Tidy in Ten – Week 9: Laundry

Dirty laundry – we’ve all got it 😜 But did you know that it’s a prime candidate for the tidy in ten technique?! By breaking it down into smaller tasks and working it into your existing schedule, you can take back control of this often looming chore.

What

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Dirty or clean, scattered or folded in baskets, we’re looking at aaaaalllll the laundry.

When

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There are probably more opportunities to address laundry than you may originally think. The bigger challenge is overcoming the desire to put it off. Get creative and multi-task your day to day activities by adding in some laundry. You can prepare, sort, and fold laundry while:

• watching TV
• listening to a podcast or audio book
• on the phone
• child’s bath time

How

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Break it up! Finding a single, large enough time window to complete a full load of laundry from start to finish can be difficult with busy schedules. Instead, be intentional about dividing up the task into smaller bits that do fit within your schedule. Here are some examples:

• Pre-sort a load or two the night before in preparation.
• If your machine has it, leverage the delayed wash setting to time your laundry to finish when you will be available to switch over loads or move it to the dryer.
• Fold laundry during otherwise idle tasks. Think of those activities that don’t require your hands – supervising the kids outside, watching TV, sitting through a WFH meeting…put those hands to work and start folding.
• Delegate. Delegate. Delegate. Get help! Assign kids to sort towels from clothes. Move clothes from washer to dryer. As clothing is folded, place them into stacks by individual and make each individual responsible for putting away his or her own laundry. Let kids turn clothes right-side-out. Get creative. Again, the key is to break it down.