Read This If "Laundry Tips For Busy Moms" Don't Work For You

Jul 31, 2024

Laundry systems aren't one-size-fits-all. Here's why.

Mom folding beach towels on a bed.

"The best way to do laundry as a busy mom" won't work for you

"Laundry Tips For Busy Moms" Just Doesn't Work

Linger too long on any one Reel and you know you’re gonna be fed more like it.

That’s why I scrolled away as quick as my thumb could scroll when I saw one where this hot chick wrapped her body around this hot guy and he back-flipped off a cliff into the blue water way down below. I DO NOT NEED TO BE HEART-ATTACKING, people! (Now that I've searched and searched to find the link for you, I’m afraid what the algorithm will feed me more of this nightmare content.)

I do like seeing how different people hack everyday tasks, but hands down my least-favorite type of content is the kind where someone has crowned herself an expert and says, “Do it my way and life won’t be hard anymore.”

Sorry, Janet, but you don’t know me, my heart, my kids, my home. Happy whatever whatever works for you, but don’t come up here on my pocket-sized procrastination station and say your way is the way that ends all ways. You’re making us feel worse.

As with anything to do with raising kids or managing a home, no one knows your priorities and tendencies and lifestyle and family (and you family’s laundry) as well as you. You need to filter any “advice” through all of that.

When it comes to your laundry routine — Which way is the right way?

Nicely folded men's clothes.

A) Anabelle with a full-time job, commute, and toddler twins she takes to daycare, sends her laundry out to a wash-and-fold service, even though she has an in-unit washer-dryer. She figures she can afford it and it’s worth it to her to spend money instead of time on this task in this season.

B) Bethany, who’s a SAHM with a young baby, has gotten in the habit of doing a load of laundry every day. When she clears the breakfast dishes and puts her baby down for her morning nap, she puts a load in the washing machine. And the rest of the steps in the process align with other steps in their day. The way she sees it, it’s easier for her (and her baby) to stick to a regular laundry schedule, and it’s easier for her to stay on top of the laundry by doing a little every day.

C) Charlotte with raging ADHD, a work-from-home job, young children in school, a high tolerance for clutter, and a laundromat 5-minutes away, prefers to batch her laundry and do a whole month in one go, rewarding herself with reruns of Gilmore Girls and Thai takeout.

D) Definitely all the of the above

Spoiler — There is no right way to do laundry or anything else

Linens hanging on a clothes line.

For those of you playing along at home, the answer is D) Definitely all of the above, for THEM. Which might mean E) None of the above, for YOU.

What do Annabelle, Bethany, and Charlotte all have in common? They know themselves and have built systems that fit into their lifestyles and account for their tendencies and preferences.

THAT’S what I want for you. In all things.

You know your laundry routine isn’t the same as anyone elses. You might have laundry hampers galore, prefer to use a drying rack, a mesh bag or both, have too many delicate items to count, school uniforms and sports uniforms that need to be washed in a particular way, etc. You’ve tried all the best laundry hacks for “busy moms” and yet still, laundry is your most dreaded of household chores.

That's why I created Ready Set Moms Do Laundry, the mini-course that helps you do the chore that's never done in the way that's best for YOU

WARNING: If you just want someone to tell you what to do, this isn’t for you.

Instead of telling you to do it how I do it, I'll help you pinpoint:

Why it's hard for YOU
What's important to YOU
What good will look like for YOU

Then I’ll lead you to design a laundry system for getting the laundry done without frustration, nagging, or overwhelm.

HINT: It’s not going to be all on you anymore.

But I can't get behind doing a load of laundry a day

Bright colored clothes and a dryer.

What are your thoughts on doing a load of laundry a day? Even though doing a load of laundry every single day works for Bethany and might work for you, I know it doesn’t work for me. Hard pass.

To ME, it feels wasteful of time, energy, water, electricity/natural gas, dryer sheets, fabric softener, and laundry detergent. It doesn’t allow for different temperatures for washing and drying. Lint from bath towels will cling to your black yoga pants worse than glitter clings to, well, everything. It requires traveling to every room every day to collect dirties and put away clean clothes.

Considered it. Not for me.

But there’s a VERSION of doing a load a day that I really like, and it’s the system I teach in Ready Set Moms Do Laundry (in a way that is totally customizable).

How assigning certain loads of laundry to certain days will save your life

Bright colored pic of laundry detergent, laundry basket, and clean towels.

(Yes, I realize that’s an overstatement, but let’s be real - laundry is no joke.)

Assigned days for specific categories, rooms, or people. Depending on how many family members you have, this might actually end up being every day or close to it. But what’s different here is we aren’t mixing loads. We’re keeping like-items together.

Instead of mixed loads of whatever dirty clothes happened to get made today, this approach looks more like certain already-collected loads on certain days. In our family we usually do 4 loads in a week: Mine, my husband’s, the two little kids’ clothes together, linens. And yes, the entire family is involved and helps in our family’s laundry process… I told you - it’s not all on you!

Here’s an example for a family of 5 with a couple, a teenager, and two little kids:

Monday: The mom does her dirty laundry, start to finish; she chats with her mom while folding and putting away.
Tuesday: The teen does his, start to finish. He “folds” clean laundry and “puts away” according to his standard, which might be, well, not doing those steps. But hey, at least he’s helping someway somehow!
Wednesday: Kids 1 & 2 combined. After school the kids fold their own laundry and put them away with the dad’s guidance at bedtime
Friday: The mom washes the linens from the kitchen + baths + beds. After school each family member puts away their own towels and helps to get the beds made
Saturday or Sunday: The dad does his laundry, start to finish

Why does this work?

The habit is easy to maintain because it’s a weekly rhythm and everyone knows what to expect and what their roles are
People stay out of each other’s way and the laundry room is never too crowded
Different water temperature or dryer temperatures and times can be used (not to mention whatever other laundry preferences you like to apply)
The actual process goes faster every step of the way, especially gathering from laundry bins, sorting, folding, and putting away
Unlike dedicating a whole weekend day to “laundry day,” if something comes up it can be easy to slot small loads into another day
No more last-minute-laundry before sports games, school, or work. There’s always clean laundry to be worn

The laundry process can be overwhelming, but systems can help

As I wrote at the top of this post, no one knows your priorities and tendencies and lifestyle and family as well as you. I encourage you to filter any “advice” — even mine — through all of that. Really think about the ways in which your family works so that you can devise the best plan for you all.

The mini course Ready Set Moms Do Laundry offers practical ideas and a sustainable framework to help you better understand your priorities and capacity so you can simplify and systematize laundry. The goal is for you to spend less time and energy on laundry so that you can focus on the important things in you life.

Wouldn’t it be amazing to never again feel overwhelmed or hassled by piles of laundry again? Laundry may be a never-ending chore or a necessary evil, but it doesn’t have to be miserable. No more one-size-fits-all “quick laundry tips for busy moms.” We’re going to find a laundry system that works for YOU and gets you the help you deserve.

The mini course is available now! You do not want to miss this.