When it comes to those time consuming chores around the house most of us will list laundry at the very top.  It seems that as soon as you finish and think you are ahead it starts all over again.  Organization of the laundry room is one of the absolute best ways to keeping ahead of that mountain of clothing your family accumulates every week.  Making everything you need accessible will make a huge difference in helping you keep on top of that laundry chore.

Redo Your Laundry Room! | Coin-op Laundry Raleigh NC

One of the first things you will need to implement is a one laundry basket per person.  Use different styles, colors, or even labeling with names will work.  Place these near the dryer so that as clothing comes out of the dryer it can be placed in the proper basket and each member of the household can then carry and put away their laundry.  If possible find an area where they can be slid under either your folding station or elsewhere in the laundry room out of the way.

Wall Hanging System

If your laundry room also houses your broom, mop, or other cleaning tools find a wall hanging system that works best in your laundry area.  This will get them off the floor and help you keep them handy but out of the way.

When it comes to your laundry products there can be a lot of them and they will need stored.  If you are lucky enough to have a cabinet of some kind begin your organization of products there.   Place laundry detergent and stain removers within easy reach.  Liquid fabric softeners will go here also.  If you use dryer fabric sheets place these in easy reach of the dryer.  If you have no cabinetry then invest in a small shelf placed along the wall above the washer and dryer.  If you have a really small laundry are you can use a tray of some sort on top of the washer and dryer and store your products there.  This way they are always handy when you are ready to do laundry.

Sort and Fold Area | Coin-op Laundry Raleigh NC

Creating a place to sort and fold your laundry is one thing that will truly make a huge difference in getting your laundry organized.  This does not have to be a fancy area but needs to be functional.  Simply placing a table along one of the walls in the laundry area will create a great place to fold or to sort the laundry.  In a pinch use the ironing board.  Also this is a great place to slide those personalized laundry baskets out of the way your family is now using for their laundry.

Having a place to hang laundry for either drying or as it comes from the dryer is a huge help in the laundry room.  Most hardware or home improvement stores have a simple hanging rod system that can be placed on a wall in your laundry room.  These come in a variety of lengths and can also be used to store your empty hangers until needed.  Being able to hang laundry as it comes from the dryer will cut down on your ironing time and save you energy.  Do keep your ironing board and starch handy for quick touch ups as needed.

Coin-op Laundry Raleigh NC

Being organized is a huge help in many areas of our lives but the laundry room organization will help you with that time-consuming laundry chore.  Laundry Express is your Cary NC area premier laundromat.  We feature laundry services including dry cleaning and stain removal. Stop by and we will be happy to help you with all your laundry needs!

One of the largest and time consuming chores we have is our laundry. Procrastination does not get this chore done any faster and most of us certainty have no laundress on standby to do it for us.  In order to get this dreaded chore done quickly we must establish a good laundry routine.  In our last blog post we offered some really good tips on getting organized and beginning to establish a good routine for our laundry.  Now that your space is ready and you hopefully have the family on board we are now going to look at implementing this routine and speeding up this routine to get you back to more enjoyable tasks in this New Year.

Speed Up Your Routine | Coin Laundry Raleigh NC

One of the most important and best ways to speed up your laundry routine is to establish a schedule for the laundry.  Throwing in a load of laundry that is a mixture of one another’s clothes really just bogs down your schedule.  Establish a daily schedule in which certain family members clothes are washed on a particular day. Only that person’s clothing gets done that day of the week.  This may take some adjusting but you will find this actually will speed up your laundry process.  It will also encourage each family member to be certain that they have their laundry organized into their laundry basket and in the laundry area ready for washing on their day.  This saves you loads of work and ensures that they have clean laundry ready to go for the week.  You may have to do a bit of tweeking in the beginning but a great laundry routine will soon emerge.

Time the Machines | Coin Laundry Raleigh NC

As we talked about before you must get to know your washer and dryer and each ones capabilities.  How long is the cycle you use most for your washer?  How much time does the dryer require for drying basic loads of laundry?  Going so far as to write down these times will help you figure out how many loads you can expect to get done in the time frame you have each day. If you are home all day then of course you will have more time than say if you only have the evening hours to work with.  If you have a timer on each machine be sure to use it.  If not buy yourself a cheap timer and set it as a reminder the laundry is done.  This will keep your routine on track and running smoothly.

Sorting

Teach your family to also sort the laundry.  When they bring their laundry to the designated area have a whites, colors, and delicate’s hamper so that they can then pre-sort their laundry for you thus saving you much needed time.  You can add whatever you need to speed up the process for you.  Not only should your family be responsible for bringing their laundry to the laundry area, they should also be responsible (according to age) for helping to fold and put their own laundry away. This not only helps you keep things moving, saving you time but it also teaches our children responsibility.

The biggest tip we can offer is the most important one.  Keep on top of the routine!  In order for it to work we have to do laundry from start to finish as many days a week as it takes to stay ahead of Mount Washmore!  Laundry can pile up so quickly that we are overwhelmed before we know it.

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If you want to establish a great routine but need help getting caught up on your laundry call us at Laundry Express.  We offer wash-dry-fold services to get you caught up and ready for your new routine.  Call today to learn more!

The New Year has already begun and is in full swing.  This time of the year brings with it an opportunity to create some New Years Resolutions for all sorts of things.  As we pack away and store our Christmas decorations and have a little time,  you are seeing your home in a new light.  The list of things to do seems to be never ending and the worst culprit on the list is usually the never ending pile of laundry.

Laundry Routine Resolutions | Coin-Op Laundry Raleigh NC

In the New Year it’s a great time to work on a laundry resolution for 2016.  Over the next three blog posts we are going to offer up all sorts of tips for streamlining, speeding up, and going green when it comes to your laundry routine.   Hopefully this will help you get organized and on a really good routine for this year that works for you and your family and gives you more time for those resolutions that incorporate much more fun!

First a question.  Did you know that the average family does 7.5 loads of laundry each and every week?  That’s a whole lot of laundry and when you account for the washing, drying, folding, and putting away of that same laundry it requires a whooping 8 hours per week of your time.  That’s a whole lot of time especially if you are not super organized and have a good routine established. The first step in accomplishing this good routine is to get your laundry area really organized and working right for you.  Hopefully you are lucky in having a laundry room but if not you will first need to establish a dedicated laundry area in your home.  Take the time to assess this area and then tackle cleaning it up.  Remove any items that are not pertinent to doing the laundry and then establish a place for all your needs.  Make a list of those items you will need to do the laundry such as detergents, fabric softeners, and stain removers.  Add these to your shopping list and make sure to always have plenty on hand.

Organization | Coin-Op Laundry Raleigh NC

A good idea for organization is to have three small containers handy.  One for loose change , one for items found, and one for socks without a mate.  These will save your sanity and your patience down the road.  Hopefully the socks mate will show up eventually but if not you can purge more easily later on.

Load Size

You will also need to figure out what the capacity of your washer is. Hopefully if you have a large family you have a large capacity washer already.  This will enable you to do bigger loads of clothes efficiently and help cut down on your time.  If yours is a smaller capacity then you will want to not overload it and will need to do more loads each week.  Overloading will only result in clothes that are not clean.  The same with your dryer.  Overloading the dryer will mean clothes are not dry and wrinkles are more prone to develop, both of which will increase your laundry time.

Involve the Family

The most important part of this routine will involve your family.  Even small children can help round up and place their laundry in a designated laundry basket.  If each person has a proper place for their laundry then you have fought half the battle.  Make each person responsible for getting their laundry to the laundry area and enlist their help in the folding and putting away. You will be surprised how much this can help!

If you need to use a laundromat in the beginning, don’t hesitate! It’s a great way to get mountains of laundry out of the way at home so you can organize. Be sure to visit back again, soon to learn more tips and resolutions to get your laundry routine ready to go for 2016!

Laundry Express | Coin-Op Laundry Raleigh NC

Remember Laundry Express is your premier area laundromat and we offer many services to help you get a handle on all of your laundry needs!  Come by and visit us today!