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I love laundry. I’m not one of those people who dreads the task, but I do have to admit that it can be a bit of a chore. Of course, no one wants to live in a house full of dirty clothes and unmade beds, but if you’re anything like me, putting away laundry after drying it can feel like an unnecessary hassle at times. You might think that letting your clean clothing pile up on your bed is harmless or even convenient—after all, it’s right there when you need something clean!—but nothing could be further from the truth! Once clothing starts piling up around your bedside table or dresser (or wherever), things will quickly get out of control: Your shirt drawer won’t close anymore because there are too many items crammed into it; your socks will never stay put because they keep getting mixed up with other pairs in the hamper; and worst of all, dirty clothes will start appearing on top of clean ones once they start slipping off their hangers (because let’s face it, who’ll ever notice?). If this sounds familiar then read on for my top tips for keeping your bedroom tidy without having to spend hours folding clothes into perfect little piles every week!
Start by sorting clothes into piles.
Sorting your clothes is the most important part of putting away laundry, since it’s where you’ll decide which piles will go where. Sorting by color is a good place to start, as it will make folding easier and faster. But if you want to be more efficient at sorting, it’s helpful to sort by other parameters as well:
- By size (socks and underwear together)
- By type of clothing (t-shirts in one pile; jeans in another)
- By fabric type (cotton socks next to cotton towels)
- By how dirty they are (soiled towels go separately from clean ones). And finally…!
If you have time before putting them away again, separate your laundry into piles based on how long they’ll take to dry: very quick-drying items in one pile; moderately fast drying ones in another; slowest drying items last.
Don’t get distracted by other chores while putting away laundry.
Don’t get distracted by other chores while putting away laundry. You’ll be more likely to put clothes in the hamper if you’re concentrating on that one task, rather than doing multiple things at once.
Also, don’t let it pile up! Clothes are not supposed to live in your closet or on top of furniture—they need to go into drawers, closets and hampers respectively. If you live with other people who also do laundry, make sure they understand this rule too!
Fold your clothes as you put them away.
Folding your clothes as soon as you put them away will help keep them looking nice and tidy. It also makes it easier to find what you’re looking for, so if you do have a load of laundry hanging around the house, folding it right away is a great idea!
So how can folding your clothes help motivate you? Well…
- You won’t have to deal with a pile of wrinkled clothing in your closet or drawers. That’s something we all want to avoid!
- You’ll know exactly where everything is when it’s time to wear something new (and no more searching through piles). When things are out of sight, they’re out of mind—and this situation can lead us into some bad habits when it comes to putting things away. If we don’t see our clothes on hangers or folded neatly in the drawers, then we might forget about them altogether!
Hang up items that won’t stay neat when folded.
Hang up items that won’t stay neat when folded.
- If you have a lot of lightweight tops, like T-shirts and dresses, it’s fine to hang them up. If not, fold them in half and place them inside a dresser drawer or another container until they’re ready for the laundry basket. This will save space and keep things tidy!
- Use sturdy hangers that can hold heavy garments such as jeans and coats. Hangers should also be spaced evenly so that clothes don’t slip off easily. You may want to consider investing in some hanging rods if you don’t already have any; these are good because they provide extra support for heavier items like bathrobes or winter jackets that might otherwise be too much for regular hangers alone
Put away clean clothes immediately after drying them.
Don’t let laundry pile up.
It’s so tempting to leave a basket of clean clothes on the floor, or on the bed, or on the couch, or on the dining room table. It seems like such a small thing—but that’s exactly why it’s so important to avoid doing it! If you can’t be bothered to put away laundry right away because it’s “only one item,” then you’ll have even more trouble putting away an overflowing basket later in the week. Set a reminder in your phone if necessary: every time it goes off while you’re watching TV or having dinner with friends, go do laundry immediately! Or better yet: make your partner put their dirty clothes away before they come home from work every day! And if they don’t do it? Then there will be no more dates for them until they’ve cleaned up their act!
Don’t leave items on your bed waiting to be put away.
Put your clothes away as soon as they are dry. When you don’t do this, especially if you’re lazy like me and let them sit on the bed or floor until they’re wrinkly, it’s much harder to motivate yourself to put them away later. You want your laundry done and out of sight, so that when guests come over they won’t see a pile of dirty clothes in the corner of the room or on the couch or chair (gross).
Put your laundry away as soon as it is dry so it doesn’t pile up!
If you live with other people, then it’s important to put your laundry away as soon as it is dry so it doesn’t pile up! Don’t leave your laundry on the bed. Don’t leave it on the couch. Don’t leave it on the floor. Don’t leave it on the counter. And don’t even think about leaving your clean clothes in a messy pile somewhere else in the house where they belong!
Conclusion
The next time you find yourself in a messy laundry room or stacked dirty clothes, remember these steps and get started on putting it away! Even if you don’t have the whole house clean yet, the laundry room is one place where it’s easy to start by just sorting through piles. Put your clothes into categories like colors and fabrics so that when doing laundry later on down the road (or today!), everything will flow smoothly into place as it goes through washing cycles. Don’t let yourself get distracted though – if there are other chores around (like vacuuming), do those first before tackling this task!
