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Wednesday, September 3, 2008

Works For Me Wednesday


I'm so glad this is a reverse WFMW today! I could really use some suggestions...

I have the most beautiful cherry wood dining room table, a gift from my dear famous grandparents for our wedding. It is by far the focal point of the room, a real work of art...which is why it bothers me so that most days it sits covered - with LAUNDRY!

Yes, friends, we have a laundry problem, and not your typical laundry problem! We don't have dirty laundry piling up in our utility room...we don't argue over whose turn it is to turn on the washer or sort the clothes...no, MY problem is that I HATE putting the nice clean piles of laundry away! So...any suggestions out there? I need a method, a tip, trick or mindset change! Please, sweet friends, help me find my beautiful dining room table and restore it to its former glory!!
For more reverse WFMW posts, stop on over at Rocks in My Dryer!

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15 comments:

Anonymous said...

I don't know if this will help, but I pile the clothes on the kitchen table. Each child's clothes sits at their space and must be put away before they can eat. Does that help you at all?

Jeni said...

I have the same problem! I'm starting to do the laundry room by room, instead of all together, so that is helping with the putting away.

T with Honey said...

I have enough laundry baskets and hampers for each person to have their own plus one for towels and sheets. As I fold the laundry it goes into the appropriate basket and then the basket sits in that person's bedroom until it is worn or put away.

But at least the clutter is gone and the clean stuff makes it to the correct room

Mommy2Twinkies-Deb said...

I actually don't do another load of laundry until the one is folded. I try to do one load a day so it doesn't pile up. Laundry is my most hated chore, but I'm also really picky about it, which makes it much worse!

Steph at Problem Solvin' Mom said...

Great suggestions, thanks!

I love the idea of putting clothes at the table, I will file that one away for when my daughter is a bit older. For now, I put her laundry away. She has just gotten interested in "helping" with the folding!

I was reading on small notebook yesterday about laundry sorters, and if I get one for the laundry room, that will free up hampers for clean laundry to be dispersed to the correct room.

I knew you ladies (& men?) would be able to help me! :)

MamaMay said...

my two year old (almost 3) has the "chore" of putting all the clean washcloths, her clothing, her new born brother's clothing, and many other things away. Only the "big" things she can't carry easily are my responsibility. She started helping me this way at 18 months old.

Hopewell said...

Delegate! Works for me!

Rebecca said...

At this very moment I have clean laundry sitting in a laundry basket in our dining room, so I may not be much help. I find when I dry laundry in the dryer, I fold it right away so it doesn't get wrinkled. However, when I hang laundry dry, I have no such incentive.

Similar to the put-it-on-the-kitchen-table suggestion, sometimes I put the laundry on my bed. Then we have to fold it and put it away before going to sleep!

Another thing I do is fold laundry while watching t.v. You can get something done while enjoying mindless entertainment. Maybe I will do that today. . . .

Thanks for stopping by the Green Baby Guide! You should join us for our Thrifty Green Thursday blog carnival, which starts tonight!

The Hunter's Wife said...

The basket idea is great. I normally do laundry every evening so it doesn't pile up. Fold and put away.

Amy@ MomsToolbox said...

I like the idea for every member having a laundry basket. If your kids are too young, though, you might consider a kid basket and an adult basket. We have a downstairs basket and upstairs basket. As the laundry is folded, it goes right in the basket and then gets taken to the right "zone."

Anonymous said...

I was doing the same thing. The way I solved it was by folding the clothes on our bed. They have to be put away in order to get in the bed at night. So far it's working. Good luck! ~Amanda

Kristin - The Goat said...

I used to fold laundry and put it in a laundry basket and leave it in the living room until it was emptied. Not a great system. I actually had to make Putting Away Laundry an actual "GOAL." When I actually made it a priority it became important and something I did.

I always fold my laundry as soon as its dry. No wrinkled clothes here -- just the "I don't wanna" attitude about putting it away. It took me 10 minutes to put away three baskets of laundry. I was embarrassed at myself when I realized that all that guilt and attitude that I projected on those laundry baskets took 10 minutes to remedy.

Just do it. Each load. Fold and put away. Don't give yourself another place to store it, unless it is in its proper place.

This is coming from someone who has had a 20 year problem and I have accomplished my goal each week for the past 5 or 6 months now.

carrhop said...

Wish I could be a model of discipline and consistency on this--but lightening would strike. I did finally figure this out--if I keep several empty baskets available as I'm folding, I put whichever laundry goes to whichever individual it belongs to and then it's just a matter of taking that basket to that individual's room--even if it doesn't make it into the dressers or closets, it's at least a little closer to its appropriate location....

oh--and now I'm seeing that t with honey gave this same suggestion and wrote it much more clearly! Oh well!

Loved your comment over at my place! I'm gonna remember that one--I'm growing kids!

Blessings!

Anonymous said...

I do the individual laundry baskets for each person. I found some at our local dollar store (how can you beat that!). My children are responsible for a simple job each morning before breakfast. Twice a week, the mornings after my laundry days, their job is to put away the clothes in their laundry baskets and stack the baskets in the hall. This also serves as a natural consequence for my 6 yr. old who throws everything in the dirty clothes whether it is dirty or not. He always has more laundry to put away.
Laundry is a great place to start in teaching responsibility for your own possesions and working towards a cooperative family. My 3 yr. old is really good at it with a gentle reminder.
Got to go get that last batch folded for the kids to put away tomorrow!

Carrie said...

I actually LOVE putting the clothes away (especially all my son's cute little baby clothes)! I just have one small laundry basket, and I put the clean clothes in it, so that I have to put them away before I can take another load out of the dryer. I guess that works for me. :)

I wanted to say thank you for your comment on my blog post about getting my son to take a sippy cup. We will keep trying different things & hopefully he will take it soon! :)