Help! I can't seem to keep up with the laundry from 7 people!!!?

Question

There are 7 people here, mostly children & I cannot seem to keep up with the laundry!!

Any suggestions?

They are 5, 7, 9, 11, and 13. I tried having each that was old enough do their own laundry, but that soon fizzled. They agreed that they wanted to, but then they let it get so FAR behind that they had only the same outfit everyday to wear & then some were putting wet things in there, & ruining everyone else's clothes...how can I get a handle on all of this? It's the same with their chores, they don't do it & if there's a mess, they say, well, I didn't do it!

Any suggestions? It's all I can do to keep a handle on the house!

Thanks!

Answer 1

We had the same problem. we made a list and divided the chores up using excel, they rotate each week, and when done an adult check it. Post it on a wall so they can see it and know what they have to do. All choirs are done before they go anywhere. except dinner dishes. If one load of laundry is done each day you should be able to stay on top of it. for it to be effective you have to enforce the list. Our list is divided into sections of the house so they can easily find what they are doing.

Answer 2

It can be over-whelming but it doesn't need to be. The first step is reducing the amount of clothes to be washed. New rules and boundaries-and stick to them.
1. Insist that they change into play clothes right after school, and hang up/fold and put away what isn't soiled. (Many things end up in the laundry because they were thrown on the floor and aren't dirty.)

2. Play clothes can be worn more than once most of the time so this should help cut back on quantity.

3. Are you living with "clothes switchers"? Are they trying on different outfits and tossing them aside to be re-washed? (I had a problem with two teen girls doing this.)

4. They should have their own basket/bucket and ALL of them are old enough to fold and put their own clothes away.

5. Do they earn spending money, or have regular chores to get an allowance? If they do, even if at different $$ amounts, deduct an amount for sharing the cost of laundry supplies. (This may seem harsh-it was the most effective impact on less laundry in our family.)

6. Assign chore lists-appropiate for age. No excuses accepted. It won't matter who made the mess-but they will start watch-dogging each other. Kids don't like cleaning up after themselves; they surly won't like cleaning up after the others and WILL tell them so.

7. DON'T give in and do it for them!! Your job as a parent is to teach/prepare kids to be responsibile adults-and they will if they don't learn how to be slackers or how to manipulate someone else to do what they don't want to do.

8. Stick to the rules. Chores first-then play. Reward the task completers only. (TV, games, etc.) Once they find certain priviledges are taken away, and you mean it, they will change.

Maybe we can't teach an old dog new tricks-but we can teach a child new habits.

Answer 3

When you have a family that's big, it's important that each person lends a helping hand... Maybe pair the youngster's with an older sibling and assign chores for each child..The older one's can and should learn how to do laundry and have the little one's sort (lights/dark) (towels/bedding) etc.. and look for stains and pretreat.... Cold water is good for most things so that shouldn't be a problem... Have dark baskets for dirty laundry and light baskets for clean..*You don't want dirty clothes going into clean baskets and vice versea...Have the kids fold and put away clothing.. It may not be perfect ,but atleast it's a helping hand.. You can also get the little one's microfiber dust cloths they don't need cleaner and wipe down furniture and so on... In our family we wrote down all the chores and once a week/month we drew from a hat the weekly "to do" list.. .Easy things like vacuum,dishes, dusting, bathroom,trash, yard etc.. That way everyone can look at a chart and know what he/she are doing.. You can make a chart out of poster board w/ each child's name/days of the week and laminate it.. .Use dry erase marker to fill in the chore for the week... It's teaches responsibilty and housekeeping skills... If a chore doesn't get done you can see at a glance who's responsibility it was that week.... Your children NEED to help you and your spouse maintain a healthy/clean environment.. Good luck...

Answer 4

The only thing I can think of to help you is get everyone their own baskets(maybe 2) and it may be embarrassing but go to the laundry mat that way everyone can do the laundry all at the same time, and do this maybe once a week and you will be caught up with all the laundry.

Hope you find the answer...

Answer 5

I know this is hard and extremely frustrating. First, they all need to have their own laundry baskets. 2 for each; one for clean and folded, one for dirty. This way, not everyone's clothes are getting nasty together. When they realize they have no clothes to wear, and you won't do it for them, they will start washing them. The 7 and 5 year olds will need your help and guidance, but soon they will learn, too. Also, baskets are only so big and can hold only so much. Ideally they will wash every other day. You need a meeting with them to schedule who will wash their clothes and on what days and times.

The key as mom is to stick to this and not do it for them. This is the only way they can learn and it's called tough love. But it eventually does work. Good luck!

Answer 6

1] assign each child [ that's old enough ] a day to do laundry [ mon, tues, wed, thur, fri ]. Give each a different colored basket to put his/her dirty clothes in. No laundry done = no clean clothes, so they get to wear what they have, or wear dirty clothes. Tell 'em to hold their breath, and spray them with Oust.
2] assign each a daily chore - scrubbing a bathroom,
cleaning a room, vacuuming or mopping a floor, mowing lawn, weeding or trimming, etc.
3] each kid puts his own dishes in dishwasher, and puts away one food item [ the meat, the veggies, the starch, the butter, the salt and pepper ].
4] no electronics until chores and homework are done - TV,
playstation, computer, music.
5] if whole room is a mess, and 'nobody' did it, then 'nobody' gets to use electronics or go anyplace.
6] no rides or activities if chores and homework aren't done.
7] my mom also assigned each person a cup color to use all day - I still use the same water glass and tea mug all day!
8] take all the controllers to bed with you.

Answer 7

Well who is the parent , You must make rules and stick to them. Tell them it´s like when they said they will do their own laundry, If you keep to what you say then thing´s will be fine. Your children are old enough to do thing´s to help. The 7,9,11 & 13 year olds can read. Write them a letter each, put in the letter what you wan´t them to do, and give them a time limit. Stick to what you put in the letter. don´t change your mind, and then do the thing you have just ask them to do. If you do , then they will just think you are speaking , just to hear your own voise. Children are very clever. (Example. ) Mary , I would like you to put the washing machine on for me today, when programe is finished , hang clothes out. Thank you love mum xxx. Do the same for the other´s , write in the note what you wish them to do. They will ask why are you writing letter´s to them, you tell them the truth, Say you are fed up of speaking to yourself, and will not be picking up after them, Tell them as from today , each one will have a certain chore to around the house You stick to what you put in the letter , and they will do the thing you want. It worked for my lot, it might work for your

Answer 8

good god, woman--you need a domestic helper. barring that, you just need to be doing laundry in between everything else. i've got the constant laundry parade going on, too. before you leave the house, get a load going. when you come home, put it in dryer and get another load going. at the end of each chore or errand, process a load into dryer and another into washer. before you hit the sack at the end of another exhausting day, get a load in. just make it a point to always be doing some, and it won't pile up. and i didn't mention folding, did i? that's because THE KIDS are going to that part. oh yes, they are. the little darlings are certainly capable of not screwing that part up too badly. and if they just want to stuff it into their drawers without folding and go to school in wrinkled clothing, well, that's none of your concern--you've done your part.

Answer 9

Why not on certain days you have the oldest ones wash their clothes but you be on hand to help them and on the days that they are not washing their things you can do the rest. You have to have an organizational plan with seven people in the house. I wash for five people, three are kids so on Mon, Wed, Fri. I wash clothes so it helps out because I don't feel like I'm washing clothes all day every day.

Answer 10

Each child has a laundry day, you and your spouse (I'm assuming that is who number seven is) share a day, and day seven is for sheets and towels.

Your older children should be doing their own laundry on their assigned day. If they don't, then they have to live with the consequences for the next week.