5 Ways to Get Your Laundry Down to Two Loads Per Week (From a Mom of 5)
Laundry! Most mothers either cringe, turn white, or turn red at the thought of it. And to be perfectly honest, I could never relate. I empathized since it always sounded like a nightmare, but never quite understood why it had to be that way. I would reluctantly confess to only doing two loads of laundry per week, embarrassed. I just assumed that it was me that was doing something wrong – like I was missing something that all these other ladies knew that I didn’t!
I’ve been asked by many women over the years how it is that with my family of seven souls, I do the laundry so seldomly, so I decided to simply divulge a few reasons in the hope that it will help you to maintain order and get on top of this area of your life.
We don’t have a lot of clothes
I am a “chucker” deluxe – as opposed to a hoarder. So therefore, if my husband, myself, or our five children haven’t worn some clothing items in our cupboards for … well… since I can remember, I put them aside and give them to someone who will be blessed by them (friends, thrift stores, etc.).
On a side note, my hubby needed a couple of t-shirts a few years ago, and we went shopping together looking for some. At one point he turned to me and said, “Hon, between you and me, what’s the point in buying these shirts, you’re just going to give them away anyway!” It’s that bad :-).
Now, it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out that the less clothes you have, the less you need to wash. Voila – reason number one for the less laundry thing!
Enlarge your borders
Up until a few years ago, we always had a standard 5kg washing machine. When it packed up, I looked on Trade Me, which is our local ebay type site in New Zealand, and found that a great Samsung 8kg washing machine was available. I won it (for an amazing $300) and have never looked back.
You see, my sweet, the larger your washing machine, the more clothes it washes, and the less loads you have to do. Rocket scientists actually did work that one out, I’m sure! 🙂 So, invest in a larger washing machine and let it do the work instead of you.
Assign a “Laundry” Chore
Doing the laundry is one of the chores that we have in our home. We each do a pair of chores for two weeks straight, before changing them around. Well, that means that I only really do the laundry once every 3 months! Of course, I do help the younger children, and I’m usually the one to hang the washing out on the line (one of my favourite things on this earth to do!) since [read, “therefore”] we don’t have a dryer. But other than that, the laundry is someone else’s responsibility for most of the time.
Did you know that statistics show that 88% of laundry is done by moms, totaling 330 loads of laundry (about 7 loads per week) and 5,300 articles of clothing each year.*
Yet I can’t find one verse in the Bible that says, “Mothers shalt be the only ones to doeth laundry.“
So I guess there’s no reason why it can’t be a shared blessing…
A Place for Everything
In our home, once we undress in the evening, we are each trained by yours truly to do one of two things with our garments.
If they are clean, we return them to the cupboard, and if they are dirty, we place them in the washing baskets provided. Now, I don’t know how you feel about returning worn clothes to the cupboard, but if you’re fine with it, it’ll save you a lot of laundry (of clean clothes – the way I see it!).
Change your Attitude
And finally, based on my pretty vast experience in hearing beautiful women complain about their laundry, I must venture to challenge you, beloved sister, to change your attitude about this necessary and vital part of life as a wife and mother.
It is actually a blessing to serve the people you love by providing clean and pleasant smelling clothes for them to wear each day as they go about the Lord’s work. In fact, washing our garments (and those of the one’s we love) has our God’s seal of approval:
Blessed are those who wash their robes, so that they may have the right to the tree of life,
and may enter by the gates into the city.
Revelation 22:14
Obviously you won’t be saved and allowed into Heaven just because you’re up to date with your laundry, but, God’s Word does place significance on cleaning and purifying clothes.
And think with me for a moment about what great a price the King of all Kings paid to do our laundry, dear friend:
“Come now, and let us reason together,” Says the LORD, “Though your sins are as scarlet, they will be as white as snow; Though they are red like crimson, They will be like wool.
Isaiah 1:18
Yes… God washed away your sins, and mine, laundering our filthy sin stained rags and presenting us with garments far whiter than any laundry detergent commercial could ever claim to accomplish.
Our attitude to this seemingly menial task is to reflect this most pure of truths, as we do it as unto Him and for His glory.
Which of the above suggestions could you implement in order to get your laundry down further. Do you have any additional advice that can be added to this list?
