Best Easy Laundry Hack for Large Families

Best easy laundry hack. No hype in the title, this is the laundry game changer you’ve been looking for!

Ready?

Wash all of your clothes. All together. Every day.

My sister introduced this method to me when I was drowning in babies, and even now that I am out of the thick of it, as long as we have the amount of laundry that we do, this will be how I take care of the load!

How to deal with not sorting:

Every single day, wash everything that you used the day before. Some people are grossed out at the thought of washing their kitchen rags with their clothes, but listen: When you wash everything that you use every day, nothing is rotting in some dark, damp hamper! Nothing is getting over-used to the point of stinking!

At night, once I’m done finalizing the kitchen clean up, I will drape the towels and wash rags that were used that day over the edge of the washer so that they dry out.

I start my load in the morning, immediately after working out, so my stinky sweaty clothes never get a chance to set in. I’m telling you, THIS IS THE LAUNDRY HACK YOU NEED. We have one communal hamper, as well as loading directly into the washer throughout the day.

When kids are little and just learning how to deal with their laundry, the small, consistent loads are KEY. If an entire week goes by between their practice, they will forget everything. And imagine how daunting a week’s worth of clothes would be for a little one barely learning their motor skills.

Why this system works:

1. No one is ever overwhelmed with the amount they have to do. At most, kids have to fold and put away one set of pajamas/work out clothes and one day’s worth of clothes. It is easy, attitudes are cheerful, no one is overwhelmed by a mound of work.
2. Favorite clothes are always available! They’re only a day a-way!
3. Nothing fetid has a chance to rot and spread to other clothes.
4. This one is huge: you never feel behind! When you only wash one person’s laundry per day, someone else’s laundry is piling up. As moms, the littlest things can trigger the feeling of “I’m not doing enough” and nothing screams that message louder than a stinking pile of laundry. (Wilting plants are a close second for me!)
5. You are in a routine. If you wait until you have a huge load and only do a few loads per week, then you’re not in the habit of switching the laundry over after breakfast (or whenever you do). That leads to forgotten washers that end up getting run a few times before making it to the dryer.
6. Modern washers are high efficiency. You are not wasting water doing small loads every day because the water accommodates the size of the load. Clothes definitely clean and dry more thoroughly when the machines are not over-stuffed.

We don’t wash bath towels every day, but as CEO of the household, I keep in mind whose towels/sheets need washed, when. But when life is crazy and you just need a system that is “good enough”—it does not get more streamlined than this.

What about my whites / fancy clothes?

Those special clothes get their own special little basket. Anybody who has an article of clothing that needs a little extra attention puts it in my “specials basket.” Once that fills up, (or I want to wear something that’s in there) I will wash this load. Typically, the clothes in here are very lightly soiled, so nothing is festering. I will hand pre-wash anything that needs immediate attention. It will be a “double fold day,” but it’s mostly just all of my favorite things (I love wearing white!) so I don’t feel overwhelmed! 😉

If you’re looking for a way to get your kids involved in helping with laundry, this easy laundry hack is the way to go.

Ever since my kids had the dexterity to fold a wash rag, I have had them helping with laundry. Before I was on this system, I would rotate between the rooms, washing whoever’s hamper was fullest. That meant that a full load belonged to just one or two people. Even my kids with naturally accommodating personalities would find themselves VERY distracted, and I would have to keep pulling them back into the task.

Potential Attitude Adjustment:

With this hack, the duty is short lived. No pile is overwhelming for any one person. However, we still had one chronic bad attitude that was SHOCKED every day when laundry time rolled around again! Throwing a fit over having to care for something they needed (and appreciated) is not acceptable. I had to come up with a logical consequence. I remembered one time in high school when my discipline for a bad attitude with my mom was losing the right to wear my cute clothes. My mom found the most outdated, horrifying thing in her closet AND MADE ME WEAR THAT TO SCHOOL!! And she checked in with my teachers, too, so there was no getting out of it! I knew that something of that variety would have the effect I was after.

Every article that was left unfolded, or whatever was theirs in the pile when the bad attitude arose, got put in a bag and taken away. It didn’t take long for this child to run out of clothes. They “had” to wear a different gendered siblings clothes for a week! (That was all I would allow them to wear.) The tiniest outing to somewhere like the post office was mortifying! Now I’m going on 6 years without a peep of a complaint about laundry! Just thought I’d share in case any of you encounter the laundry bad attitude!

Implement the best, easy laundry hack today!

When I’ve mentioned this to people before, some have been intrigued, but felt so far behind at the moment that starting this felt so far off. I would approach that situation like any other dire mission you were setting out to accomplish (potty training, anyone?): Devote however many days you need to be able to knock out every last little bit of laundry, so that when you wake up after the ‘laundry boot camp,’ you can start fresh. Imagine the FREEDOM in your brain space without the constant reminder of an out of control task!

Comment below or tag me on instagram when you incorporate this hack into your daily routine!

Other Our Nomadic Homestead hacks you might enjoy: How To Make Cilantro Last, Best Way to Store Grocery Bags, Weight Conversion Chart