the method to my [hopelessly organized] madness

When it comes to mundane tasks like balancing the checkbook or preparing Caleb's daily bottles, I'm a girl who likes a good routine, an order that I can count on to always be the same. It's comforting to me, and, because I don't have to think too hard about what I'm doing, affords me the ability to let my mind wander away from the task at hand and onto thoughts that are far more interesting (like mentally drafting future blog posts). And with the creation and regular use of a good system, I can always trust that the job will be done right, just the way I like it to be done, which sets me at ease and keeps my micromanaging stress levels low.

Yesterday was my laundry day, as Tuesdays always are. It's amazing how the amount of dirty linens that collect throughout the week at my house has grown exponentially since Caleb's birth. What was once a large, tiring, time consuming affair is now an even larger, more exhausting, seemingly all day undertaking. And, like many of you, I'm sure, I have more than once wished that I could pass this task onto the able hands of someone else. Of course, if I did that, I would be running the risk of the job not getting done correctly (by which I mean my way). And so if anyone ever gets the crazy idea to volunteer to do my laundry for me, I thought it might be helpful to outline the method to my hopelessly organized madness.


How to Do My Laundry in 21 Uncomplicated Steps

Monday evening

1. Sort dirty clothes into four piles: 1) whites, 2) heavy colors (like pants, towels, blankets, etc), 3) light colors (shirts, baby clothes, etc), and 4) Caleb's formula-stained clothes that need pre-treating. Put the first three piles into the following laundry bags: whites in the small blue bag, heavy colors in the big blue bag, and light colors in the orange bag.

2. Gather up laundry supplies, including quarters, a plastic bag to bring home the wet clothes that will be air dried, and detergents (fill the larger soap container with enough Tide for three loads and the smaller one with enough bleach for one load).

3. Pre-treat Caleb's formula-stained clothes and blankets with cold water and the bar of Fels Naptha. Hang them over a chair to dry until morning.

Tuesday morning

4. Wake up at 6:15. Shower and get ready to head to the laundromat.

5. Gather up remaining dirty linens, including towels from the bathroom and kitchen, clothes worn and dirtied in the last 12 hours, Caleb's pre-treated clothes, and Garrett's dirty blue silky blanket, and sort them into their appropriate laundry bags.

6. Recruit Blake to help haul the heavy laundry bags down the stairs. Load them into the red cart and wheel them down three blocks to Peggy's laundromat.

7. Wait several minutes for Peggy to open her laundromat. (Her sign says she opens at 7:00, but lately it's been more like 7:10.)

8. Load clothes into three washers, one washer for each bag. Try to cram everything into three of the smaller washers, but if necessary, use a medium machine. Close and lock doors.

9. Adjust heat settings: hot for the whites, and cold for both loads of colors.

10. Insert quarters to start machines: $1.75 for small washers and $3.50 for medium washers.

11. When the water begins to run, pour a small amount of detergent into soap dispenser 1 in each machine for the pre-wash cycle.

12. When the pre-wash cycle is over, and new water is running for the wash cycle, divvy out the remaining detergent into soap dispenser 2 in each machine. Pour the bleach into soap dispenser 2 of the machine with the whites.

13. Sit down and read a book for the remaining twenty or so minutes of the wash/rinse/spin cycles.

14. When the washers stop, unload them, one machine at a time, into a rolling basket. While doing so, pull out the clothes which will need to be hung out to air dry at home and drape them over the top bar of the basket. Load the clothes into a dryer.

15. Feed the dryers four quarters each, which will buy approximately 24 minutes of drying time. Make sure that the dryers are set to the highest heat setting (so that they will, in fact, be dry after the 24 minutes).

16. Fold up wet to-be-hung-dried clothes and place in the plastic bag that was packed the night before. Set aside.

17. Sit down and read a book for the remainder of the drying cycle.

18. When the driers stop, load clothes (without folding them) into their assigned laundry bags. Load all bags, including the one with the wet clothes, into the cart and walk home.

19. In between taking care of the needs of the boys, fold clothes on the bed. Starting with the whites, sort them into piles according to what they are, who they belong to and where they get put away. Roll socks as their mates are found and set aside dress shirts. Towels do not need to be folded as they will be hung back up in the bathroom.

20. Put clothes away (in no special order, surprisingly enough).

21. Iron the dress shirts which were set aside during the folding process. (I have a method to the ironing madness, too, but I'll spare you.)


And that, my friends, is how I do my laundry. Stay tuned for guides on How to Wash My Dishes and How To Clean My Bathroom -- you know, for just in case you get the urge to come over and clean my house.*


*Just kidding -- because honestly, I think this has probably been the most boring post I have ever written.