Problem Spaces, A Series - Laundry

 Oh that cursed word - LAUNDRY.

The perpetual, never-ending, ever-looming laundry. I have tried and tried to get that dang stuff washed, dried, folded and put away but gosh darn, I can hardly make it to the second step! And if I dare to take the laundry to the couch to fold, it sits there until it becomes a dirty pile of laundry. If I take it to my bed to fold, it becomes extra warmth at night until it's all dirty again. Moral of the story: I can't fold laundry! Not that I can't, I just lack the attention span for it. I honestly don't mind folding laundry but there gets to be so much of it that I just can't get myself to fold it all and get it all put away.

So one day I decided I wasn't going to fold the laundry anymore - at least not Hubby's or the kids'!

Now, Steph, how do you manage that? I have a ton of laundry baskets, is how. We each have a 'dirty' basket in our room (and one in each bathroom) and we each have a 'clean' basket in the laundry room (and a clean basket for 'everything else' like towels, sheets, rags...). As laundry comes out of the dryer, it is immediately sorted into each clean laundry basket. Once it's full, it's that person's job to get it put away - folded or not, I don't care, as long as it's put away!

How it usually works is, once a dirty basket is full, that person will to take it to the laundry room, put the dirty clothes in the big hamper, leave their 'dirty' basket as their new 'clean' basket and take their clean basket and put away their clothes. Now their empty 'dirty' basket is the new 'clean' basket and the emptied 'clean' basket can be used for dirty clothes! A perfect cycle (in a perfect world, in which we most definitely do not live).

Is the system perfect? Heck, no! Will it work for you? Maybe. Does it work for us? Better than trying to fold all the laundry myself! And I'll take "better" over being overwhelmed and depressed about clothes.

What are some of your "Problem Spaces"? Have you found a better solution for the problem space? I'd love to dive into more problem areas and their solutions, so feel free to share in the comments, whether you have a solution or not. Don't worry, I still have plenty of my own to share, but I would love to include yours as well and maybe help you think of a creative solution if you're stumped!

XOXO,

Steph J.

Better, not perfect.

I don't have a beautiful laundry room - I have a dingy, cement-floored cave. It doesn't have to be beautiful to work well. We're getting the system to work before we make it aesthetically pleasing. I would hate to make it look gorgeous but be a broken system. Now that I have a system that is (mostly) working, I'll start on making it look as good as it works! And you can come on that wild ride with me, too! I'm here to normalize normal houses that aren't all white and perfect and new. Our house was built in 1954 and the last updates were in the 70's and 90's! Slowly, we'll start bringing the house to the present day. But for now, it's about the system, not the look.