Organizing Tips to Help You Conquer the Laundry Monster

Laundry. You sort, you wash, you fold, you blink ? and the pile of dirty clothes has grown all over again. Laundry is a fact of life, but approaching the task in an organized way can make it more manageable.

Preparation is Half the Battle
If you have a large family (or lots of clothes!), sorting the laundry can be a daunting task all on its own. Sorting as you go not only ends the need for this part of the project, but also may encourage you to do laundry more often because it's all sorted and ready to go! Use a multi-compartmented hamper or several laundry baskets and as you throw in your dirty clothes just drop them in the appropriate section (even kids as young as pre-schoolers can learn to do this -- make it fun for them, give them a small reward (an extra 15 minutes of TV? staying up 10 minutes later?) each time they get everything in the right spot!)

Toss items that need dry cleaning into a special basket or bag as soon as you take it off. This way, when you are ready to go to the cleaners you can just grab them, rather than having to hunt for them in all the dirty laundry (ugh!)

Make a habit of always keeping a spare of laundry detergent, dryer sheets and whatever else you use regularly. That way you never have to drop everything and run to the store to complete your laundry (or use that as a reason to not complete the laundry...)

Put Away the Clean Clothes in a Flash!
Keep hangers and a folding hanging rack near the dryer. Save steps by putting hanging items directly on hangers rather than folding and toting them first. As you fold clean laundry, place items in baskets by person to simplify the process of putting it all away. Get everyone in on the act. Even small children can help put away some of their own clothes -- socks, underwear, etc. Older kids can put it all away. If you share the burden, it's not so overwhelming.

We know it's hard, but go through your drawers and closets and purge things that are never worn. Putting laundry away is much faster and more pleasant if you don't have to struggle to cram the clothes into an overstuffed space.

Set a side a small drawer or basket for socks that have lost their mate in the wash. Sooner or later the other sock will turn up and the pair can be put away with all the others.

Other Laundry Tips
Consider sprucing up and organizing the laundry area. A clean and well-organized space makes any task more enjoyable. Schedule set laundry days and stick to them. It's amazing how much more you can get done when you have a schedule.

Short of inventing disposable clothes, laundry is here to stay, but these tips should make it quicker and a little more manageable and you will never have a morning with nothing to wear.

Copyright 2004 Bridget Messino

About the author: Bridget Messino is a Professional Organizer and co-owner of Clutter Free Living, Inc. Her work frequently appears on many Internet sites and on her own organizing site Clutter Free Living as well as in her monthly Home Organizing Newsletter How to Be Clutter Free. Subscribe to the FREE monthly e-newsletter by sending a blank e-mail to cflnews-subscribe@topica.email-publisher. com

---

Heres A Great Way To Organize Your Work From Home Office Virtually

How to do keep track of all you have to... Read More

Getting Organized for Achievement

Getting and staying organized is critical to achieving your goals.... Read More

The True Definition of an Organization

The true definition of an organization is one that is... Read More

Ten Signs That Your Life Is Cluttered

How do you know if you need to clean out?... Read More

Five Simple Tips to Get Organized Today!

Take time to declutter this summer...Writing can certainly consume the... Read More

9 Simple Strategies for Home Organization

Home organization means being able to find your stuff when... Read More

5 Easy Steps to Making Housework More Manageable

Sometimes the task of keeping a clean, tidy house just... Read More

Balance- What Does It Really Mean?

Balance- what a popular topic these days! Finding a work-life... Read More

Is Your To Do List The Problem?

You start each week with great intentions. You are determined... Read More

Technology...The Culprit and the Tool

Technology has given us the tools to reduce routine tasking,... Read More

The Love It Or Lose It Principle: One Simple Key to Living Clutter-Free Forever

It wasn't long ago that you spent an entire weekend... Read More

10 Tips on Color Coding Your Paper: From Chaos to Coherence

Color-There Is No SubstituteIn anatomical illustrations you see the brain's... Read More

Choose Spice Racks That Help You Organize Your Home

Today you have almost as many choices of spice racks... Read More

Get Rid Of The Clutter

You really can have a successful business and a great... Read More

Everything Fits Together Perfectly!

Here's a little lesson I experienced while packing boxes for... Read More

A Personal Action Plan for Change

There are eight distinct steps to constructing and executing an... Read More

Clutter Control

Remember when you charged into the office that first day,... Read More

Too Many Unfinished Projects? 7 Time Management Strategies to Move Stalled Projects to Finish Line

Q. I have several projects going at once -- but... Read More

Give Up Control to Get Control

For some reason, Americans think they have something to prove... Read More

Compartmentalize

The word "compartmentalize" means to separate into distinct parts. I... Read More

New Business? Changing Careers? Youve Got a Whole New Ball Game

When you embark on a life transition, the skills that... Read More

Does Your Storage Make Sense?

What do your storage spaces look like? Do you know... Read More

The 4-Keys to Clutter Free Living - Design a Space that Nurtures Your Soul

Decluttering is a simple-to-learn process, once you break it down... Read More

How Long Do I Need to Keep This? - A Guide to Receipts, Statements and Financial Clutter at Home

In most homes, paper causes clutter. And it seems to... Read More

Can You Make a ?Torpedo? Out of Personal Junk? How to Optimize What You Have

"Junkyard Wars," a TV series showed two teams of experts... Read More

Improve Your Workplace to Make Your Life Better

What does "quality of life" mean to you? If you... Read More

Without a Plan, You?re Doomed to Failure

"My job is an endless series of deadlines, I am... Read More

Don?t Be A Clutter Victim

There are 3 kinds of clutter: Inner (between our ears);... Read More

Getting Things Done: A Guide To Next-Action Lists

Getting Things Done (GTD), is a productivity methodology designed by... Read More

The Problem With To-Do Lists

Do you use to-do lists? Do you find it satisfying... Read More

Saving Memories Without Losing Your Mind

The summer is flying by for Cindy and her family.... Read More

Organization and the Opposite Sex

In many of the companies I have worked in, there... Read More

Four Easy Steps to An Organized Closet

The National Association of Professional Organizers has dedicated January to... Read More