This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #newOREOThins #CollectiveBias
Guys. Can I be real a second? For just a millisecond? Let down my guard and tell the people how I feel a second? (Jen4Ham4Lyfe, and no I’ll never be sorry about it.)
I do not love doing laundry.
No, that’s not entirely accurate. I truly don’t mind the washing + drying process, and since my washer sings to me when it’s finished with a load I’m pretty good about transferring stuff over right away. (Anyone else hate when you leave stuff in there just a minute too long and it starts smelling funky and you have to wash it all over again? Ugh. That’s the worst.)
It’s the folding that gets to me.
For the longest time I could not get myself sufficiently motivated to fold my laundry once it was clean. Which is ridiculous, because it really doesn’t take that long. I thought maybe if I tossed it on my bed when I pulled it out of the dryer, then I’d be forced to fold it before I went to sleep. Yet week after week, I’d find myself glaring at a gigantic (and growing) pile in the corner of our bedroom, because instead of folding it I’d just throw it in a basket and pretend it wasn’t there.
It was a terrible system.
Plus laundry is NEVER done. Like, unless my entire family spends a day in the nude–and while I’m sure I could get at least a few of them on board with that, it’s probably not a great idea in practice–there will always be something that needs to be washed. Then dried. Then folded.
The trouble with laundry is it never ends. And I hate chores that never end.
However, when I read “Better Than Before” a couple years ago, it completely changed my laundry game. Even after adding a third kid and all the accompanying newborn laundry to our family, I’m staying on top of it. 95% of the time stuff gets folded and put away within 24 hours. WE CAN ACTUALLY FIND OUR CLOTHES.
It’s glorious.
And all it took was two simple tricks: a) pairing something I wanted to do anyway (but felt kind of guilty about) with folding laundry, and b) having something to look forward to once the folding was done.
I’m talking about TV and OREO THINS, y’all.
(Is anyone surprised?)
So first things first, go sign up for Ibotta if you’re not on it already, because when you do you can earn a rebate for a package of OREO THINS. Either click the link above or the image below to join.
Now that that’s done, here’s how my current laundry system* works.
Mondays are devoted entirely to getting laundry done. There is very little “Jen time” on Monday. I never schedule appointments or play dates or anything, because I spend the day at home getting our clothes clean. Any errands that need to be run get worked in between loads. And I wash literally everything. Towels, sheets, school uniforms, tiny underpants, yoga clothes, all David’s work clothes…anything that needs it gets a spin through the cycle. Then it hangs out in the corner of the family room until the kids go to bed.
That’s when I turn on whatever show I’m binging on at the moment, sit down on the floor with my overflowing baskets, and work fold fold fold fold fold. By the time I’m done, there are neat little piles of clean things all over the rug, and I’m usually an episode or two in to something entertaining. I pause the TV to put a few things away, like towels and tablecloths. The rest gets stacked in our two big baskets. One is full of David’s and my clothes for us to put away before bed; the other is full of the kids’ clothes for them to put away in the morning.
And then I kick back with a little treat because I’m such a responsible adult and I’ve earned it.
Also because I am obsessed with OREO THINS. I mean, I’ve tried nearly ever variety of OREO in existence and these are easily in my top three. So crispy! They barely need a lil dunk in milk to be just right. My kids think there’s not enough cream in the middle (they are wrong) so even if it wasn’t past their bedtime, they wouldn’t be interested in sharing. Which is totally fine because MORE FOR ME.
That’s it. That’s how I’ve learned to suck it up and fold the dang laundry already. It’s practically the only night I watch TV, but it’s far from the only night I help myself to a couple cookies. The only difference is on Monday I make myself wait till I get the job done before my evening snack.
I mean, that mom life is hard, yo. Sometimes you just gotta treat yourself.
I know I sound like a commercial, but you know my love of OREOs is deep + abiding. So when I say, “OREO THINS. A Thin Twist on the OREO You Love. Pick them up at Walmart today,” I really mean it. That picture down there is my favorite part of my favorite aisle at Walmart.
And while you’re there redeeming your Ibotta rebate, feel free to buy an extra package and bring it to my house. I promise to think about sharing.
*I say “current laundry system” because I keep getting reminded how often things change. How soon is too soon to make my children wash their own clothes? Asking for a friend…
What’s your laundry routine? Do you do it all at once like me or is yours a one-load-every-day kind of household? And, for fun, what’s your favorite variety of OREO? I’m partial to the original cookie, but these ones–and the THIS with the chocolate cream!–are giving them a run for their money.
I’m kind of obsessed with mint Oreo Thins. YES.
Laundry: well, I purposely bought front-loaders so all my kids could reach everything. Even Nathan knows how to start his laundry, transfer it to the dryer, and get it out when it’s done. They fold their own stuff and put it away–I have a cute little bin for each person in the family all lined up on my folding shelf over the washer/dryer, and a lot of times I will just sort everyone’s clean laundry into their bin and they can fold it later. I do laundry every couple of days, and all the sheets/towels go through on Friday. And I have to say, having a really good W/D combo is lifesaving (I have the Whirlpool Duet), because it does NOT TAKE FOREVER to get a load through like it did with my old ones. 28-minute quick wash, y’all!
Ah, I didn’t even think of that when we bought our washer. I just worried about adding things after a load had already started (which I do WAY too often) so we have a top loader. Cute bins might help, though; I definitely need to change up our sorting system. Too many clothes are getting lost in the girls’ room in their dressups. Argh.
I do the same thing – all laundry on Mondays. Done and done. And yes, folding is by FAR the worst part.
When will they make a dryer that folds stuff too? GET ON IT TECHNOLOGY.
Yaaaaaas!
Thursday is my laundry day…no real reason, but it made Monday more bearable. Ha!
xox
Makes sense to me! I kind of like starting the week out by getting that out of the way, but I totally understand not wanting to do chores first thing.
Amen, hallelujah! I love watching shows while I’m folding! And OREOs afterwards? Yes please!
This horrifies my mother, but I don’t fold laundry (I also don’t iron). I just don’t do it. I used to, but a few years ago something snapped in me and I couldn’t do it anymore. So… I wash it all and dry it. Sometimes four or five loads in a row, sometimes just one. No day in particular. Then I throw it in a pile on the floor. Then someone (me or one of the kids I assign) sorts it into baskets. (I have a tall tiered shelf on casters that holds everyone’s baskets, one for each person plus one for linens) I keep this up throughout the week as I have time. Then on Saturdays the kids take their basket upstairs and put it all away. My daughter folds hers before putting it in her drawers but the boys just shove theirs in. So they’re wrinkled, but clean. Also, half the time the kids have to go downstairs to find clean socks or underwear or whatever shirt they want which is in their basket… But they don’t seem to mind. I realize that I have very low standards. But it’s my season in life for low standards in housekeeping and that’s what I’ve settled with for now. 🙂 Any kind of Oreos sounds amazing right now.
I kind of love this system. And I especially love that you’ve figured out something that works for your family. Standards are relative anyway, right?
I normally do all laundry on the weekend and complete it there and then, I hate having laundry to “attend to”. What I love about laundry and this is the only thing, is that at the end of it all my clothes are soft and smelling great! 🙂
Hi, Great post…I just started blogging and I am going a little overboard–not with posting, but with exploring other peoples blogs and enjoying their thoughts and lives.