really, the oldest in particular has no excuses! :001_smile:

[Sun]

The weird thing is--our most successful laundry period (shall we call it the Golden Age of Laundry?) was when we didn't have a W/D but lived in apts w/ a wash area. My littles were newborn & 1yo, so I couldn't really leave them alone in the apt or cart all the laundry AND the babies, so I folded there in the laundry room, by kid/place, & the bigs would take appropriate piles back to the apt to put away. I even had hangers there, so for hang-ups, all they had to do was put them on the rod. AND they thought it was fun! (And nothing had time to wrinkle.) :lol:

 

If this worked before, why not do it again? Have the children who are old enough help fold, and then have everyone put away the clean laundry right after it's folded. Piles of clean laundry sitting around really are just asking to be mixed in with dirty, at least that's true at our house!

[redsquirrel]

Well, I always liked my MIL's method. Once the kids were physically old enough to reach the dials on the machine they were responsible for their own laundry. She told them, "do it, don't do it. I don't care. They are your clothes. It's not my problem."

 

They all survived and they can all do their own laundry. DH does all the laundry for the house. And yes, he did walk around in 4th through 7th grade in messy, greyish clothes, but he figured it out.

 

It seems to me that with the eldest you have two choices: Take on all responsibility and don't complain about it or give up all responsibility and don't complain about it. Right now, you have partial responsibility and it is causing you to complain. So, either take it all on or give it all away.

[RobinF]

I charge $1 per item for any clothes that are not hung up properly (taken off hangers and thrown in closet) or for any clean clothes in the laundry. Since I only pay $.25 per chore, $1 adds up quickly.

[Aubrey]

If this worked before, why not do it again? Have the children who are old enough help fold, and then have everyone put away the clean laundry right after it's folded. Piles of clean laundry sitting around really are just asking to be mixed in with dirty, at least that's true at our house!

 

I don't usually leave piles sitting around--they usually put them away while I'm folding. The folded ones that end up in the dirty clothes are ones (I think) that got pulled out of drawers & rejected. Or the kids set some on the table while putting others away & then forgot about them.

 

But there are times when I'll fold laundry while they're doing math or something, & that laundry will sometime sit.

[Julie Smith]

I haven't read any of the replies. BUT

 

I don't fold the kids clothes. It all fits in one dresser with no problems of over flowing... So two draws for t-shirts, 1 for shorts, 1 for pants, 1 for other. So they just dig through the draws to find what they want. Since it's not to full none gets knocked on the floor. If they try on something and don't like it, or whatever they just put in back in the draw.

 

If it is anywhere other then the basement it is assumed clean. If I see you wearing clothes that are dirty you strip down and through them down the stairs.

 

But I suppose some people like a little more organization then that. :)

 

My boys also currently have no fancy clothes. My eldest also only has summer clothes. He wears them in during all seasons. He adds on a fall jacket, or winter clothes (snow pants..) if it's cold. I use to have pants for him, and long sleeve shirts, ... but he never wore them. So less clothes less fuss.

[Plucky]

I have a label-maker. I'm an organization freak. Really, the oldest in particular has no excuses! :001_smile:

 

I am curious, do any of your kids have adhd like their dad? I'm asking because here dh has adhd & 2 kids have it as well. Not fun, but for my 13 year old boy w/adhd I have to guide him through things still. I'm trying to train him to do better, and learn more about organization, but it is something I have to do over and over. For me the relationship is more important, and so I do more for and with him. It is a lot of work, but worth it. Plus, not all average 9-year old boys can or desire to be organized or even neat.

 

Some moms just decide the consequences will be severe until the child falls into line. I know I'm a softie, but here relationship is the most important thing. Just another thought. :001_smile:

 

This kid is doing better, but I have to go behind him often and remind him of the goals.

[speedmom4]

I had the same problem and finally I had enough of it. :glare:

 

I read in a book about a family closet system. I was fortunate to have a large laundry room in our basement. I got a "closet organizer" thing for each child to put hanging clothes, socks, underwear, and jammies. We also put all the children's dressers in the laundry room also.

 

As I do laundry I can easily put the clothes away. Since all of the children's clothes are in the same spot it is easy to spot problems and deal with them quickly. It does require that I am responsible for almost all of the laundry and putting away but TRUST me, it is so much easier for me than dealing with clothes all over their room. Now that my girls are teenagers they are taking more responsibility for their clothes and occasionally help.

 

That may not help you at all but I thought I would let you know what helped me.

 

God BLess,

Elise in NC

[JudoMom]

As far as things getting put away wrong, I fold according to what drawer it goes in. So, all laundry gets put into piles according to where it is put away. Maybe that would help?

 

This is what I do, too.

 

Yeah, that would help. But...:glare: I also want them to *think.* They're old enough to do the folding themselves, so it seems backward to "help" MORE like this. Does that make sense? It's like they just zone out on auto-pilot & do the craziest stuff. I mean, I get kitchen towels in my t-shirts. :glare: If it were just a matter of not knowing or occasionally missing something, it would be different.

 

I've decided it's just not worth the headache. Any chores my boys do at this point is because it makes my life easier. I've got enough to do without making sure they do something right, or worse, making more work. Housework isn't rocket science, and it doesn't take that long to learn, so I figure I'll teach them at some point before they leave home. My boys are expected to do anything I ask without complaint, and they are expected to keep things picked up (which I think is the hardest habit to learn as an adult). Sure, they are old enough to fold the laundry, but it would be a bigger headache for me so I just fold it, put it in stacks, and have them put the laundry away. I do have them match socks, because I hate matching socks more than I hate finding socks in the wrong drawers.

[Plucky]

This is what I do, too.

 

 

 

I've decided it's just not worth the headache. Any chores my boys do at this point is because it makes my life easier. I've got enough to do without making sure they do something right, or worse, making more work. Housework isn't rocket science, and it doesn't take that long to learn, so I figure I'll teach them at some point before they leave home. My boys are expected to do anything I ask without complaint, and they are expected to keep things picked up (which I think is the hardest habit to learn as an adult). Sure, they are old enough to fold the laundry, but it would be a bigger headache for me so I just fold it, put it in stacks, and have them put the laundry away. I do have them match socks, because I hate matching socks more than I hate finding socks in the wrong drawers.

 

I love reading how everyone deals with laundry & chores. All my kids sort and wash their own laundry and it's been this way for 7 years. However, they lay it out on my bed to cool off & not wrinkle, while I do more laundry. Eventually I call the kid in to fold and hang stuff up, sometimes I will do it for them if I am feeling nice.

 

I do help and guide my 13yob. He's a mess. Hangers frustrate him so we go over it and over it. Folding is messy, we go over it. Then a couple days a week I check how he's putting stuff away. I either fix it or have him come fix it under my watchful eye. I have a rule for myself that I never, ever get mad about it. For him this is essential training, and his adhd exacerbates the problem. He is getting better though. The consequence of doing things over that weren't done right the first time is annoying. :001_smile:

[Aubrey]

This is what I do, too.

 

I've decided it's just not worth the headache. Any chores my boys do at this point is because it makes my life easier. I've got enough to do without making sure they do something right, or worse, making more work. Housework isn't rocket science, and it doesn't take that long to learn, so I figure I'll teach them at some point before they leave home. My boys are expected to do anything I ask without complaint, and they are expected to keep things picked up (which I think is the hardest habit to learn as an adult). Sure, they are old enough to fold the laundry, but it would be a bigger headache for me so I just fold it, put it in stacks, and have them put the laundry away. I do have them match socks, because I hate matching socks more than I hate finding socks in the wrong drawers.

 

I always love your philosophy. You sound like someone that anyone could get along w/ & a dream mom.

[JudoMom]

I always love your philosophy. You sound like someone that anyone could get along w/ & a dream mom.

 

:lol::lol::lol: I'll tell my boys that next time they shoot me the stink eye. :lol::lol::lol:

[Bluegoat]

I've been thinking that the solution may be, fewer clothes. People used to have two or three outfits, and I can't help but think that would make life much simpler.

[nukeswife]

I've not had these problems, but it's probably because everybody's clothes get washed separately except for dh's and mine. I don't mix everyones clothes together because then it's much easier to put away. I loved the idea of the family closet and we had lots of those cubbie shelves from Target so I moved those to the hall outside my laundry room (we have a really wide upstairs hallways/landing) and all the kids clothes go there. I put away mine and dh's.

 

Not sure about the clothes on the floor/clean stuff put in the dirty because my kids don't have hang up clothes for that very reason. They have nicer clothes but they can all be folded and put in a cubbie.

[2squared]

Sure, they are old enough to fold the laundry, but it would be a bigger headache for me so I just fold it, put it in stacks, and have them put the laundry away.

 

:iagree: I fold everything, sort it by person and by drawer, and they run it around the house.

 

My other trick to taming the laundry monster is to have minimal clothing. Most of my dc have one clothes drawer and no hanging space. Their drawers are about 50% filled so they can manage their drawer. I rotate clothes between seasons, and I keep some clothing items strategically placed in other areas of the house.

 

The boys' church clothes are kept in a drawer in my room. My 3yo's clothes are kept in a drawer in my room as well and her preferred clothes are kept high on a shelf to minimize her hourly changes. Socks are kept by the front door. Underwear for my 3yo & 5yo are kept in the bathroom. Swimming suits are kept in a swimming bag in a closet.

 

I don't have any extra sheets, pillow cases, or mattress pads. I have six bath towels and two hand towels/bathroom.

 

I really think keeping a low inventory of washable items forces my laundry to be maintainable.

[momma aimee]

Even in bed? :blink:

 

I mean certainly it's your choice, but I don't think it's necessary.

 

my little boys are sweaty most mornings, beyond that it is jsut a simple habit for them -- they do not have to make an evelation of 'is this dirty' or 'do i need new PJs tonight" -- it is a habit to simplify things.

 

Seems normal to me, most of the moms i know personally have the same expectation.

 

BTw i lust after a laundry room big enough for a family cloest -- it would make my life so much easier. :D:D:D:D

[laundrycrisis]

I'm going to list the problems & solutions that haven't worked. You all tell me what I haven't thought of.

 

Problems:

1. One Child puts clean clothes in the dirty clothes. I mean, already folded clothes. He's old enough to have been told for the better part of a decade not to do this.

 

2. Some children put anything in the floor in the dirty clothes. So a dress laying over the back of the chair waiting w/ other clean clothes to be hung in the closet gets knocked to the floor unwittingly, & then A Few Someones count it as dirty. Sometimes they know better, sometimes it's an honest mistake. I'm concerned w/ the former.

 

3. Some children aren't quite big enough to hang their clothes, so button-up sweaters & Sunday clothes get dumped on the floor. And guess where those end up? :glare:

 

4. Some children don't know that some items aren't really intended to be washed except when necessary. Coats, for ex. :glare:

 

5. The Big Problem: stuff gets put away wrong. Like a pair of underwear between two shirts will just get put away with the shirts. Worse, though, my stuff ends up in dh's drawers AND the girls' drawers. Etc. So last night, for ex, I couldn't find a single pair of clean pajamas, & I knew I'd just folded some that afternoon.

 

 

 

My solution to all of these is simply this: nobody in this house has anything to do with the laundry except me. That includes putting anything away, except DH is allowed to put his own clothes away if I did not get to them first.

 

Any help someone might attempt only screws up my system and makes more work for me when I have to sort out the mess and do it right. (Same with dishes.) So it's not welcome. It is so much easier for me to be the only one who does these things.

 

I will teach my kids how to do laundry when they want to learn, but they still will not be allowed to handle laundry without supervision until they are really doing it right, or doing only their own clothes and are old enough for me to not be managing their clothing.

[laundrycrisis]

Even in bed? :blink:

 

I mean certainly it's your choice, but I don't think it's necessary.

 

I wash jammies after one wearing. After being sweated in all night and then having breakfast residue on them, they are not fresh. Both kids have a drawer full of jammies so there is no problem with running out.

[Karen in CO]

I wash jammies after one wearing. After being sweated in all night and then having breakfast residue on them, they are not fresh. Both kids have a drawer full of jammies so there is no problem with running out.

 

Yep. Wear once, then wash.

[Karen in CO]

If it were dd, that would probably work. Ds...has a personality that I think will *eventually* care about how he looks & that *used* to care, but now? He shrugs. He'll wear stuff dirty, wrinkled, whatever. From what I know of boys, this is not something that's on the verge of improving. I would love to hear differently, though! :D

 

Until they learn to care, I enforce a clean clothes rule. No wearing dirty clothes. Simple.

[Beth S]

I haven't read any of the replies. BUT

 

I don't fold the kids clothes. So they just dig through the draws to find what they want. Since it's not to full none gets knocked on the floor. If they try on something and don't like it, or whatever they just put in back in the drawer. .

 

This is what we do. One drawer for all 4 boys' undies & undershirts. One drawer for all socks, which I match up 2 x a year. They each have a drawer for their own play clothes.

 

Also, it would be helpful to know how old and how many children you have--it really does matter! (We have 5, aged 9 to 20yo.)

 

IMO, you will likely NEVER get them to be as organized as you wish . . . but you can hope to see gradual progress (as you improve the system and they improve their habits). My boys (and most I know) do not like to clean their room.

 

I would definitely fine children over 7 years old, for instances that are a pattern of sloppy clothes management. But there will always be mixed up clothes in a large house.

 

I personally put the clean clothes in the drawers, but they are never folded. The boys wear the same play outfit at least 3-4 days, then put it in the laundry right after taking their shower. The dirty clothes go from the bathroom to the laundry bin. So any clothes that are on the floor in their bedroom are only "partially dirty" and should be re-worn. All clothes issues are "resolved" once a week on Tuesday afternoons when their room is cleaned & vacuumed.

 

They only change PJs on Saturday nights. It is easy to have the child fling their PJs under their pillow when they wake up in the morning & make their bed.

 

All I can say is that our house vacillates somewhere between clean and dirty, and having a general system of Clothes Flow can reduce (but not eliminate) washing clean clothes!

 

No one ever told me that Clothes Flow (and Grocery Procurement) would be such a big part of Motherhood! (I'm currently doing one load of laundry per day for a family of 7.)

 

Hang in there, and remember that you are raising future husbands for some dear, unsuspecting young women. :001_smile: What a scary thought!

Edited October 25, 2011 by Beth S

[momma aimee]

This is what we do. One drawer for all 4 boys' undies & undershirts. One drawer for all socks, which I match up 2 x a year. They each have a drawer for their own play clothes.

 

Also, it would be helpful to know how old and how many children you have--it really does matter!

 

IMO, you will likely NEVER get them to be as organized as you wish . . . but you can see gradual progress (as you improve the system and they improve their habits). My boys (and most I know) do not like to clean their room.

 

I would definitely fine children over 7 years old, for instances that are a pattern of sloppy clothes management. But there will always be mixed up clothes in a large house.

 

I personally put the clean clothes in the drawers, but they are never folded. The boys wear the same play outfit at least 3-4 days, then put it in the laundry right after taking their shower. The dirty clothes go from the bathroom to the laundry bin. So any clothes that are on the floor in their bedroom are only "partially dirty" and should be re-worn.

 

They only change PJs on Saturday nights. It is easy to have the child fling their PJs under their pillow when they wake up in the morning & make their bed.

 

All I can say is that our house vacillates somewhere between clean and dirty, and having a general system of Clothes Flow can reduce (but not eliminate) washing clean clothes!

 

Hang in there, and remember that you are raising future husbands for some dear, unsuspecting young woman. :001_smile: What a scary thought!

 

this thought terrorizes me constantly. BFF and i plan to write long letters to our DIL explaining we really did try

[*********]

I've decided it's just not worth the headache. Any chores my boys do at this point is because it makes my life easier. I've got enough to do without making sure they do something right, or worse, making more work. Housework isn't rocket science, and it doesn't take that long to learn, so I figure I'll teach them at some point before they leave home. My boys are expected to do anything I ask without complaint, and they are expected to keep things picked up (which I think is the hardest habit to learn as an adult). Sure, they are old enough to fold the laundry, but it would be a bigger headache for me so I just fold it, put it in stacks, and have them put the laundry away. I do have them match socks, because I hate matching socks more than I hate finding socks in the wrong drawers.

 

Judomom, this is my philosophy, too. If my boys are doing chores, it's because those chores are actually helping me. I've got enough to do, thankyouverymuch, I don't need more work because you 'helped'. :D So around here, when work needs to be done, I tell each boy what to do, and they do it. No biggie. I agree they need to leave home knowing how to do laundry and cook and clean, but they don't have to learn all that at 6 years old, when it's really just creating more work for me. A six year old folding undershirts isn't so helpful; but a six year old putting his socks away that I just matched? One less thing I have to do.

[Aubrey]

This is what we do. One drawer for all 4 boys' undies & undershirts. One drawer for all socks, which I match up 2 x a year. They each have a drawer for their own play clothes.

 

Ea of ours has 2 drawers: 1 for tops, 1 for bottoms. Separate bin for socks/underwear/pjs. And another tub for singleton socks, to be matched up, oh, twice a year or so.

 

Also, it would be helpful to know how old and how many children you have--it really does matter! (We have 5, aged 9 to 20yo.)

 

Oh! Sorry, I forgot. 10, 8, 4, 3, & 1 due on Fri.

 

IMO, you will likely NEVER get them to be as organized as you wish . . . but you can hope to see gradual progress (as you improve the system and they improve their habits). My boys (and most I know) do not like to clean their room.

 

Very true. You should have seen my expectations w/ only 2! :lol:

 

I would definitely fine children over 7 years old, for instances that are a pattern of sloppy clothes management. But there will always be mixed up clothes in a large house.

 

Yes! I understand if the girls' underwear gets mixed up. I'm not thrilled when mine is in their drawers. (But kinda flattered!) It's when mine is in 10yo's jeans drawer or kitchen towels are mixed in w/ my pj's that I feel a little nuts.

 

I personally put the clean clothes in the drawers, but they are never folded.

Ok, I couldn't handle not folding!

The boys wear the same play outfit at least 3-4 days, then put it in the laundry right after taking their shower. The dirty clothes go from the bathroom to the laundry bin. So any clothes that are on the floor in their bedroom are only "partially dirty" and should be re-worn. All clothes issues are "resolved" once a week on Tuesday afternoons when their room is cleaned & vacuumed.

 

:thumbup:

 

They only change PJs on Saturday nights. It is easy to have the child fling their PJs under their pillow when they wake up in the morning & make their bed.

 

We don't have a designated new pj day, but this is our system, too.

 

All I can say is that our house vacillates somewhere between clean and dirty, and having a general system of Clothes Flow can reduce (but not eliminate) washing clean clothes!

 

No one ever told me that Clothes Flow (and Grocery Procurement) would be such a big part of Motherhood! (I'm currently doing one load of laundry per day for a family of 7.)

 

Hang in there, and remember that you are raising future husbands for some dear, unsuspecting young women. :001_smile: What a scary thought!

 

And this is why it matters!

[fairfarmhand]

solution:

 

Everyone's laundry gets washed separately. Every kid has their own basket and their own laundry day. People ten and older have to completely do ALL their own laundry. (to do this you really can't sort to awful much. I do combined loads of whites and towels, but everything else gets dumped in the wash altogether....jeans, t's whatever all in one load)

 

Minimize laundry. Have 4-5 outfits per child, and 3-5 church outfits.

 

Laundry is not permitted to lay around. if it's clean it IMMEDIATELY gets put up. There are 3 acceptable places for laundry. the hamper, the drawers, the closet. that is all.

[lisabees]

If they love washing the clothes and don't care for the clothes that you wash, let them wash them. Hand over the whole process to them and let them sort it out. I was washing and ironing my own clothes from age 11 - my mother never washed for me again.

 

Best wishes

 

Laura

 

:iagree:My kids start doing their own laundry at age 10-11. I don't care what they do with the clothes when they're clean - in hamper, in drawers. I am just glad I don't do it! :lol:

[goldberry]

If it makes you feel any better, I am a very clean, tidy, responsible adult. My mother NEVER had me do my own laundry (or put it away), and she made my bed every day when I left for school until I think my junior year in high school.

 

As an adult, I asked her why, and she said she wanted it done a certain way and it caused her less stress to do it herself. The odd thing is, it did not make me a slob OR not be responsible for my own things as an adult. Actually, I was raised being used to a clean house and fresh clothes, and I still wanted that as an adult.

 

Now, I am making my dd12 do her own laundry. But sometimes I wonder if it's worth it. Who knows?

[Amy Jo]

It wasn't, 'Wash your clothes when you need to'. It was, 'It's Saturday and you need to wash your clothes now'.

 

Laura

 

My kids have a laundry day too, once per kid per week. I'm not harping on drawer organization atm (they are sharing a small room while we build on), but I do have them grab their towel & bedding to wash. They are to keep the clean clothes in the drawer (with the drawer closed) or hang them on the peg behind the door.

 

The weekly inspections & redoing are good ideas - I'll tuck them away for when their room is complete & they have proper dressers.