{"id":224,"date":"2025-04-11T15:21:30","date_gmt":"2025-04-11T13:21:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thesketchyhouse.com\/?p=224"},"modified":"2025-04-16T11:08:04","modified_gmt":"2025-04-16T09:08:04","slug":"laundry-time-a-love-hate-mostly-hate-story","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thesketchyhouse.com\/index.php\/2025\/04\/11\/laundry-time-a-love-hate-mostly-hate-story\/","title":{"rendered":"Laundry Time: A Love-Hate (Mostly Hate) Story"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Tips for Staying on Top of the Pile<\/em>
<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

My husband recently complained that I talk too much<\/em> about laundry.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I wash it.
I dry it.
I put it away.
And yes, maybe I mention it now and then. Maybe a lot<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But MAYBE\u2014just maybe<\/em>\u2014that\u2019s because I\u2019m the one actually doing it. The rest of the household just magically wakes up to clean underwear on Monday mornings like it\u2019s delivered by laundry fairies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So, how to streamline this never-ending cycle of fabric responsibility? Here\u2019s my imperfect but realistic<\/em> approach:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\ud83e\uddfa Tip 1: Everyone Is Responsible for Their Own Clothes<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

How?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Simple (in theory):
Make them do it.
And if they won\u2019t? Don\u2019t do it for them either.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Yes, I work fewer (paid) hours than my husband, but that doesn\u2019t mean I should take on all<\/em> the laundry joy. And it would be really<\/em> nice if both my husband and son didn\u2019t make it harder by sowing socks like they could grow.\u00a0
<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n

A few weeks ago, my husband decided to Konmari his side of the wardrobe and since then, his space is spotless – like a tiny minimalist boutique.
It\u2019s interesting how being part of the process makes you more aware of the effort it takes\u2026 and a little more careful, too.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n

\ud83c\udfa8 Tip 2: Sort as You Go<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

We have two laundry baskets:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \n
  • One for colours
    <\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • One for whites
    both placed by the washing machine because I’m not picking up clothes in the bedrooms and so far so good.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n

    My sister even added a third one just for underwear after facing one too many solo sock tragedies.
    Obviously adapt the basket to your situation: very dirty clothes basket, sport gear basket, fancy underwear\u2026 I have a side one in my wardrobe for vintage jumpers that need to be hand washed. This one is on me. I love my jumpers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Same applies when you pick up the laundry from the line or take it out of the machine: sort it by owner right away<\/strong>. It saves time, avoids confusion, and helps everyone take responsibility for their own pile<\/em>.

    Speaking of socks:
    I have a friend who has never<\/strong> lost a sock in her life.
    Let that sink in.
    No single sock pile waiting for its soulmate.
    I don\u2019t know whether to admire her or stage an intervention.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n

    \n\n\n\n

    \ud83e\uddfc Tip 3: Don\u2019t Iron (and Don\u2019t Invite Wrinkles Into Your Life)<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

    Seriously. Just don\u2019t.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Okay\u2014maybe sometimes<\/em>. But in this house, we both work from home, so let\u2019s just say our outfits are\u2026 relaxed \u2014on the verge of \u201cdon\u2019t answer the door in that.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    When I do<\/em> have to iron, for some kind of special event, I usually do the whole batch of shirts or linen pants that are trying their best to become modern origami in the wardrobe.
    I iron so rarely that the first time I pulled out the ironing board in front of him, my son asked if it was a surfboard.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    But here\u2019s a secret weapon: don\u2019t buy wrinkle-prone clothes<\/strong> in the first place. Revolutionary, I know.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Wrinkle-prone = high maintenance.
    And let\u2019s be honest\u2014you\u2019re not dating your wardrobe, so keep it low effort.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Also, we line-dry everything. Once it\u2019s folded, it\u2019s good enough. Good enough<\/em> is the motto here.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \n\n\n\n

    \ud83c\udf00 Tip 4: Not Everything Needs to Be Washed After One Wear<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

    Let\u2019s be honest\u2014most things don\u2019t need a full wash every single time you wear them. Obviously, the little ones tend to live life with maximum mess<\/em>, but your jeans?
    They\u2019re probably still fine after a week.
    And a bit of spot-washing<\/strong> can go a long way.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Less laundry means less work and<\/em> your clothes (and their colours) will last longer.
    and<\/strong>\u2014bonus\u2014your electricity bill gets a little break too.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Win-win-win.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \ud83e\uddfa Tip 5: Pick a Laundry Day (or Two)\u2014Then Let It Go<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

    Instead of letting laundry hover over your week like a damp cloud, schedule it<\/em>. Pick one or two dedicated days for laundry, and forget about it the rest of the time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Maybe Mondays and Thursdays are wash days. The rest of the week? Laundry does not exist. You are free. Mentally, emotionally, spiritually.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    No more \u201cshould I do a load today?\u201d every time you walk past the basket.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    And if someone runs out of socks on a Saturday?
    They can either wear mismatched ones or\u2026 you guessed it\u2014do it themselves.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \n\n\n\n

    That\u2019s it. Laundry won\u2019t ever be fun<\/em>\u2014but with a little boundary-setting, basket strategy, and a strict no-ironing policy, it doesn\u2019t have to eat your soul either.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    And if anyone asks you why you talk about laundry so much?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

     Ask them where their clean socks came from. Then walk away dramatically.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    What are you tips to make your laundry routine simpler ?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    Tips for Staying on Top of the Pile My husband recently complained that I talk too much about laundry. I wash it.I dry it.I put … <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":230,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"saved_in_kubio":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[17],"tags":[73,56,80,74,79,76,75,71,77,78,72],"class_list":["post-224","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-laundry-room","tag-daily-chores","tag-family-life","tag-home-humor","tag-home-routines","tag-honest-motherhood","tag-household-hacks","tag-imperfect-home","tag-laundry-struggles","tag-laundry-tips","tag-mental-load","tag-real-life-parenting","latest_post"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/thesketchyhouse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/224","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/thesketchyhouse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/thesketchyhouse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thesketchyhouse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thesketchyhouse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=224"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/thesketchyhouse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/224\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":285,"href":"https:\/\/thesketchyhouse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/224\/revisions\/285"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thesketchyhouse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/230"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thesketchyhouse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=224"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thesketchyhouse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=224"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thesketchyhouse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=224"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}