how I do it: LAUNDRY

you know what's funny about laundry? 
besides for absolutely nothing (esp if you have small children)
the fact that it's been a hot topic on some blogs I've been reading lately. 
Everyone seems to be asking the same question
how do you keep up with the beast?!
boy, if I had an answer....
but you know what I've found?  when you share tips about how you do things like this, sometimes you help people.
so, with that in mind, I thought I'd share my method
with huge hopes that maybe you'd share a tip or two with me
cause anyone who can keep up with laundry is a rockstar and don't you know that's what I'm aiming for in life
rockstar mom,
rockstar wife,
rockstar follower of Jesus....
I'd take any of those titles you'd throw at me. 
but for now I'll settle with just throwing some laundry tips your way to hopefully lighten your load
(boy, that was a dumb pun)

LAUNDRY THE LAURIE WAY
*live in denial first
*then deal with it because you realize no one else is going to
*do one load (almost) every single day--fill washer up when you wake up, transfer at naptime or mid-morning, and unload when complete (or when you remember)
*mix lights and darks and wash in cold water (come on, don't be afraid of this.  I do it all the time and only occassionally regret turning white things a light shade of pink.  BLEACH, people)
*hazardous-to-your-health stained articles of clothing are handled separately and with great caution...and you know what I mean by that, esp if you're a mom of wee ones
*quickly but gently layer clothing in basket when you unload from dryer as to not (really) wrinkle stuff
(note to wives w/hubbys who wear dress shirts--HELLO.  you are aware that there are wrinkle-free shirts out there, right?!  those are the only ones allowed in this girl's laundry pile...)
*let clean baskets of clothing pile up until a designated folding day
*folding day = brace yourself.  your laundry now has accumulated. but (yay) it's clean laundry
First, pick a large area to make lots of piles so there's no need to "re-sort" (couch, bed, etc)
In my method each person in the fam has separate piles for pants, tops, pjs, and nicer clothing so when I go to put it away, it's already in the right piles for putting in the dresser drawers.  I keep a basket nearby for socks and you-know-whats and I just throw it in there to sort at the end
(p.s. Hanes socks have writing on the bottom in different colors for different sizes.  HELLO.  this has revolutionized my sock sorting time and yes, I'll pay the little extra for name brand so I can have some sanity)

I have done this method for awhile so I can pump out "folding day" pretty quickly.....like a machine, people.
Did I mention folding day includes t.v. viewing of MY choice (yes, even if the kiddos are awake and at home--I'm folding. laundry.....let's not downplay the significance of that statement....and yes, now my boys know who Rachael Ray and Paula Dean and the Barefoot Contessa are.  That's really going to make them good hubbies one day, don't you think?!...) 
Or I call a friend when I conquer the load(s) during naptime.  What a great way to catch up and not feel guilty about an hour-long chat with a good friend!

Why do I follow the Laurie Laundry Way?
My name is Laurie.
And I like this method because instead of dirty laundry piling up and stressing me out, it's the clean laundry that piles up (because who doesn't have the pile up somewhere?!  I'm no super woman!) 
If somebody really needs something, it's probably washed and ready to wear we just have to do a little searching for it.
Folding Day is not fun, but it gets done all at once and I'm serious about doing something fun while it's all getting done. 
(It's like eating chocolate as a reward after you've scrubbed the toilet.  Ewww. Nope.  That's actually the one time when chocolate has absolutely no appeal to me...)

AND if I just can't get around to sorting the socks at the end, I keep a nice basket of it and just tell my boys to "GO FISH" if they claim they have no clean socks left. 
I'm pretty sure they believe it's a game by now.
Well, I hope, at least.
Cause nothing is changing in this house anytime soon.
How about you?!  Surely you've got some kind of tip to lighten all of our laundry loads because having our kids wear dirty underwear is not as funny as it sounds.

Happy (Tutorial) Tuesday, All!