Hi Friend!

Let’s talk laundry.

Wanting to dive in more? Below is a blog post I wrote about my laundry routine.

Let’s talk about laundry! Ughhh. I can hear your groans from here.

I feel you. It can feel endless and overwhelming.

If you’re sitting there buried under a pile of towels, sending up S.O.S. signals, yelling, “Tell me more, Allie!”

Don’t worry. I’VE GOT YOU! All you need is a simple and easy laundry routine and I’m giving you all the deets on mine!

This has been my laundry routine for a good, long while. It is tried and true.

I recorded a podcast episode about my routine that you can listen to here, but just know that I have adjusted a couple of things – which I go into detail about in this blog post.

I’m always looking to simplify and sometimes that means changing things up. And that’s OK.

Always follow your gut. If something’s not working for you, figure out something that does.

All that to say, even though I made some small adjustments, the core of the routine is the same.

So, here’s my not-so-secret-secret to staying on top of the laundry: I do one load pretty much every day. In my opinion (and experience!) washing clothes in a regular rhythm is far better than having a set “laundry day.”

Of course, there are days when I might be really busy or someone is sick, and so I don’t do it. I’m a human being. But 95% of the time, I do a load of laundry every single day.

There are a lot of influencers, a lot of magazine articles out there that tell you how to simplify your life and then the routine is so-overcomplicated. It’s ridiculous and unhelpful.

Simplification should never be complicated, and so my laundry routine isn’t. It’s really, really easy.

Here’s how you can simplify your laundry and make sure that you never have a mountain of dirty clothes ever again.

Minimize Your Clothes 

Don’t worry, I’m not going to tell you to get rid of all your clothes and only own 2 pairs of jeans for the rest of your life.

I don’t have a capsule wardrobe. I tried one for about a year and it just didn’t float my boat. It wasn’t for me.

I have what I need. I have options. And what I have I love.

My kids don’t have a ton of stuff either. They have extras so I’m not screwed if I fall behind on laundry for some reason, or ya know, life happens.

But I’m not obsessed with the number of items and I don’t think you should be either. I do think that what you and your family have in your wardrobes should be serving you.

Everything should be in good condition, no stains or rips. There shouldn’t be anything in there that you wouldn’t want to take a photo in. That’s my guideline.

I’m really mellow and simplistic about minimalism when it comes to my clothes. So, you have to find that balance too.

Having said that, less clothes equals less to wash. Period.

A lot of people tell me that if they simplify their clothes, they will have to wash more. That doesn’t make any sense.

If you have less clothes, you will be washing less. So, get in there and minimize the amount of clothes you have to the things you love, the things you feel great wearing, and the things that serve your family well.

Put Laundry Hampers Throughout Your House 

You will have to decide what works best for your family, but I have a hamper in everyone’s room. My daughter has a hamper in her room, my boys have a hamper in their room and there’s a hamper in our room.

I also have a hamper downstairs in the hallway closet for socks, kitchen rags, and things like that. Everyone knows it is a part of our house routine to put their dirty clothes in their hamper.

In the morning, I go through the rooms in the house and I collect the dirty clothes. Since I am doing laundry every day there is never so much that it won’t fit in one hamper.

Yep! You heard me. One Hamper. And mamas everywhere said, “YEEESSSS!”

Buy You Some Shout Color Catchers

These things make it possible for me to do only one load of laundry a day. I learned about them from Emily Ley, and now I never have to sort my clothes before I wash them.

I KID YOU NOT. I just dump them all in the washer together. It’s amazing.

When I tested it out, I washed bright red, brand new, never-before-worn baseball socks with a brand new pair of stark-white baseball pants. It was terrifying.

I washed it all together with a Shout Color Catcher and not a lick of red leaked anywhere. It was AH-MAZ-ING.

FYI: I don’t put it on scalding hot and I don’t do it on freezing cold. It’s just medium warm.

Also, this is not an ad for Shout Color Catchers. I just really, really like them. A lot.

Quick Wash Is Your Friend 

I learned about this from Emily Ley too! Side note: I adore her. She is a simplification queen and you should totally follow her!

My quick wash cycle is only 33 minutes. If you don’t have quick wash on your machine, just do normal or whatever, but this gets the load washed…well, quicker!

Dry, Fold, and Put Away

OK. This is the part of the routine that has changed for me. I’m going to tell you what I used to do first and then I’ll tell you what I do now.

I want you to know that I didn’t change things up because it didn’t work. There’s nothing wrong with this part of the routine. It works great.

I just decided to delegate this portion of my laundry routine. If you can do that, great! Go for it!

If you can’t, then just follow the old tried and true. I promise it works and it may just get you some “me” time in the process. That’s a perk if I’ve ever heard one, am I right?!

After breakfast and everyone was settled, I would change the load into the dryer. That afternoon when everyone was resting, I would check it to make sure it was dry.

If it wasn’t, I would run it again. If it was, I’d pull it out and dump it on my bed.

At the end of the day, I would put on a facial mask, turn on I Love Lucy, fold the load and put mine and Brian’s away.

My kids put their own laundry away, but if it was a late night and they were already asleep, I’d just leave it on the cabinet in the hallway and have them put it away in the morning.

I still change the load from the washer to the dryer. And I hang up any delicate tops that can’t be put in the dryer. Then, I leave it for the next day.

I hired a couple of girls from the youth group at my church to come by after school and do some things around the house for me. So now, the girls fold the laundry I washed and dried the day before and put it away.

The kids still put away their own laundry, but the girls put away mine and Brian’s clothes and Emmett’s because he’s little. This saves me some time at the end of the day and it works for right now.

This easy routine has saved me so much time and energy. It has become such a part of my every day that I really don’t ever have to think about laundry anymore. It’s just second nature.

And who doesn’t want that??

Now, obviously your day may look different than mine. But whether you work outside or inside the home, this routine can be tweaked and adjusted to work for you.

So, be intentional. Find your rhythm. Adjust until you get it right.