Laundry Tips For Big Families

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I think it is safe to say that we have a large family.

If the average global family has two and a half kids, then wow we are lucky!

We love each of our children and wouldn’t trade our family for anything.

Of course, with six young children we knew that life would never be easy (and it’s not!).

I have to chuckle to myself a little whenever someone complains about having to do two or three loads of laundry in a day.

I wish!

We average somewhere around six loads of laundry per day, so sometimes it’s four and sometimes it’s eight.

If we have the flu bug going through our family, it’s more like twelve loads of laundry (because the washer is even running in-between overnight puke sessions).

We have found three simple systems that help us keep clean laundry in everyone’s drawers.

#1. Everyone Contributes!

If you know our family at all, you know that we are HUGE on children participating and contributing to our family’s welfare.

This means that everyone helps with laundry.

-Our toddlers learn to put their dirty clothes in the laundry hamper.

-Our pre-schoolers help sort the clean laundry and put the folded stacks into their drawers.

-Our school-aged children bring the hamper to the washer and help put it in, then they sort, fold, and put away the clean laundry in their drawers and closets.

-Our pre-teens are taught how to measure soap and run the washer and dryer.

From then on, they are on their own.

“You don’t have any clean pants to wear? Bummer, what are you going to do?”

It’s amazing how fast they catch on….

#2. Right Equipment!

Besides having a large capacity washer and dryer, every mother dreams about creating a beautiful, functional laundry space.

Well, okay, maybe it’s just me drooling over immaculate laundry rooms and genius laundry organizational furniture, but it’s pretty critical for all households to have a high-performing laundry system.

No matter how much I wish my small historic home had a laundry area fit for Better Homes and Gardens, it doesn’t.

We barely have room for the washer and dryer because adding space for them was an afterthought by the builders.

So with no actual laundry room, no laundry table, and no guest bedroom to hide piles of clean laundry in, we had to find the right equipment to help us manage everything.

There is only enough room on top of the dryer for a single laundry basket (and usually my kids are pushing each other around the house in it, lol) but most nights I need several baskets.

One night as we folded laundry together I told my husband, “I wish we could find a laundry basket that folds flat”.

The next day I hunted around town until I found these and my life changed forever.

Although I am not able to find these exact baskets online for you they are similar to these baskets.

They fold up completely flat for storage and then pop open as soon as you need them.

They each hold a ton of laundry (if you fold it neatly) and the handles are strong.

Note: When you purchase these they have twisted them tightly together for shipping reasons so the very first time you open them please heed the warning tag to open carefully!

Now I can line up as many of these baskets as I need, one for each child, and we work together to fold their laundry in piles for them to put away.

Once in a while if we have an especially busy evening ahead of us and I know we won’t have time to fold it together, I will sometimes fold the laundry myself and put the basket on their bed (for them to put away when they come home from school).

That way they are still contributing but I don’t have clean laundry sitting on my couch until we get around to folding it together.

So not only do these baskets help me organize and transport our clean laundry, they are a lifesaver so I don’t have to have clean laundry sitting around (does anyone else have clean laundry mountain problems?)

These baskets are also fabulous for toys, stuffed animals, shoes, and linens.

We even kept one of these in the back of our car during soccer season to hold all of the kids’ soccer balls and gear.

That way I knew everything was always in the car and we wouldn’t show up to a game or practice empty-handed.

#3. Right Cleaning Supplies!

All right, now that you have helpers and the right equipment all you need are the right cleaning supplies.

We start with a simple hypoallergenic liquid laundry soap for our kids who have sensitive skin.

Next we add our favorite Downy Fresh Protect with Febreeze Odor Defense In-Wash Scent Beads; they are a game changer!

These scent beads will literally help transform the aesthetic atmosphere of your home!

They are absolutely amazing and we invite everyone to try them!

And last but not least, don’t forget to choose a family friendly dryer sheet that will help soften the laundry as it dries and keep it smelling lovely!

Is there anything better than the smell of fresh clean laundry?!

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Bonus Tip: If you have children that are nighttime potty training and are struggling to keep their pajamas and linens smelling fresh and clean, we discovered something.

Through a LOT of trial and error we found that adding a few tablespoons of regular iodized table salt to the washer along with the soap and scent beads really seems to make a difference in eliminating that residual ammonia smell.

We also make sure to use warm water for these loads. I don’t know why it helps, I just know it does.

Now we throw away fewer pajamas because we can get them clean each time.

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These three basic systems keep our family’s laundry running smoothly, as we fold baskets of clothes together (ten minutes at a time).

What helps your Family Laundry System run more smoothly?

Laundry Time is Family Time and we hope yours is running smoothly!

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