The BEST Tip for Taming the Laundry Beast

It never ends.  Never.

I like those jobs that when they’re done, they’re done.  Like when the toilet is clean or when the dishes are washed.  They don’t stay clean for very long, but at least for a few blessed moments I can bask in the pleasure of knowing that job is actually complete.

With laundry, that moment never, EVER comes.

If you have a very large family at all, and sometimes even when you don’t, the laundry can very easily become an out-of-control monster that seems impossible to tame.  But this summer I’ve learned something that is proving to be a tremendous help with the dreaded chore of laundry!  While it hasn’t turned it into a quick and seamless task I thoroughly enjoy, (insert ridiculous laughter here,) it HAS helped me learn to manage it.  And that’s a big deal!

Yes, I delegate as much of the work to my children as I can and, no, I don’t always stay on top of the folding as well as I do the washing, but here’s the simple tip I learned that is helping me MOST in my laundry-doing.

I follow a laundry schedule.

Yep.  That’s it.

See, I’m a sucker for printables.  I’m a list person, one of those everything-in-my-life-stays-more-organized-when-I-write-it-down kind of people and some of the beautiful, ready-made printables I find online help me do that and do it in a pretty way.

So I was searching for a new printable grocery list when I stumbled across a printable laundry schedule.  (Check the end of this post for links to some of these!)

A laundry schedule?  I’d never heard anybody talk about that.  Is it really necessary?  I mean, you have dirty clothes, you wash them.  It’s not that complicated.  

But I figured, why not give it a try?  I printed a schedule, slipped it in a plastic sheet protector, pulled out a dry erase marker and went to work planning out what days I would wash what clothes.

And though it took 5-6 weeks for me to perfect my schedule, now when I stick to what I have written down, I do not fall behind on the laundry.  And just having it laid out for me so clearly helps me stay focused every morning and be more determined to get my laundry done for that day.

Just to give you an idea how to go about it, I’ll show you my schedule, though mine will not work for you:  I may have a larger capacity washing machine than you have.  Your family may be larger or smaller than mine.  You may have a baby or a houseful of messy boys or a husband who works a dirty job.  All of those things will affect the volume and type of laundry you’re doing every day.  That’s why it can take a little tweaking to get your schedule just right for your family.  But once you get it, if you’ll stick with it, it will definitely help you stay on top of the laundry in your house.

But here’s my schedule.  Keep in mind I’m talking about washing these clothes, not necessarily having them folded and put away, too.  (Still working on that one!)  But getting them clean is the most important thing, and I do try to fold some clothes every day and my daughters are responsible for folding their own and more.  And when I say that I wash towels on a particular day, I try to wash every single dirty towel in the house.

Tanya’s Laundry Schedule


Sundays — I don’t generally do laundry at all.

Mondays — Towels and work clothes  (Usually 2 loads.  My husband can never wear his work clothes more than once without washing.  We also tend to go through a lot of towels on weekends.)

Tuesdays — The kids’ colors  (Usually about 2 loads)

Wednesdays — Whites  (Usually 1 load.)

Thursdays — Towels, work clothes, and bedding  (2-3 loads)

Fridays — Mine and my husband’s colors  (1 load)

Saturday — Sometimes I’ll wash something on Saturdays, but I try not to!  Saturdays are usually pretty busy for us.

A few extra notes:

• Some people may prefer scheduling a day for each individual member of the family.  If your kids do their own laundry, that may be fine, but otherwise, I don’t think it’s the most efficient way to go about it.  Just my two cents there…

• For our family of six, I have to average about two loads per weekday to keep up.  Your family will be different.  Like I said, I had to toy around with this schedule for a few weeks to get it just right, but now, so long as I stick with the schedule, I do not fall behind on my laundry at all.  I have it memorized now, too, so I know first thing in the morning what I’m washing and I get that first load in before we start school in the mornings.  Often at our first break I can transfer it to the dryer and put in a second load, then do a third if necessary after lunch.  The schedule helps me have a plan for tackling the laundry, which is really the key to keeping it under control.

• When I do bedding, I usually try to wash ours and ours daughters’ on the same Thursday, then my sons’ the next Thursday.  (My daughters can put their own beds together, but my boys have bunk beds and often need more help, so I try not to wash theirs when I’m washing mine, just to make it a little easier on me.)

• Think out a laundry schedule that works with your life schedule.  I’m usually putting together the finishing touches on a blog post, plus we go to church on Wednesday nights, so I try to limit the laundry I do on Wednesdays.

• Saturdays are more or less a catch-up day.  I never plan to wash then, but sometimes I’ll wash a few random items if we’re home and if there’s something in particular we might need for church on Sunday.

So are you ready for a laundry schedule of your own?  Let me give you some links to a few of my favorite printables

This one from Forever Organised has a cute, clean look.

Passion for Savings offers a cute printable, as well as even more advice for creating a laundry schedule.

This one from My Three Monsters is my personal favorite because of its vintage look.  It’s the one I use.

Print one of these or create your own.  Like I said, I slipped mine inside a sheet protector so I could write on it with a dry erase marker.  Hang it in your laundry room or on the side of your washer or dryer and begin developing your schedule!

It helps.  I promise.  Now to develop a system where clothes sort, wash, dry, fold, and put away themselves…