Complete one load of laundry – start to finish – every day. I know it can tempting to wait until the weekend to tackle the laundry from the week. I did that for quite some time, and I always felt overwhelmed by “laundry mountain” on Saturdays. This year, I have committed to completing one load of laundry each day. This means washing, drying, AND putting it away. (Don’t cheat and leave it in the dryer!). I know that to some, seven loads of laundry a week may seem like too much or too little (depending on your family size), but for us, it seems to be just about right. If there are days when I don’t have enough clothes for a full load, I use that day to wash towels, sheets, etc…

I find that as I incorporate laundry into my daily routine, it’s not nearly as overwhelming and really doesn’t take much time at all. My washing machine has a “delayed start” function, so I add a load of laundry at night, and set the timer so that the wash cycle will be complete right around the time I wake up the next day. The next morning, I quickly throw the clothes into the dryer. I fold and/or hang the items and put everything away during the evening after I get home from work. Granted, the clothes do sit in the dryer all day and can get wrinkled, but you can always run a quick “refresh” cycle on the dryer to knock out any stubborn wrinkles. It’s never bothered me, though, because I’m notorious for ironing everything anyway!

Give it a shot for a week or two and see how it goes. I think you’ll find that laundry becomes much easier to manage when it’s done daily.