Assortment of Laundry

I have always had the biggest trouble keeping up with laundry.  I never seemed to have enough energy to do it.  I also have very specific ways of folding socks, shirts, hanging clothes and folding towels.  Sometimes my very sweet mother in law would see me falling behind in laundry and she would come over and put away clothes she knew had been washed.  While I appreciated her thoughtfulness, if anyone has ever seen my towel closet -- they would know, I have to have things in order.  All of my purple towels are stacked neatly together.  All of my blue towels are stacked neatly together. All of my dark beige towels are stacked neatly together.  Facing the same direction.  Socks are a completely different beast.  I have stopped "folding" my husband's socks, but I still like to put them together so that he can easily grab a pair.  Shirts have to be facing same way and they are color coordinated.  I blame my retail experience.  I could tell when I wasn't well because those things didn't bother me.  On the day I felt better, I'd open up my towel closet and have a fit. I'd pull them all out and fold them again.  It was frustrating.  Yes, I have a problem. I realize that, but it just makes me happy. 

At our old home under the bathroom sink area, we kept two laundry wicker hampers.  They were frustrating.  Little pieces would break off.  They were heavy so difficult for me to lift.  They held two or three loads in one hamper.  I also had some rolling mesh hampers (Like college students would use) that held clean clothes.  My problem was that by the time I lugged the wicker hamper to the washer, load it up and lug the wicker hamper back (still with dirty clothes in it), my energy was zapped.  I could barely switch over the clothes to the dryer.  In fact, truth be told, most of the time I'd forget and they'd have to be rewashed. 

So when we moved to the new house, I had to come up with a better system.  I had to.  I didn't want piles of clean clothes everywhere along with piles of dirty clothes.  We went shopping for the "perfect laundry basket."  It couldn't be too heavy or hold too many clothes.  We discovered a tall white plastic basket that had wheels and handles.  So if I was too tired to lift, I grab a handle and roll.  We bought five of them.  One basket holds dirty clothes that are put away in the dresser or chest of drawers.  One basket holds dirty towels or dirty clothes that are hung in the closet.  One basket holds "Special Wash" laundry.  One basket is meant for bulky or really dirty clothes.  Last, but not least is the "Clean" laundry basket. 

Three of the baskets are located in our closet (dirty clothes) and the other two are located in the laundry room.  One one of the dirty baskets gets full, I take it to the laundry and dump into the washer.  I bring the hamper back to its place in the closet (empty).  I put the newly washed clothes into the dryer on the same day (because it's not overwhelming to bring it to the washer any more).  Once dried if I have enough energy, I put the clothes into the "clean" basket and take to its destination spot (closet or dresser).  I put away on the spot.  There are no other options. By pre-sorting the laundry when removing it from my body, it makes it easier to put away.  In the old system, it was a free for all. I'd have a mix of hanging clothes and folding clothes.  I'd fold them or hang them in a central location and by the time I had them folded or hung, I was too exhausted to put them away.  This new system has helped tremendously and I haven't had to rewash a single load of laundry since we moved in.  I'm also no longer drowning in laundry.