Laundry might not be the most glamorous topic 🧺— but it is one of those never-ending parts of running a family home. And the bigger the family, the bigger those piles seem to get.
I’m sharing the super simple laundry system that keeps things under control around here. No marathon laundry days, no mountain of clothes staring me down from the couch, and no spending hours each week sorting, folding, or playing catch-up.
Listen Here 🎧
Why I Do a Load Every Single Day
Once we crossed into “big family” territory 👶👦👧👶, I learned quickly that laundry works best when it becomes a daily rhythm.
Every single morning — before coffee, before breakfast — I start one small load: pajamas (especially from nighttime diapers). Clothing from yesterday’s outdoor adventures. Cloth napkins from dinner. Random messes and spills.
This keeps the piles from ever growing into something overwhelming. It’s genuinely easier to wash one small load each day than face five overflowing baskets at the end of the week.
And yes — sometimes there’s even a second emergency load. Like the time my 3-year-old dropped his stroller blanket in a pile of wet November leaves 🍂… or the time our cat peed on my son’s jacket. (Pets + kids = chaos.)
Where the Laundry Goes
We keep a small laundry basket under the kitchen sink, and it’s shockingly helpful.
It’s the spot we strip kids after dinner before bath time, toss soiled clothes, or drop napkins and towels.
We’re also lucky enough to have a laundry chute — truly the fulfillment of a lifelong dream ✨ — so there’s no schlepping laundry baskets up and down the stairs. Everything goes straight to the basement laundry room.
The Midday Routine: Sorting, Folding & Putting Away
Laundry doesn’t end when it comes out of the dryer — but I keep this part very simple.
After lunch, I take the clean basket upstairs, sort it quickly, and “fold” (using that word loosely 😅) just enough to put things away.
A few truths from our home:
- I do not fold sheets. Ever.
- I barely fold kids’ clothes — they rifle through drawers and undo it instantly.
- My older kids put away their own clothes as part of nighttime chores.
- Independence > perfectly folded pajamas 🙌
The goal isn’t perfection. It’s movement — avoiding that clean-laundry mountain that ends up living on the couch for days.
My Weekly Anchors: Sheets, Towels & Diapers
Beyond the daily load, I keep a weekly rhythm for the bigger things:
- Tuesdays: bedsheets (every two weeks)
- Alternate Tuesdays: bath towels (also every two weeks)
- Once a week: cloth diapers (we’re in a hybrid diapering season with Sophia)
It’s not perfect. It’s just what we can sustain right now. And that’s enough. 💛
We also have a small Ruggable runner in the mudroom that gets washed as needed — especially once fall/winter mud season arrives.
Why This System Works for Us
This rhythm works because it never becomes too much.
Daily loads prevent overwhelm.
Small loads finish quickly.
Folding becomes part of the natural flow of the day.
You can absolutely thrive on one big weekly laundry day if that works for you! But for our family of six, small steady loads keep everything manageable.
It also shifts with the seasons of life — newborn seasons, toddler seasons, potty-training seasons. The rhythm adapts. And it’s meant to.
The OxiClean Bucket Tip (A Life Saver!)
A friend introduced me to the OxiClean soaking bucket, and it has saved so many beloved clothes. Here’s the trick:
- Fill a small bucket with warm water
- Add a scoop (or two) of OxiClean
- Submerge stained items for 24–48 hours
- Toss into your next wash
This method has resurrected items I was convinced were ruined — spaghetti sauce, mud, chocolate milk, chocolate everything, toddler mystery stains. Absolute magic 💫.
Final Thoughts: Consistency Beats Perfection
Laundry doesn’t need to be overwhelming.
You don’t need Pinterest-perfect folding techniques or color-coded baskets. You need a rhythm that fits your real life — your kids, your season, your home, your bandwidth.
For us, that’s:
- One load every morning
- Sorting and putting away at lunchtime
- Sheets + towels on a simple alternating schedule
- The sacred OxiClean bucket
- And lots of grace for the imperfect parts of the routine
Thanks for being here, friends — and happy washing and folding 🧺💛