8 Ways to make keeping up with laundry easier








The washing pile looks more like a mountain when you’ve got young kids - and it can really add a lot of overwhelm to your week, especially if you need particular items on specific days or have a run of bad weather.

While it seems like a simple job at first glance, when you consider every step of the task - sorting, treating stains, washing, drying, folding and putting away its actually 6 jobs in one. No wonder we feel like we’re drowning in it!

Here are my favourite ways to simplify laundry and make keeping up with it all a little easier:

Sort as You Go.

Separate washing baskets makes sorting as you go so much easier it doesn’t even feel like a job anymore.

You can sort by type (whites, colours, sports clothes, bedlinen, towels) or by person (in my house it’s mums, dad, oldest kid, youngest kid, and then towels, kitchen cloths, bedlinen).

Label your washing baskets to make sorting as you go easy for everyone in the house and you’ll save yourself time and effort sorting at wash time.


Optimise Stain Treatment.

Stains are a pain, but the faster you deal with them, the less effort you have to put in. Keep stain removers handy in your laundry so you can grab them and put them back easily, and treat stains as soon as you notice them.

Getting to a stain before it sets in means you can usually get away with a quick stain treatment spray and just pop it into the wash.

For stains that are harder to remove, dedicate one bucket with a lid to be your soaking bucket. You don’t need to use anything expensive, even soaking in regular laundry detergent can really help.

​Sunlight soap is also really good for quick stain removal before washing, keep a bar handy at your laundry sink along with a nail scrubbing brush and you can get pretty much any stain out in 10 seconds with a little scrubbing.


Set a Schedule.

Create a laundry schedule that works for your family's needs. It’s the simplest way to avoid accumulating large piles of washing and it really helps make the job more manageable.

You could try doing one load a day:

  • Monday: Towels
  • Tuesday: Parent 1 clothes
  • Wednesday: Parent 2 clothes
  • Thursday Kid 1 clothes
  • Friday: Kid 2 clothes
  • Saturday: Kitchen cloths
  • Sunday: Bedlinen

You’ll need to tailor your schedule based on your family size and how much washing you have (especially if anyone does sports), but once you set your own schedule, especially for a daily task, it really helps reduce the mental load.

In my House & Family Binder, we have a simple laundry print for writing down which days are for which type of washing. You can print it out, write on it, pop it in a frame and put it in the laundry so you (and the rest of the family) don’t have to remember which day goes with which laundry type.


Teach the Kids to Help.

When the kids are really young, fold and put away the washing together. It’s just another household task to us, but sitting down and folding laundry with you is a game to young ones and they love that time with you.

As the kids get older, they can put their own laundry on, you can hang it together, and they can fold and put it away when it’s dry. You can even skip the folding and have older kids put their wet washing straight onto hangers, then hang the hangers on the line and when the washing is dry all they have to do is grab the hangers and put it all straight into the wardrobe.

Involving the kids helps to lighten your load, and it also teaches your kids valuable life skills and responsibility.


Choose the Quick Wash Cycle.

If your clothes aren’t too dirty, just use the quick wash cycle on your machine, they are designed to save time by reducing the wash and rinse times.

Wash less.

If your clothes aren’t too dirty, it’s also ok to wear them again a couple of times before you wash them. You’ll reduce your laundry workload, use (and pay for) less water, and it’s better for the environment.

Jeans and jumpers can be worn lots of times before needing a wash, and anything else that isn’t directly against your body can be worn 2-3 times too before washing unless there’s a stain that needs to be taken care of.


Ditch the ironing.

Choose wrinkle-free materials when buying clothes so you have less to iron in the first place and feel free to skip folding altogether by hanging wet washing on hangers to dry on the line, or taking a bunch of hangers up to the line when you take dry clothes down and putting them straight in the wardrobe. Less folding means fewer creases, which means less ironing. Save the ironing for really special occasions. 


Delegate and Outsource.

You don’t have to do it all yourself.

If you have the budget for it, send it out to get done and returned clean and folded to you.

Or let your partner know that you have enough on your plate with your and the kids' laundry and ask that they take care of their own plus towels and bed linen. Split the laundry 50-50 if you can so you’re not chained to the washing machine and won’t have a mountain to deal with if you go away for a weekend or a few days in the future.

I hope you found these ideas helpful! If you’re ready for next steps in organising your home & life, you might want to check out my popular House & Family Binder. It’s a simple set of prints to help you get organised and run your household without stress or overwhelm.


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5 Things you don’t have to do as a parent (if you don’t want to)






As parents, there are lots things on our to-do list that seem essential, but in reality, they’re not always as important as we first think.

Trying to do everything can leave us feeling overwhelmed and burnt out.

Let’s take a bit of a breather and let go of these 5 things (if you want to):

Cook every meal from scratch.

Preparing home-cooked meals is important, but it doesn't have to be done for every meal. You can opt for simple, healthy meals that take less time to prepare, or if budget allows, you can outsource it to meal delivery services, meal prep companies or take turns hosting an extended family or friends dinner night to help take some of the burden off your shoulders.


Keep up with a spotless house.

Keeping a clean and tidy house is important, but you don't have to strive for perfection. A little mess and clutter is normal in a family household. Focus on maintaining the areas that matter the most - kitchen, bathroom, rubbish, and washing - the rest can be done a little less and you can also delegate chores to other family members to share the workload.


Attend every event and activity.

As a parent, it's easy to feel like you have to attend every social event to keep up with your family, friends and community. But trying to attend everything is only going to lead to burnout. You need down time for you and your family too! Prioritise the activities that matter the most to you and your family, and don't feel guilty about saying no to others. Keep the no short & sweet - “Thanks but I can’t make it to that one” - and move on.


Volunteer for every school thing.

Volunteering at school is important, but you don't have to do it for every activity. Focus on the ones that are most meaningful to you and your kids, and kindly but firmly say no to the others. Your time is valuable too.

Do everything on your own.

It's easy to feel like you have to do everything on your own, especially when the kids are little. It can feel like it’s easier to just do it yourself rather than explain what you need done and how to do it, but the more you reach out to family, friends, and professionals for help, the less pressure you’ll feel to be the superhero and handle it all. It’s ok to ask for help regularly and have sharing the load become the new normal, and it gets easier every time you do it.

I hope you found these ideas helpful! If you’re ready for next steps in organising your home & life, you might want to check out my popular House & Family Binder. It’s a simple set of prints to help you get organised and run your household without stress or overwhelm.


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The positive impact of taking smaller steps





When you’re a busy parent of young children, it can often feel like there's never enough time in the day to get everything done.

Between work, school runs, sports or other activities and everything else that comes with family life, it's easy to feel overwhelmed or like you're not making any progress, and when you start to feel that way, it’s really easy to slip into a state of procrastination, which then makes your to do list feel even more difficult.

Over the last few years I decided to really embrace the art of baby stepping my way through things in order to get them done without procrastination or overwhelm.

For me, breaking down tasks - even the everyday ones - into much smaller steps has been a game-changer, and it’s also helped a lot when it comes to delegating and teaching the kids how to get things done too.

When we look at a task as a whole, it can be intimidating. We feel like we don't know where to start. But when we break that task down into smaller, more manageable steps, it takes the pressure off. You’re not as stressed about completing the task because you don’t have to think of it as a big task anymore. It’s just that one step you’re focused on.

If you're trying to declutter your entire house, the thought of tackling it all at once will make you want to give up before you even start.

Decluttering one room at a time can still feel like too much. Even one cupboard.

But one shelf in one cupboard? That we can handle, and we can take that task - that one shelf - and break it down even further.

Don’t tell yourself to declutter and organise that shelf. Just start by removing the easy things.

Take out anything that’s broken, anything expired, anything you know you don’t want anymore.

Give or throw them away, and consider the job done for now.

When you’re ready, head back to the shelf, take everything out, wipe down the shelf and put everything back in again neatly.

Done!

Breaking down tasks into smaller steps also makes it easier to involve your kids in the process.

If you ask your kids to fold the washing, it will feel like a huge task.

If you do it together and break it down into tiny steps, it becomes do-able.

Start by sorting into into a pile for each family member.

Then sort the pile into big clothing items (shirts, pants, etc) and small items (socks, undies).

Put socks and undies away.

Next sort the big items into shirts, pants, pyjamas, jumpers. Fold each smaller pile one by one and put it away as you go.

Done!

Breaking tasks down into smaller steps might slow the job down a little at the start, but it will save you procrastination time and stress in the long run. It makes tasks feel more manageable and encourages your kids to get involved, so it’s definitely worth a try.

I hope you found these ideas helpful! If you’re ready for next steps in organising your home & life, you might want to check out my popular House & Family Binder. It’s a simple set of prints to help you get organised and run your household without stress or overwhelm.


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How to get things done with young kids at home






When the kids are young, it can be a bit of a struggle to stay on top of everything household related while taking care of the children at the same time.

It’s a never-ending cycle of cooking, cleaning, and caring for your children and the constant interruptions can leave us feeling overwhelmed and stressed. We love our kids but it would be nice to have some uninterrupted time to just get things done!

If you have babies, toddlers or primary school aged kids, that uninterrupted time might not be a reality for a few more years, but in the meantime a simple simple daily routine can help you keep the household (and life!) running smoothly.

Here’s an example I found helpful when my kids were little, feel free to try and tweak it to suit your household:

Morning.

Wake up before your kids if possible to have some quiet time to yourself. If that means drinking coffee in bed while you scroll on your phone, so be it. This time is for you.

Take a minute to look over what you’re doing that day and make note of any appointments or errands to run.

Start a load of laundry and let it run while you go through your morning routine.

Make breakfast for yourself and your kids.

While the kids are eating, unload the dishwasher and put away any clean dishes from the dish rack.

After breakfast, have your kids help you clean up any dishes or mess from the meal, or take care of it while they play or watch a show (after meals or snacks is the easiest time to get things done when the kids are little because their tummies are full and they’re not looking to you for comfort).

Get everyone dressed and ready for the day.

Mid-morning.

Take a few minutes to tidy up any clutter in the living room or playroom. We have a ”put away basket” in the high traffic rooms so I just toss everything in there and straighten up the lounge cushions.

If you have things to do outside of the home, now’s a great time to do it. Pack a snack and drink for all of you and head out.

If you’re staying home, do a little play time together, then have a snack with the kids (something simple).

Set the kids up with a simple activity to do, and do it with them for a couple of minutes, then tell them you are going to do a quick job, to keep going, and you’ll be back in a minute.

Do a quick clean of the bathrooms, wiping down the sink, toilet, and bathtub/shower. If the kids follow you, give them an extra cloth each and have them do the outside of the bathtub or bathroom cupboards.

Afternoon.

Have lunch with the kids (leftovers, or a simple sandwich and something little and fun).

Clean up any dishes or mess from the meal and encourage the kids to help.

If your kids nap, put them to bed, hang the load of washing from this morning, and then take some time to rest too.

If your kids don’t nap, hang the washing together (I used a little clotheshorse and an indoor rack to make it easier), then have quiet time with them, lay down and watch a show or a movie and snuggle up together.

After rest time, have a small snack, then go for a little walk outside.

Late afternoon.

Start preparing dinner, and if the kids are a bit clingy, give them a little bit of whatever salad, cheese or veggies you’re making to play with or snack on while you prep dinner. Wash dishes or stack the dishwasher as you go.

Evening.

After dinner, clear the table, finish loading the dishwasher and run it.

Put toys, books and anything else that’s out away again.

Vacuum or sweep the floors.

Do bath time, story and bedtime with the kids.

Look at your plan for tomorrow and gather anything you’ll need into a tote bag so it’s ready for when you need it.

Do something just for you.

Choose your outfit for tomorrow and have a shower before bed so you have two less things to do in the morning.

My favourite tips for getting things done with young children.

Involve the kids in tasks where you can but don’t feel bad about letting them watch tv while you whiz through it if that’s easier for you.

Lower the bar for yourself, especially when the kids are young. Take shortcuts to make tasks quicker and easier. Have the same breakfast every day, keep dinners really simple, use a rotating meal plan, get groceries delivered, clean with wipes, use technology to lessen your workload. Life gets easier as the kids are older, it won’t always feel this busy.

Don’t stress if you don’t get everything done. There will always be more laundry to do, more meals and snacks to prepare, and more cleaning that needs to be done, and honestly, no one will notice if you don’t do it all every day.

I hope you found these ideas helpful! If you’re ready for next steps in organising your home & life, you might want to check out my popular House & Family Binder. It’s a simple set of prints to help you get organised and run your household without stress or overwhelm.


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5 Tips for easier kids parties




I’m a bit of an introvert, so for me, hosting the kid's parties when they were little was a bit daunting. Over the years we tried a few different ways of celebrating birthdays and other special events, and these ended up being my favourite ways to make itemiser and less stressful so we could enjoy them as parents too:

Plan ahead.

Decide on your date, time, and location for the party. Once that’s done, it’s easier to figure out how many people you should invite because it’s very dependent on your location. Choose a couple of activities to include at the party (you don’t need more than 2) and any special requests your child might have for the day. Once you have those basics in place you can plan out the rest in a simple timeline like buying supplies, decorating, and food prep.

Keep it simple.

When it comes to kids' birthday parties, less is more. You need to plan elaborate activities or serve gourmet food. Keep the menu simple and easy for kids to eat with their hands like sausage rolls and sandwiches, water and a couple of soft drink or juice options for drinks, and 2 games like pass the parcel and statues. Have the party go for 2 hours at most and don’t plan anything else for the day - you’ll want recovery time ;)

Ask for help.

Hosting a kids’ party is a big job, so don't be afraid to ask for help. Your friends and family will likely as what they can do or bring anyway, it’s perfectly ok to ask for help with setup, cleanup, and supervision during the party. 


Delegate responsibilities.

If you have older children, give them age-appropriate tasks to help with the party. They can help with decorations, putting food out, clearing away rubbish, and helping with party games. This helps you get things done and also includes the kids who aren’t having the birthday, giving them a sense of belonging and responsibility. 


Outsource if you want to.

If your budget allows, use a party planner, hire catering, bring in an entertainer, book a cleaner, or just book a McDonalds party. If you have limited time or don’t host parties often, don’t put pressure on yourself to be the expert at it or the only one responsible for everything.

Lower the bar for yourself and don’t feel bad about it - the kids won’t notice the planning and prep that goes into a party, they just remember the fun they had on the day.

Give yourself a chance to have fun too and the party will be a hit without the stress and overwhelm!

I hope you found these ideas helpful! If you’re ready for next steps in organising your home & life, you might want to check out my popular House & Family Binder. It’s a simple set of prints to help you get organised and run your household without stress or overwhelm.


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