MeaganS Posted February 4, 2019 Share Posted February 4, 2019 We are moving soon and something that has been on my mind a lot is our laundry routine. It's just not working. My older 3 girls are all within one size of each other, so they share clothes. We also have difficulty folding clothes. It's a chore we all put off as long as possible. My new house has a large laundry room (compared to the closet we have now). I'm considering some sort of family closet situation for my girls at least, especially since they're going to be in different rooms but still share clothes. I'm considering shelves where we just lay out shirts and play skirts flat for them and only fold pants and leggings barely or something. If you have a family closet or have looked into them, how has it worked and what was your process? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kbutton Posted February 4, 2019 Share Posted February 4, 2019 Our "family closet" was for linens--wasn't sure what the question would be when I opened this. I do have one suggestion though--if you have a place to hang things up, one of my kids tended to do better with hangers than with folding, so we put all of his stuff . I would hang shirts and dresses, and put leggings in a bin below the hanging clothes. I also think that semi-neat shelves look far worse than semi-neat hanging things, but that's my own hang-up. 😉 Whatever you do, proximity to the bedroom or bathroom is probably going to be key to making it work, unless you yourself are selecting the clothes from the closet and moving them to the point where they get dressed. Or, maybe they'll actually change in the laundry room if your home layout is conducive to that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ktgrok Posted February 4, 2019 Share Posted February 4, 2019 We had a large laundry room in one house when I was growing up. It had a long counter and above the counter my dad hung a piece of PVC pipe horizontally to hang clothes on. Everyone's clothes were either hung on that bar or folded in piles on the counter, each person had a pile for shirts, one for pants, etc. You just went out there and grabbed what you wanted. I would love to still have that set up. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KungFuPanda Posted February 4, 2019 Share Posted February 4, 2019 I absolutely fantasize about a house where the laundry room is central and behind the bedrooms. Dressers would be built into the walls with drawers that open both ways so you can access from the bedroom or the laundry room. Backs of closets would be accessible from the laundry room too. I realize this is impractical for many reasons, but I enjoy my fantasy. 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jyhwkmama Posted February 4, 2019 Share Posted February 4, 2019 Yes! If I could snap my fingers I would have a large laundry room with built in clothing storage. If you have room, look at some stuff from Ikea and think about where you could put it in your house. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mom31257 Posted February 4, 2019 Share Posted February 4, 2019 At first glance, I thought this was going to be about family secrets! LOL! 3 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mom31257 Posted February 4, 2019 Share Posted February 4, 2019 (edited) I agree with hanging. We hang everything possible because we have good sized closets in every bedroom. For example, ds only has socks, underwear, and gym type shorts in drawers. Edited February 4, 2019 by mom31257 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
G5052 Posted February 4, 2019 Share Posted February 4, 2019 A friend of mine that has nine children had this. I was sent there to use the bathroom at a party and was in awe. Yes, it had a toilet. Now many of their kids are grown, and I wonder if they are still using it. We're going so many ways of late that I do the laundry and just leave it in the laundry room. If someone needs something they have to go get it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ravin Posted February 4, 2019 Share Posted February 4, 2019 I would love to have a large laundry room with room to hang up everyone's most frequently-worn clothing. As it is, our laundry "room" is also a hallway between the kitchen and half bath, with a tiny closet in it that has no hanging rack. I hang things on the door as I fold laundry, then immediately have to disburse them to their owners or there's no room to hang things from the next load. This sounds like a fantastic idea to me, and if I was you I'd go for it! Be prepared for it to only last a season, though. As your girls get older, they are likely to 1. develop their own senses of style and taste and 2. get possessive about clothes. I recall a particular incident in which one of my sisters (they are twins) threw a birthday or Christmas gift of a dress back at the other, saying something like, "This is your style! I don't want it!" Another sister used to get VERY annoyed when the twins would raid her closet without asking. Socks were the one thing we kept largely communal growing up. At some point, there were like 5 or 6 people in the house all in the same size socks, so mom just bought basic socks in bulk and put a basket of paired socks in the linen closet for all to share. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ktgrok Posted February 4, 2019 Share Posted February 4, 2019 7 minutes ago, Ravin said: I would love to have a large laundry room with room to hang up everyone's most frequently-worn clothing. As it is, our laundry "room" is also a hallway between the kitchen and half bath, with a tiny closet in it that has no hanging rack. I hang things on the door as I fold laundry, then immediately have to disburse them to their owners or there's no room to hang things from the next load. This sounds like a fantastic idea to me, and if I was you I'd go for it! Be prepared for it to only last a season, though. As your girls get older, they are likely to 1. develop their own senses of style and taste and 2. get possessive about clothes. I recall a particular incident in which one of my sisters (they are twins) threw a birthday or Christmas gift of a dress back at the other, saying something like, "This is your style! I don't want it!" Another sister used to get VERY annoyed when the twins would raid her closet without asking. Socks were the one thing we kept largely communal growing up. At some point, there were like 5 or 6 people in the house all in the same size socks, so mom just bought basic socks in bulk and put a basket of paired socks in the linen closet for all to share. My sister and I didn't share clothes, generally, but we still kept it all in the laundry room. If we had something we wanted to protect I guess we could have moved it to our own room. we were mostly too lazy to care, lol. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MeaganS Posted February 4, 2019 Author Share Posted February 4, 2019 (edited) So far, some definitely have their own style. It hasn't been too much of an issue yet. If they have a shirt or dress that is special to them, they all seem to know it and only the "owner" wears it. They aren't teenagers yet, though, so we'll see. Dd8 will most likely be the only one to care a lot. She's already begging for makeup. 🙄 The room is open, with cabinets only on the side the washer and dryer go. The rest is empty and ready for whatever shelving I want to put in there. Im surprised so many of you prefer hanging. My experience with kids and hangers has been endless frustration as they knock things off and I'm constantly rehanging. And that's just Sunday dresses for the most part. Edited February 4, 2019 by MeaganS 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lecka Posted February 5, 2019 Share Posted February 5, 2019 Dresses are the worst. Pants and shirts are usually not like that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ktgrok Posted February 5, 2019 Share Posted February 5, 2019 A long counter is easy, and you could always have the hanging rod above it, and baskets below it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lecka Posted February 5, 2019 Share Posted February 5, 2019 Having the small-sized hangers helps, also. I only have one girl, and her shirts I keep folded in drawers, because they are more likely to have a wider neck. My sons’ clothes rarely come off the hangers. This gets better as the clothing gets larger, too. But anyway — not all clothes slip like Sunday dresses. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ktgrok Posted February 5, 2019 Share Posted February 5, 2019 And get the hangers that have the little indents on each side, to slip the collar of the shirt into to keep it from falling off. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LaughingCat Posted February 5, 2019 Share Posted February 5, 2019 The key to do as little folding as possible IME is being able to put the clothes in a horizontal pile (vs the typical vertical one) plus this gives the added advantage when looking for clothes of being able to see all at once. You can put the clothes in folded just enough to fit -- shirts for example only folded in half vertically. The horizontal pile really allows for minimal folding and the drawers hide any messiness. Really with the shirts 'folding' is probably a misnomer for what I do even -- lay them all kinda folded lengthwise in a pile, then slide the whole pile into the drawer at once. My fav to do this is those cheap plastic drawers (set of 3 wide drawers) -- the regular dresser we had was too big for the kids clothes (but works now for my teen). You could probably do this with a basket -but it would have to be a long one not the typical ones available. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amy in NH Posted February 5, 2019 Share Posted February 5, 2019 (edited) 16x6' Laundry Room: Picture what is essentially a long hallway with a door at either end.. Walls 1 & 2 are the long walls opposite each other: Wall 1 - washer & dryer next to each other below, two cabinets with open shelves between them above; laundry folding table with 3-compartment hamper/sorter below; hanging bar with shelf above for luggage, storage bins below with bed linens inside. We keep laundry detergents in the cabinets, and travel toiletry bags and gear on the shelves between. Wall 2 - Six 10' long wooden shelves on a bracket system - each family member has their own shelf with two cloth bins at the machine end of the room holding socks and underwear respectively, followed by piles next to each other for PJs, pants, shirts, sweatshirts, etc. Under the bottom shelf are more bins for bed linens. There is room at the far end for a very small dresser, with hat boxes on top. There is a ball-cap hanger on the door. Across from the hanging bar are the drying racks for delicate laundry. Up until very recently (when I got a master bedroom walk-in closet!) all of the hanging clothes for the whole family were on the 5 ft. bar at the end of the room. We don't hang it if we don't need to! Clothes go from the hamper to the washer to the dryer, then folded straight out of the dryer and put on the proper pile. No dressers taking up wall space in the kids's rooms. No messy balls of clothes hanging out of half-open dresser drawers. I usually keep a box on the folding table for clothes that have obviously become too small before the season is over, or new clothes for the following season that were purchased at consignment or on clearance - they get sorted onto the piles or into storage at the end of each season. If I'm pressed for time, I'll throw clothes onto the folding table and declare a folding party after I get a few loads' worth. The shelves corresponded with the height of each owner when we started, so they could all reach their clothes to get dressed, tidy up, or help with folding. Edited February 5, 2019 by Amy in NH 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ravin Posted February 5, 2019 Share Posted February 5, 2019 (edited) 17 hours ago, MeaganS said: So far, some definitely have their own style. It hasn't been too much of an issue yet. If they have a shirt or dress that is special to them, they all seem to know it and only the "owner" wears it. They aren't teenagers yet, though, so we'll see. Dd8 will most likely be the only one to care a lot. She's already begging for makeup. 🙄 The room is open, with cabinets only on the side the washer and dryer go. The rest is empty and ready for whatever shelving I want to put in there. Im surprised so many of you prefer hanging. My experience with kids and hangers has been endless frustration as they knock things off and I'm constantly rehanging. And that's just Sunday dresses for the most part. Whether to hang or not often depends on what kind of storage space is available, and personal preference. In our house: DD: hangs most shirts, jeans, sweaters, jackets, skirts, and dresses. Underwear, socks, leggings, and plain tank tops go in (plastic) drawers. She has a large closet to herself and no dresser. DH: Hangs shirts, including his undershirts (compression shirts, which we mostly hang to dry anyway). Everything else, including pants, gets folded and put in his dresser. GF: Hang work shirts, her few nice non-work shirts (nice means not stained or full of holes; she's a home body so not many of these), work pants. Everything else is folded and put in (plastic) drawers or storage baskets in cubbies. She and DH share the master bedroom closet. Me: Hang work shirts, work pants, any casual shirts that are presentable (i.e., no stains or holes), kilts. Socks, undershirts, underwear, grungy/pj T-shirts, pajama pants, and shorts get folded and put into a couple of bins of the sort made to go into storage cubbies in my closet, or on a shelf in my closet (larger items). I have a closet to myself, but much of it is full of camping gear, sewing stuff, homeschooling materials, office supplies, boxes of old photographs, etc. I have no dresser. DS: All Shirts, hoodies, and jackets get hung. Pants, shorts, and pjs get folded and put in cubbies. Socks and underwear get folded then put in a basket on the closet floor. In order for DS to reach the hanging items, we have this organizer in his closet (the cubby sections are where the folded clothes except socks/undies go): https://www.walmart.com/ip/4-Section-Closet-Organizer-with-Rod/637073329 . Except for the section wehre this hanging organizer is, DS's closet, which is the smallest of any of the bedrooms', also houses a cubby shelf for toys and books, and up-high storage used for miscellaneous things he doesn't need access to. Edited February 5, 2019 by Ravin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kbutton Posted February 5, 2019 Share Posted February 5, 2019 19 hours ago, MeaganS said: Im surprised so many of you prefer hanging. My experience with kids and hangers has been endless frustration as they knock things off and I'm constantly rehanging. And that's just Sunday dresses for the most part. Lecka covered several fixes, but I will add that the fuzzy hangers can help with this also. I have less of this issue by virtue of having boys--necks on shirts are usually standardish sizes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sbgrace Posted February 5, 2019 Share Posted February 5, 2019 (edited) I love my set up, but I do have boys. Girls might be different. I need very little hanging space for example. My laundry room is large, with a full bath off the room. My boys shower down there--clothes go right into the laundry baskets, baskets to the laundry, clean clothes to the closets. My set up is a decent size/double closet with shelving--the top and side is large cubby hole type (4 across) shelving, the bottom longer shelves. I find the cubby hole shelving more useful--one cubby, for example, is t-shirts for the teens, another is hoodies/similar, another for jeans, etc. I can categorize so things don't get jumbled and buried.The bottom of that closet has long shelves--I use those for my clothes that don't require hanging. I have also have two smaller wardrobe type shelving units in that room as well. Each shelf in those has a specific purpose, for example shelf #1 is teen #1 sweat pants he sleeps in and undies, shelf #2 is the teen socks (same size/they share) and their bath towels, etc. One wardrobe is all my husband's non hanging clothes. My boys can share most clothes size wise, and they do for many things. But the things that are more specific, a camp x went to, a team y is on, are just mixed in. I've never seen one wear or want to wear his "brother's" clothes. But my boys aren't "into" clothes. Other teens might be more picky about sharing space. If that were the case, I would just have to rearrange my system so each had individual space. I think it could still work. Edited February 5, 2019 by sbgrace Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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