Simplify Family Laundry Without Ruining Kids' Clothes

Of the many ways your life changes after having kids, one of the most tedious is the sudden surge in laundry. It's a task that can quickly feel insurmountable, but it's also a chore that's surprisingly easy to streamline — as long as you make a plan. In my house, this means getting everyone on board with the process, and together, we've fine-tuned a few easy tricks. Most notably, we rely on clothing duplicates where possible.

Once my kids started school, I realized how much easier it was to wash and put away their school uniforms, because there are multiples of everything. I don't have to check individual care labels every single time because if you've read one, you've read them all. It also makes sorting easy, and smaller tasks, such as pairing socks, are a breeze. This revelation ultimately changed how we buy their weekend items, and now I invest in multiples of the clothing items I know they love.

This less-is-more approach also extends to what products I use when I do our laundry. I keep enzyme-free and enzyme-based detergents on hand (the latter for tougher stains), but I cut out fabric softener when they were babies. I never went back. Instead, I swear by color sheets. These are similar in look and feel to dryer sheets, but you add them to your wash cycle to help catch any dye runoff that might stain a whole load. These have made me less fussy about sorting, and they've saved me more than once when an errant sock has infiltrated a load of white clothes.

Although I oversee the laundry process in our house, we have created a system that requires the whole family to do their part. Each member has their own laundry hamper, plus another for dry-clean-only items. On laundry days, everyone brings their hamper to me in the morning, and I manage the sorting. 

Again, because so many items are the same, this is pretty easy. I focus mainly on separating things by lights, brights, and darks, but I also pull out any delicate pieces that are hang-dry only, like their dance kits and denim. I prefer to wash jeans on their own, both to preserve their condition and to help prevent wear and tear on the rest of the clothes in the cycle. Sheets and towels get done on the weekends when everyone can strip their own beds and bring their items to the laundry room, and my husband is in charge of sending out the dry cleaning every week or so.

After each load, everything dry is carried upstairs and placed in a giant pile on our bed. This is something the kids have been helping with since they were big enough to understand the concept of "tidying up." Before bed, they sift through the heap, pull out their items, and put them away accordingly. I also remind them to double-check their uniform labels, which is admittedly a downside of everyone wearing the same thing. It's very easy to swap and lose your items. But sharing the process truly creates a sense of ownership, and their help keeps the laundry madness to a minimum while our methods extend the life of their clothing.