Re-managing Laundry

I believe that we are created to work - and this belief is not lost on my children. Like it or not, when there is work to be done, they will be called into service. The process of molding my children into cheerful workers has not always been great, and we certainly have not reached a point that I'm going to say we've accomplished this part of child-rearing. It takes diligence and consistency - like pretty much everything in life! And a large part of the process is definitely me learning that their work will not always be done in the same manner as I do it, and most often not to the exact level that I would do it. Finding a corner of the bookcase that didn't get dusted, or a spot missed on the floor - well, that's going to happen. However, our kids need to be taught to work, from early on, so that they will know how to work when they leave this nest.

This teaching is ever-evolving. My 3yo Tessa-girl is able to wipe baseboards and pick up toys, but I wouldn't trust her to clean the toilets (haha...see post below!). But I have 8yo girls now...and while they are great at baseboards and have moved up to washing dishes unsupervised, there is a lot more they are capable of doing. So, I'm slowly but surely teaching them other duties - to "spread the wealth" of responsibility. To this point, I have created a lovely chart to assist them, in assisting me, in doing the laundry. Now, I'm told that you don't need to separate laundry into as many loads as I do, and that it is possible that the laundry comes out ok - but I don't buy it yet. Not to mention, we have lots of bodies, and we create lots of laundry. Add in keeping on top of changing the sheets and the towels...yeah...its no surprise that "Mount Washmore" is referenced frequently by many mothers!

For your viewing pleasure, and hopefully a help for someone else looking to re-manage the laundry...here is what I came up with.


I recently made my own laundry soap for the first time using this recipe. I have found that it cleans the clothes well and doesn't have a strong smell (I'm pretty sensitive about some detergent scents). When I bought a storage container at Sam's Club for my 25 lb. flour bags, there were a number of smaller containers included that had 2 tablespoon scoops attached which I am using for the soap.

The kids all have helped with laundry in the past, but limited to the physical switching of the loads or some light folding (towels, sock matching). Bill & I have a 3-part laundry sorter that is separated into Bill's work clothes, whites and everything else. I typically sort the "everything else" and then sort the kids clothes. Annika and Emma have recently learned how to sort the kids clothes into whites, socks/underwear, clothes, pajamas and jeans. With this chart, I expect that the girls will be able to do some loads completely on their own. Here's to hoping...