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As a business coach, this isn’t what I usually show up to talk about. But over the summer, I had a client who changed my mind. She pointed out that if she could find a way to stay on top of her personal life, it’d be a whole lot easier to show up for her business. So here we are! I won’t claim to be a laundry expert, but I never feel like I’m drowning in laundry. It’s actually become a chore that I’ve grown to enjoy after simplifying it and building it into my routine. So in today’s episode, I’m going to help you overcome the laundry overwhelm once and for all with 5 tips for simplifying your laundry routine!
Tip #1: Do less laundry.
As a minimalist, you might have guessed that this would be the first step! Instead of trying to shove everything into your day, start by trying to find ways to do less. If you can afford to outsource all or part of your laundry – go for it! There are companies that will wash, dry, and fold your laundry for you, so look around to see if anyone offers this service in your area.
If you’re not ready to outsource, you can do less laundry by owning less clothes. It took me a long time to pair down my wardrobe, but now that I have, it’s built in accountability to stay on top of laundry regularly so I don’t run out of clothes to wear. It’s also really easy to fold, hang up, and store everything I own.
BONUS TIP: Check the care instructions before you buy. If you’re pressed for time, start investing in a low maintenance wardrobe.
Tip #2: Use smaller laundry baskets.
Instead of piling your laundry in a huge, overflowing laundry basket, choose bins that are the appropriate size for one load of laundry. When you notice a bin is full, it’s time to do a load! We have three different rope baskets for our whites, colors, and towels. Place a basket wherever laundry piles up in your home to make sure everything gets where it’s supposed to go.
Tip #3: Build laundry into your daily routine.
Some people suggest doing all of your laundry in one day, but that doesn’t work for me. I don’t have a regular day every week that I can commit to staying at home and changing laundry loads every hour, and I’m guessing you don’t either! Instead, I incorporated laundry into my daily routine. Here’s what that looks like.
MORNING ROUTINE: During my morning routine, I focus on my self-care activities and getting things ready for the day ahead. Toward the end of my morning routine, I do a quick home tidy before I sit down at my desk to start working. While I’m doing a sweep of the house, I check if any laundry baskets are full and need to be thrown in the washer. If I spot one, I start a load. I use Mollie’s Suds, which is a natural, non-toxic laundry detergent. I’ve also heard good things about Attitude laundry detergent, so stay tuned on whether or not I make the switch!
MORNING BLOCK: From about 9 to noon each day, I work on my high focus work.
ADMIN BLOCK: Around noon or whenever I get to a good stopping point, I move into my admin block. This is when I do life and business admin work like email, eating lunch, running errands, meetings, etc. I also put the load of laundry in the dryer. I have Young Living’s wool dryer balls, and I put Lavender and Lemongrass essential oils on them before tossing them in the dryer. The lemongrass scent is my absolute favorite to have for a fresh laundry smell!
AFTERNOON BLOCK: After my admin block, I get into creative work, like planning, writing, podcasting, etc. I usually wrap up my day around 4:30 or 5:00 and review what need to be moved to the next day. One of the last things I do is grab that load out of the laundry and dump it on my bed.
Tip #4: Use habit stacking to make your routine stick.
According to James Clear, “One of the best ways to build a new habit is to identify a current habit you already do each day and then stack your new behavior on top. This is called habit stacking.“
I dump the dry laundry on my bed because I have the habit of going to sleep every night, right? So I ALWAYS put clean laundry away before I go to bed. Sometimes I’ll do it right away before we cook dinner, and sometimes my husband helps me put it all away right before bed. Either way, it never takes longer than 10 minutes to put away one load of laundry.
Tip #5: Put your laundry products on auto-order.
Put your detergent on auto-order, just trust me on this one! My laundry detergent always arrives right on time, and I never have to worry about running out. If you’re interested in checking out some cleaner laundry options, download my favorite laundry products here.
Simplify your Laundry Routine
So that’s it – pretty simple, right?! I hope this episode empowers you to build a laundry routine that frees up time and space for the more important things in your life.
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