I have a naturally-neat friend who keeps griping about my latest blog entries, saying that many of my laundry problems would be solved if only I would fold the clothes straight out of the dryer, carry them up, and put them away. Yeah, duh. I know that! But I am housekeeping impaired, and I am only being honest and realistic when I say that ain't gonna happen around here. Not very often anyway.
However, I have pondered the situation a lot lately, asking myself why I don't do this more often. (Almost always, it's because I don't have time right then. But when I DO have time, why don't I do this?) My honest answer? I can't even get started on that process because it's so boring in there by the dryer! My laundry room doesn't even have a window, so when I try to stand there and just fold I go nuts. Better to drag the pile into the living room where there are family members to talk to. At that point, however, all sorts of other things divert my attention and, well, you know how it goes. The laundry gets stuck in the fold-this-when-you-have-time basket.
Then it hit me: I find cooking a real bore as well, that's why there's a TV in my kitchen. I flip it on every time I cook. If I installed a television in my laundry room, would I (and my family members) be more likely to stand there longer and do what needs to be done with the clothes that are coming straight out of the dryer? I'm not sure, but I think it's an option worth exploring. Just last night, I moved an old portable TV of ours to the top of the dryer. It looks dumb in there, but I'm still in the "testing" phase right now.
I love my little kitchen TV so much, that if this works, I'll get the same model for the laundry room for a more permanent solution. (I got my under-cabinet mounting TV/DVD/Radio at Target for only $99 on sale, though the non-sale prices for these things can get a lot higher than that.) Anyway, I'll be sure to let you know if installing a TV over the dryer helps us solve the fold-now-not-later problem in our house. With two teens who procrastinate their own folding, I have a feeling this might be a nice solution for at least one of us, and maybe all.
That's it for now about laundry. Next time, a new housekeeping topic. Stay tuned!
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I used to have a similar problem. I'd pull clothes out of the dryer and stuff them into a laundry basket - sometimes over stuff a couple of loads.
ReplyDeleteI finally set up simple rules that have helped me manage laundry very well for my family of 4 (yep, I'm a dad that does laundry).
1. If any family member doesn't bring their clothes to the laundry room and put them in the right hampers, they don't get washed.
2. No special items (sheets, blankets, bath mats, etc.) can come to the laundry room unless there's an open washing machine waiting.
3. No laundry baskets. We have a rod for hanging clothes in the laundry room. Everything else has to be folded and put away before I can put the next load into the dryer.
Usually, I do two loads of laundry per day and that's it.