Friday, February 10, 2012

111 Laundry Land Labels {and some tips too!}

Laundry.  Just typing the word makes me cringe a bit.  But not as bad as it would have months ago.  It's a work in progress around here.

That's right, you can ask just about anyone that is related to us or frequents our abode.  Our laundry room used to be a pit filled to the brim with laundry.  Either the laundry room or the bedroom.  Or both.

It's been such a thorn in my side, but I have been experimenting a bit and we have finally found a solution that is working well for us.  Are we always caught up on laundry?  Nope.  But almost always.  Here are a couple of tips I have learned along the way:
  • Simplify your wardrobe.  When we paired down our clothing supply for our dressing room wardrobes, we also reduced the amount of laundry that could pile up before needing to wash items.
  • Make it easy for kids to put away their own clothes.  About two years ago I set an expectation that my kids take ownership of putting away their laundry.  It's important to make it easy for them to do so.  Whether labeling their drawers or their closet bins, a simple system is key.
  • Don't sort everything.  I used to sort down everything.  I tried it every which way.  By person.  By color.  By type.  All that sorting and categorizing was allowing the piles to build and build and then playing catchup took all day.  Now, we only sort delicate pieces, whites and linens.  The rest gets washed together.
  • Create a system.  Instead of letting the laundry pile, we have a goal to empty everyone's hamper once a day.  Yep, you heard it right.  The kid's share a dirty clothes bin and the hubs and I have two {one in our dressing room and one in the bathroom}.  Each night, the clothes are gathered from all and sorted into one of the three categories mentioned above: delicate, whites or linens.  If it's not any of those items, into the washing machine it goes.  Once the laundry machine is full, it gets run.  Then, one day of the week is dedicated to those other "special" categories.
  • Be aware of washing frequency.  Call me gross, but we wear our jeans two to three times before they get washed.  Just jeans.  I don't know why, but that's how I was raised and now how I have been raising my babes.  {And apparently there is something to it; it extends the life of the jean, you have to wash less often and it saves more water}.  Linens are washed once per week {towels and bedding}. 
Ever since we made some fab updates to the laundry room, I actually enjoy being in there.  As much as one could.  So we have been trying to manage the new system and so far, it has gone pretty well.

The whole point of today's post was to share a little laundry room switcharoo that we made, but since it was based on our newer system, I thought I would give you the back story first to make more sense of the project.

We started out by using some cheapo old white laundry baskets for sorting in our laundry room.


Then we pulled the laundry hamper from the bathroom, because it looked better.


But the bins were too small for our linens and whites.  And we missed having the hamper in the bathroom.  So back to the larger cheapo plastic baskets we went until a better solution came along.

I scoured shops and the web for a prettier yet effective option.  It seemed as though majority of the sorters were far too small and pricey!  And the super nice ones like we have in our bathroom {same one shown above}, are really really pricey, especially when you up the capacity.  And when I say pricey, I was looking at anywhere from $60-$200 pricey.  When did laundry sorters get so expensive?  When I don't find what I want or what makes sense, then I wait.  Which I did until a happy day came that I saw Crate and Barrel was having a sale and free shipping, so I snagged up two of these.

The right size, the right color, easy to tote around.  Not super fabulous cheap, but cheap enough for me to finally take the plunge.


I love that the turquoise works so well with my adjoining studio workspace.  Not to mention that they fit so well and are much more concealing and streamlined than the white "holey" plastic option we were sporting previously.

Then, "Jen" mode kicked in.  What more could I do to these puppies?  They need to be labeled!

Thank you Silhouette!  You make this fun once again!


Using the same process as I did when I labeled the boy's canvas closet bins, I had the Silhouette cut some white flocking heat transfer.


And used some scrap fabric to protect the iron while transferring the labels:


It's important to be patient at this point.  The letters didn't want to adhere to the canvas all that well.  They put up a fight.  But after just continuing to heat the transfer material and letting it cool before peeling away the backing, it was a lovely finished product!



Sometimes, it's the small touches that make all the difference.  And I love that there will be no more questions when sorting.



Before and after for fun?


Extra things to note:
  • The font I used is Sofia font.  Love it!
  • We use the towel bar to dry our sweaters.  But we have really been lacking in any good hanging system for drying other pieces.  We have a plan in the works, so stay tuned!

Let's stop avoiding laundry and make a pact to learn to love it.  Ha, kidding.  But for realz, what is working well for you?  What's not?

111 comments:

  1. I wish you were my advice-giving neighbor. I wish I had a silhouette. Pouting because of the unfairness of it all! :) Just kidding - looking WONDERFUL!!

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  2. Super cute! I've yet to use my Silhouette for any sort of fabric project- but now I'm totally inspired. Thanks!

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  3. Looks great Jen! Call me crazy, but I have always been the mom who does laundry no more than 2 days a week! We do all clothing on Sunday afternoons (and I do sort-but not as much as I used to), and all linens/towels on Mondays. We do have the rare occassion to wash "extras-such as dish towels, pool towels in summer, dog towels" on another day. I just made a decision long ago that I was not going to become a slave to laundry and my family knew it. And yes, my teenage girls learned it was ONE outfit a day. If they needed something before wash day...they had to do it themselves.

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  4. I love your ideas! I think you have single-handidly solved my ongoing laundry battle! I'm starting TODAY. Thanks!

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  5. Looks great! Maybe I'm weird, but I don't mind laundry that much. But I definitely have a system! I think many people do laundry too often. I don't think it's gross at all to wear jeans 2 or 3 times. We wear pants more than that, unless they're visibly dirty. Same for anything other than underpants & socks, basically. If they pass the sniff test (easier with little ones' clothes, obviously) & aren't caked in mud or food, I air them out & they get worn again. I also think it's good to just have one area for dirty things, if you have the space. We don't have hampers in kids' rooms or bathrooms. We have a sorter in my bedroom closet & a bin for towels in my bathroom. Everyone knows to put their laundry directly in the sorter, so I can always see at a glance when it's time to do a load--I don't need to empty out hampers in different rooms. My other two rules: don't fold more than you need to! Undershirts, dishrags, rags, whatever--just cram them in a drawer, who cares? My son's & husband's socks are all the same so I don't even have to match them (I am contemplating the same system for myself). This takes a little extra space but saves a lot of time. Finally, when that dryer buzzes I drop what I am doing & immediately take the clothes out, so anything that does need folding or hanging doesn't get wrinkled. I lay those items neatly over the laundry basket, toss in all the others, then leave them for my kids to put away (one of their chores).

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  6. I agree with Simply LKJ. I always did laundry twice a week- and it was considered 'caught up'. Now there are only 4 of us at home and I do laundry every Monday. And it's done for the week. We also wear jeans more than one day- and we each have our own towel and use it more than once. I also sort.
    I have always enjoyed doing laundry but I think if I had to do it every single day it would become a real chore.
    Each to his own!
    Your laundry room is lovely!

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  7. Love!! So cute ... thanks again for sharing ... and for the motivation!! Laundry room, here I come!!

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  8. I can't wait to see your thoughts on how I run my laundry room:) Laundry is so much better now! I emailed you because I need to reschedule our Feb. 24th date for a Friday in March. I hope this is okay with you! With 1100 emails you probably didn't see it yet! I will call you next week...Have a great weekend!
    Jillian VS

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  9. My laundry solution? Once the kids are in the 4th grade they start to do their own laundry!! It took about a year of gentle reminders, supervision and interventions ;-P, but now all my kids do their own.

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  10. Love the room & tips but I'm with those that do it once a week or even 10 days at times if we get too busy. Usually its b/c my husband runs out of underwear or scrubs! I actually don't mind doing laundry either - we have laundry baskets in each room and just do the darks & whites separate & the towels. And I definitely wear clothes more than once before washing. I don't sweat that much & neither do my kids! And yep - sheets stay on for more than a week. If I had to change sheets each week I'd lose it!

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  11. I sooo need to do this. I just wish I had a laundry room. I live in an apartment, but I do have a "sorting station". I have been looking for laundry sorting...something, to put the clothes in (I'm too cheap to buy those darn wicker baskets), but your sorting cubes are so cute! Have to get me some!

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  12. We're just a house of two, and I work full time M-F so Saturdays are laundry day! We have a hamper in the bathroom, one in our bedroom, and an empty one for transferring cleaned clothes back upstairs to be put away. Sheets are washed every week, and I alternate weeks for bedroom blankets and living room blankets and pillow covers. We didn't have laundry machines at home for over a year, so I actually enjoy doing laundry!

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  13. So in love with these ideas! I can't wait til I one day have a big enough laundry space to be able to do this!
    xx


    The Urban Umbrella
    xoxo


    http://urbanumbrella.blogspot.com/

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  14. Love these tips. Its the one thing in our house we just can't seem to get right - our storage for dirty laundry is wrong (hubs has lately taking to "storing" it on the floor in our hallway!?!), our systems are wrong, we can't figure out how often we should be washing and our airing cupboard is a war zone - the only good thing is that even though we don't have a separate laundry I have point blank not allowed the laundry disaster to infiltrate my newly organised kitchen where the washer/dryer is.

    To motivate me I put a photo of the airing cupboard on my blog and am hanging my head in shame as we speak! as even that didn't work!!

    But now I think I can actually put some organising into play, thanks to your great ideas. There's only 2 of us, so you have my total sympathy trying to deal with the washing of 5!!

    Thanks again for you organisational loveliness!!

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  15. Thanks for these great tips! I really like the one about not sorting so much - I think that will really make a difference. Do you wash everything in cold water and find that everything still comes out clean and fresh? Right now I don't work on Fridays so that became laundry day. That's not how I want to spend my one day off!! Your new bins look great. I love how you found a (stylish) solution to your laundry problems! :-)

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    1. I actually do wash some items in warm or cold water, and they are just fine. Linens are always washed in a hot sanitary cycle.

      xoxo!
      Jen

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  16. another reason why I really really need a silhouette! Love the blue pop that they give and the function is best? win win! <3

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  17. Laundry room looks great; I sure wish I had a little bit more real estate for a bigger room. I am very thankful to have my laundry on the 2nd story but it’s in a closet with not much room to add floor storage like you have. But I do have walls so we shall see what I can come up with!! I have found that by having it on the 2nd story, it’s far more convenient to grab the hampers, pull out the whites & delicate and start the wash when full- I do not excessively sort. I keep a hamper in our room, one in each of the kid’s closets and then I have a medium sized, lined basket in our walk-in closet to toss my whites / delicates in until I am ready to wash those. We pretty much do a load a day for a household of 4; every morning I start the wash before I leave for work and when I get home on to the dryer. Delicates, whites, linens get done weekly as well so it really does make tackling the laundry so much easier to manage. I do not feel like I am “stuck” doing laundry all day and the few minutes it really takes a day to quick sort and fold frees up my weekends- huge plus in my book.

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  18. Can you come implode your creativity on my home? *sigh* I love your sense of style and decor...and great idea for filling the washing machine then running when full! I might snag that from you for sure.

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  19. Those hampers look great. I still haven't found one that I love and would work for me, currently we have one from IKEA that works for now but isn't perfect.

    According to UPS my Silhouette is currently "out for delivery"! I know what I'm going to be playing with this weekend :)

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  20. Love your laundry basket ideas! I moved into a foreclosure house in July and the basement laundry room is the last thing that we are going to tackle. I have ideas and love seeing what you did and hearing from others on what they do.

    Currently we just throw our clothes in the corner at night and then pick them up and toss them to the basement in the morning. Horrible thing to do- however, my husband promised to put the laundry chute in the bathroom this summer- It will be amazing to have that system! The chute will be located within 10 feet of the washer and will keep our floors much cleaner. I can't wait for this to happen- but I do understand that finishing the rooms in site come first! Thanks for everything!

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  21. I have a similar linen basket and I like the way you labelled yours..very nice!!! :O)

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  22. You are so talented! I love the turquoise bins with the labels. Currently, I do not have a laundry room so I really need to invest in some cute bins that people wouldn't mind looking at!

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  23. My laundry room drives me crazy!! It's one of those 'pass-thru' rooms from the garage into the house. It' so narrow. I'm jealous of your lovely laundry room and all that storage!! In our next house I want a bigger laundry room, a walk-in pantry and a 3-car garage :) Oh I'm dreaming' now!! Love your new hampers and the way you organize your laundry loads. I think I might have to give it a try. I need to learn how to use my Silhouette machine!!!

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  24. absolutely LOVE LOVE LOVE the new laundry baskets, especially the color! And the iron-on transfer is perfect! :)

    As for the clothes hanging solution, you could consider our clothes hanging bar that we snagged at Ikea for $5 (http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/30179435/)! :) It's white and adjustable and has been a dream in our laundry room!!!

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  25. I think if I had a 'laundry' that size (mines called a utility room cos I'm british!), then I'd spend more time in it! My goal of the month is to tackle the washing mountain and get better at not letting it get to that size again. Thanks for the tips!

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  26. Just have to say that both my husband and I wear our jeans WAYYYYY more than 2-3 times before washing, and both grew up that way. No shame.

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  27. I have the same rug in my laundry room, thanks to seeing your pictures on Pinterest. :) Do your new Crate and Barrel bins match the blue that is in the rug? I'm thinking about ordering them.

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    1. Sure do! Pretty perfect match made in heaven, lol!

      xoxo,
      Jen

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  28. We are also a family of 5 i bought pop up hampers for each of my girls once a week they get washed. It has made my life so much easier, no more sorting whose whose. We wear our jeans 2-3times also. LOL Thanks for all of your tips.

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  29. I love the big turquoise bins! I may have to try something like to liven up our laundry room. It's so dull and boring.

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  30. My kids (5 & 6yrs.) each have a laundry bin in their closets. Once a week they load in the washer (I add soap and start it), then to the drier (I start it), then to their bed where they fold and put away. It took about a month to teach each how to fold and their drawers are simply separated. We have three bins in our closet darks, whites, towels. Kids put their towels on top of the washer when loading their laundry. Laundry is rarely behind. ( :

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  31. The hampers look terrific! I don't mind doing laundry, but I like that I only do it once a week. Granted, there are only three of us, but even so . . . I think it's important to establish the idea that you have [so many] clothes to get you through [so many] days. And my husband has enough t-shirts and what we call his work shirts to get through a couple of weeks without doing laundry. It's our daughter's and my more limited wardrobes that get washed on a weekly basis.

    The fact that we're in an apartment and have to go outside and down two flights of stairs may have something to do with it, but even as a kid, when our laundry was in the basement that we could access from indoors, we only did it once a week.

    And . . . my husband and I sometimes go a week or two between jean washings. :)

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  32. I love everything you do! It's just not fair. We're in an apartment in an older building and we don't even have hookups. So we have to wait for the laundromat. He procrastinates so then we have two huge hampers full and he decides to just take some and do priority laundry. Then he rewears everything. His work clothes he cycles through so they can air out but that means half the bedroom floor is work clothes. I love this apartment but it is about to drive me bonkers.

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  33. First let me say that I love how your laundry room turned out. It looks so functional. I used to do laundry on the weekends, on top of all the other things I had to do before getting back to work on Monday. But now I do it on Thursday's and it seems to be working out. I have hamper in our bathroom were my husband and my clothe goes. I have two other hampers in our closets one for towels and one for whites. And each kid has a hamper in their room for their clothe. I do not sort the kids clothe everything gets thrown in the washer. I do however sort our clothe I separate mine from my husbands and create different piles. While I work from home on Thursday's laundry is getting done. In regards to the jeans I am do the same thing we were our two or three times before they get washed. Just something about the jeans :)

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  34. Doing laundry too often is definitely a USA thing. In Europe people are more flexible with their clothes. Jeans, pants, sweaters are aired every night outside and get washed when needed, I'd say after 3-4 wears and jeans even longer! It may has to do with the fact that very few ppl own a dryer, even in colder climates clothes are hung to dry. In Greece where i live, a dryer would be totally useless for more than 10 months!
    I only do whites, darks and colors and towels and linens are included in these loads.
    For our small familly of 3, I usually do 4 or 5 loads per week as my little one gets dirty too often too soon! In the summer a couple more loads are required because of beach towels and endless tshirts. The washing part is the easy part of the laundry....ironing I hate!

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  35. Love the pop of color from those laundry hampers! It may seem silly, but I am about 100000000x more likely to use something if it's been labelled and has clean lines like that. I'm also a huge fan of the put-laundry-immediately-in-the-washer method -- my laundry machines are in my closet currently which I never thought of until I moved here, but, hello!!! it works soooo well and keeps dirty clothes off the floor.

    I am worried though that laundry monster is gonna come out in the teeny tiny apartment I'm about to move into (and which i just started blogging about...inspired in part by your projects and posts, thanks Jen!). When the laundry machines are coin-operated and 6 flights downstairs...ugh, laziness = hot mess!

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  36. I really need to get a Silhouette! I am in the process of planning a redo for our laundry closet (it's a closet in the garage...FABULOUS, right?) I also just worked up a weekly chore chart to stay on top of the laundry (and other things of course). I too was raised to wear jeans more than once - no reason not to unless you got into dirt or something! I teach my boys the same. It's not gross! :) www.justhadabrightidea.blogspot.com

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  37. We also wear our jeans more than once. I do love the idea of using the washer to hold laundry and do it when it is full. Thanks!

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  38. love, love, love. So want a silhouette !!!

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  39. Wow! It is SO timely that you posted this as laundry as been constantly on my mind the past few days. It is the bane of my existence!! I am in a family of three. I do NOT understand how it accumulates as fast!

    I actually tried sticking to doing laundry once a week, but was getting frustrated and finally decided that once the hamper was full, regardless of what days it was, it HAD to be done. That helped this week. I LOVE the idea of throwing it right into the wash. WOW. Revolutionary. I may never be the same!

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  40. I Want your laundry room! Very cool.

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  41. I am so envious of your laundry.

    My system is pretty similar. I empty the basket every day and wash everything together except the whites (I put them in with the white sheets on sheet day if there aren't too many) and towels. It's so much easier than sorting it all out. Plus, living in a small unit I don't have much sorting room!

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  42. I am in love with your laundry area. Mine should look so good. The tips are worth a try and I thank you for that. :-), Susan Cooper

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  43. Wow! this post could not have come at a better time. I am a laundry sorting addict. I have too many sorting categories: Lights, darks, reds, whites, jeans, towels and dish towels, Sheets, blankets (we live in a cold climate so there are always throw blankets everywhere and they are used often), Dog bedding. Oh and lets not forget the pile of frilly dresses (still not washed from christmas) and other delicate items. This translates to a laundry room ALWAYS full and never feeling like it's done, even though my laundry room itself is super "organized". I also have a crazy laundry schedule that runs my life. The reason your post is timely is because I am expecting baby #3 in about 4 weeks and will be adding baby laundry and cloth diapers. As you can see, my system is going to drown me and I need a new one. This post is super inspiring and I hope I can adapt a few things from it to help simplify.

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  44. Your laundry room looks awesome! One question?? Wheres the bin for your delicates? Do you put them in a smaller, separate container?

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    1. Great question! I use a drink bin that I popped on top of the washer/dryer, as seen here: http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-cpvmuUaKYnM/TjnhgRRPMTI/AAAAAAAAL4M/1vhFJE6PVlQ/s1600/LaundryRoom3.jpg

      xoxo!
      Jen

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  45. I have a routine for our washing, and that way I keep on top of it. We all have baskets in our rooms and on the night I am going to wash I throw it all down the stairs and then into the laundry room where I sort the darks from the lights and linen (I have a laundry sorter in there) and on the Monday I wash 1-2 loads of darks, on Thursday I do a load of darks (or two if needed) the lights and on alternative weekends I wash the towels (I do wash towels each week, but only the tea towels, face washers etc), and the other weekend the sheets. This routine has always worked for me and I can manage to keep on top of the laundry this way. I am about to embark on a house cleaning business and will need to be cleaning the cloths each week night, but that will work with my routine easily. I too believe that clothes can be worn more than once and as the towels are aired out after each use I don't wash them after every use either and the thought of stripping and remaking beds every week would do my head in, they are never gross and get done every 2 weeks without fail. Your laundry room looks awesome, I love it!!!

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  46. Jen! I seriously love everything you do! You are such an inspiration! Always looking forward to your next blog

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  47. Jen I think you have given such wonderful recommendations on this post. I have three son's and I use to cry about laundry. I had minimum of three loads a day. If I missed a day which I did often, I had six, three days, nine loads. I was never caught up. I like some of your solutions. Love your hampers and sorting. I sort by color and people so I need a total of four bins and my room is not large enough for the lovely hampers you purchased. I have to use regular laundry baskets. Someday I hope to upgrade to real baskets instead of plastic, however the plastic is easy to wash out. Great post sweetie,
    Have a great weekend,
    Kathysue

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    1. Have you thought about vertical storage for your hampers? I've seen how some people were able to make a "Laundry basket dresser"? I've seen it on my new addiction website, Pinterest several times. It may be worth a look.

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  48. After reading this blog, I went looking for a laundry bin like the one pictured, and I found some great ones at Walmart for $13. If anyone is interested, this is the link: http://www.walmart.com/ip/Rubbermaid-Canvas-Laundry-Storage/8195135. I bought 3!

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  49. Thanks for including the font name and download link! As soon as I saw it, I was like, I want that! And was so happy, and not surprised to see that you included the info:) I am a once a week laundry girl! We are a family of 5. On Sunday evenings everyone knows they better have all their dirty laundry in their bins ready for me to do the laundry on Monday, cuz I won't be doing it again till the next Monday. Then each person is responsible to take their clean, folded clothes in their bin up to their room and then put them away. They also collect their "hanging" clothes that are hanging in the laundry room. I have to admit, I like laundry day. A day to chill at home folding laundry and catching up on my tivo'd shows.
    Karen

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  50. Great tips! Even though I do enjoy doing laundry in my cement basement I would love doing laundry in your laundry room. You wouldn't be able to get me out of there.

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  51. Love your laundry posts. There is nothing better than a good system. :)
    D
    http://www.papertreedesigns.com.au

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  52. wow love the idea! Specially if you want kids to help and start learning, and probably for the daddy's as well, it's an amazing idea. It looks beautiful and it's easier to check which one needs to go first for cleaning. Well done! At the moment I only have to bags: white & delicate and another for dark and general clothing.
    I also read all the labels to make sure all our clothing can go to the washing machine at 30 degrees, with no special need for extra care. Thanks a lot for your post, it's really useful

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  53. Growing up, my family never seemed to be on top of our laundry. I can remember my mom paying me (over the summer) to stay up all night and just do laundry! And we did have sorters, but they weren't much help.
    So, when I got married I swore we weren't going to fall into the same trap. It didn't always work, but now that we have a full size washer and dryer, it works better. I do laundry one day a week, usually Saturday. Linens get washed every 2-3 weeks. In the master bedroom are 2 hampers, one for whites/lights and one for darks/jeans. In DD's room is just one hamper, cause I haven't figured out how to put two in there yet. Darks get separated farther on wash day to "heavy" darks (jeans, sweaters, sweat shirts) and "Light" darks (T-shirts, dark underwear/bras, dress pants). It usually ends up being 3-5 loads of laundry each Saturday (depending on if it's a linens week). All clothes are folded no later than Sunday night because I use the hampers from each room to do the sorting and folding.
    It's working for now, with just one toddler in toe, but I can see where I may need a new system as she gets brothers and sisters.

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  54. I saw a great idea in the Lowes Creative Ideas magazine. They hung a painted ladder in the wall and you could pull the top away from the wall so it was on an angle and hang clothes over the rungs to dry. Whe done just push it back and it looked cute against the wall.

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    1. That sounds so awesome - thanks for the idea, I may have to look into that one! :)

      xoxo,
      Jen

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  55. I wish my laundry room was that big! Sounds like a great system! We stick to doing laundry on the weekends, I had tried to do it during the week, but it just meant I had to rewash things when I didn't get to laundry every night. We don't have any kids yet, so who knows how the system will change in a few years!

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  56. I cannot believe that is your laundry room?! People actually have laundry rooms that look that nice?! I'm going to hang my head in shame now.

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  57. WHY HAVEN'T I FOUND THIS BLOG EARLIER?
    Well, better now than never! :) If you have a second, I would truly appreciate if you came over to my blog? :)

    Have a great weekend!
    Best Wishes from Classic+Glam

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  58. Love this post, and it's especially timely, as I just today put away an unfolded batch of laundry...from a week ago! Yep, it's been sitting in the basket(in my kitchen, no less) getting all wrinkly. Fortunately, it was mostly socks, underwear and exercise clothes! I don't mind DOING the laundry, but I hate putting it away!

    http://loripassey.blogspot.com/

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  59. Each family member gets their laundry done on certain days. We all have baskets in our own closets. Kids laundry is still mixed color wise--I have boys so they don't own any whites!!! My husband and I have a laundry sorter in our closet. Whites, Lights and Heavy. In the winter laundy gets done after dinner, then hung to dry at night, tossed in dryer while waiting for kids bus. Folded and in basket on bed so they can put it away after school. Summer time laundry is done 1st thing in am, hung on line outside, then fluffed to get out the "crunchy" feeling and folded.

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    1. We use a rack to hang ours in the house (we live where the wind blows constantly, there are a lot of spiders and our dust is red...not a good combo for hanging outside). I can totally relate to that crunchy feeling, isn't it gross!? A quick tumble clears it right up!

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  60. Great tips, and the room looks great. By the way at my house we wear jeans multiple times too, there's no shame in it :)

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  61. Your laundry room looks beautiful! Maybe I would enjoy laundry if I made my laundry room look like that :) Do you remember where you got the white plastic hampers in your before picture? I need something just like that and can't seem to find them. Thanks.

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  62. Fun! And I thought I was the only one who thought it was stupid to NOT wear jeans 2 or 3 times before you wash them!

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  63. Excited to find you via the Linky Blog Hop! I'm a new follower! Hope you can come visit mine: http://www.eccentricleopard.com/ - Tera

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  64. Yep, those blue receptacles make all the difference!

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  65. Putting our son on a big system for his clothes a few years ago was one of the smartest things my husband and I have ever done, home organization-wise. Isn't it fantastic to keep the laundry under control without stressing over every load? Love your new bins :-)

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  66. Hello, I am a big fan of your blog but have never left a comment. I am a busy mother, teacher, and just graduated from grad school so I have not been able to do much to my house in the last 2 years. Now, that I'm "just" a mother and teacher I have more time to organize and I am getting addicted. I have a small house and with a messy husband and 2 messy daughters, it is hard to keep it organized. I decided to take one step at a time. Here is my blog and my now organized laundry room. http://dreamscafe-dps.blogspot.com/

    I hope you enjoy!

    Denise :)

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  67. I think I'd like doing laundry more (okay, tolerate it) if my laundry room looked anything like yours - can you come help please?!?!

    Love the ideas - especially sorting whites/linens/everything else...

    Also, emptying hampers at the end of the day? Genius and I'm trying it!

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  68. It's hard to have an attractive laundry area when it is in the garage like mine is! I would like to carve out some indoor space for an actual laundry room some day. Love your space! I like your sorting methods too and will try doing our laundry that way and see if it helps decrease our piles. I am currently trying to do it by person and it really doesn't help. I need help in the putting away department too. My guest room bed always seems to have folded laundry on it. I fear that it is endless......

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  69. What do you recommend for a laundry closet? We are a family of 5 and I am so tired of everything spilling out of the closet into my kitchen. We need laundry sorting, folding area, hang to dry space, and room for ironing. Any tips are soooo appreciated!

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    Replies
    1. What about creating a table across the top for folding and popping small baskets for sorting? Putting the dirty laundry right into the washer may help. Lots of shelves above the washer or hanging baskets right on the wall to maximize the use of vertical space would be great also. I wonder if something like this would help: http://pinterest.com/pin/203717583113825070/

      xoxo!
      Jen

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  70. Looks perfect and I love the color. I wish I had a sizeable laundry room like this - I would do so much organizing like you have. Yet, I am inspired to figure out a better system than what I currently have.

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  71. Great photos! I always tell clients. Labels, labels, labels. Taking that extra step helps everyone in the household know where laundry goes.

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  72. I have 4 pairs of pants (jeans, kakhis, black dress pants and a pair of windpants). I wear my jeans until there is a whole load of clothing between my husband and I...so about a week. Yup, no shame. They don't stink, and they look great. My water bill is AWESOME too.

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  73. Ironically I have the same rug in my laundry room that you do. How does the color of the hampers go with the rug?

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  74. Oh, I love those laundry baskets!! I was so bummed to find out the yellow ones are no longer available. They would have gone perfectly in my laundry room. :( I've been searching online for a similar color/style but haven't found anything yet.

    Your room looks fab!!

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  75. Thought you may like to check this out, this is a wall mounted drying rack that I have in my laundry room and we love it. Great space saver, and I am sure you could build one yourself.

    http://www.homedecorators.com/P/Madison_Wall-Mounted_Laundry_Drying_Rack/410/

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  76. Thank you for this!!! I hope you don't mind but I linked this page to my blog today about laundry!!!

    http://ocdisnotadisease.blogspot.com/2012/02/i-feel-like-im-drowning.html

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  77. Wow, your laundry room looks nicer than most of my house. Love the labeling on the baskets. I'll try the non-sort method but we'll see if the compulsive part of me will allow it.

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  78. Thanks sweetie! :) You are so kind!

    xoxo,
    Jen

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  79. I do one load of laundry per day. We separate into whites, mediums, and darks. I keep the sorter in my closet and require my daughter to bring her clothes there. Whichever basket is fullest (white, medium, dark) is the one that gets washed. If none of them is large enough for a full load then I do either sheets or towels. So far this has worked great, doesn't take a lot of time, and gets done. I think doing one load a day (every day) takes some of the dread out of the system. I never have 5 loads to wash, dry, and fold, so I never have a reason to put it off!

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  80. Do you know of a good etsy site or other place to buy labels to transfer onto the c&b laundry baskets ( I have the same ones) or the tub for your delicates (totally doing that)? Thanks!

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    1. Not sure of any specifically, I would just do a couple of searches, I am always so impressed with the selection on Etsy! You are sure to find something awesome!

      xoxo,
      Jen

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  81. Instead of the towel bar, you could install some IKEA fold up clothes lines from the Antonio range. We have two of them at our place and they are great for drying sweaters flat. Not sure how you could conceal them (we have a curtain) but they are versatile and make our life much easier.

    http://thecozycondo.blogspot.com/2012/01/tiny-laundry-solutions.html

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  82. what type of clothes basket do you use for your room and the kids room? Also how do you stay on top of folding and putting away? what do you use after clothes are washed?

    Thanks!

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    Replies
    1. I just use some lined wire baskets that I found at Target a few years back. They are smaller and take up very little room in our closets. I pull the clothes right from the dryer and pop them into individual bins for each family member. Everyone puts away their own items {even the kidlets}.

      xoxo!
      Jen

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  83. How do you always find great deals on things? I can never seem to be online shopping at the right time to find coupons? Thanks!

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    Replies
    1. I have a special email setup just for online shopping {to avoid spamming my main inbox}, and subscribe to emails to that address from my favorite shops. Then, I just wait for the special emails and deals, or checkout retailmenot.com.

      xoxo!
      Jen

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    2. Thanks so much!

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  84. The hamper that was wood that you had in your bathroom and then moved to the laundry room and then back to the bathroom :] where is that from?

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    Replies
    1. It was from HomeDecorators.com a few years back.

      xoxo!
      Jen

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  85. Consider a short hamper. Tall hampers are more difficult to clean--something you'll want to do frequently to keep down allergens.

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  86. Ugh, amazing. I just love your house and everything in this laundry room. I love the numbers too- so cute but clean and easy! Come do my house :-)

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  87. Hi Jen, I just found your site from Pinterest. I love your laundry system and your ideas about one load a day as I loathe laundry piles. I am definitely not naturally organized, but it's great to hear stories from someone my age who has her organization around her family life together! I can't wait to keep on reading and implementing ideas. One day I hope to be a featured reader who got organized :)

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  88. I bought those teal hampers after reading this post and I love them! Now I'm just hoping to find some time to put some crafty labels on them like yours!

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  89. Hi Jen! Where did you get those covered boxes at the bottom of your Expedit shelf? They're just what I'm looking for!

    Thanks!

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    1. Hi Rebekah!

      They are from IKEA, they are the Kassett line: http://www.ikea.com/us/en/search/?query=kassett

      xo,
      Jen

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  90. Hey there! I probably would have a strange question but where did you get those baskets alone? I love the whole idea of naming them too but need to get baskets first & your look exactly what I was looking for!!!:)

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    Replies
    1. Hello!

      They were originally from Crate & Barrel, however, it doesn't appear they are still available.

      xo,
      Jen

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    2. Jen, I want to invest in a Silhouette. Any advice? Does it come with really explicit directions for use?

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  91. Hi Martha!

    It does come with an instructional CD, however, I have found the directions on the packages for the specific Silhouette products {vinyl, chipboard, iron-on adhesive, etc...} to be the most helpful. I also look for a lot of videos on YouTube which always help me out as well. xo!

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  92. My best friend just sewed herself the cutest linen hampers. She saw a nameplate online and made it up before the end of the day. I told her I want some for Christmas. She picked the cutest fabric for them too.

    Alena | http://centicare.com/pvc_hampers.html

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