Cleaning Habit: Putting Laundry Away

I have a confession to make. I love putting away my son’s clothes. From the small hangers to the small socks to the small pants and shirts, I’m obsessed with keeping his clothes, closet, and drawers neat and orderly. There’s just something about putting away his clothes and sheets after they come out of the dryer that is a bit stress relieving. My clothes on the other hand? Yes, putting them away is a chore. Even though I dread the moment the dryer buzzer goes off, I feel such a great sense of accomplishment when the clothes, towels, and sheets are put away and organized.

Instead of allowing my clothes, towels, and sheets to pile up, I tackle this chore right away. As soon as they come out of the dryer, I bring them from the laundry room and onto the living room couch. Right then and there, I fold the items and place them into organized piles. From there, they go into their respective closets and either onto hangers or onto shelves (depending on the items).

And that’s that. I don’t have to see them or think about them again until the next time I wash them. I don’t have piles of laundry throughout my house. Instead, everything is clean and put away immediately.

Putting away laundry is such a dreadful task for many. Push through it. Think about the sense of accomplishment you’ll have when you put your items away as soon as they come out of the dryer. Enjoy the wrinkle-free clothes and neatly folded towels. Don’t procrastinate or else you’ll be living among piles of laundry and then the task will seem next to impossible. If you have piles of laundry piling up throughout your house, tackle them one at a time and create a system.

What I’ve realized over the years is that it’s easier to put items away when they are assigned areas and shelves in closets. Go to your linen closet and assign a few shelves for towels, another few for sheets, etc. Then, go to your bedroom closet and assign certain areas to clothing items.

In my closet, I organize my shirts in terms of groups of colors. My shirts hang on the top rack and my pants (organized by groups of types of pants) are along the bottom rack. I also have areas in my closet dedicated to shoes, coats, t-shirts, tank tops, and dresses. By having designated areas, I’m easily able to find where to place items when they are clean. This setup and organizational systems makes the whole process easier and more streamlined.

How do you stay on top of your piles of laundry?