A Family Laundry Note

Dear Children,

Hello!  I am spending some time doing laundry today while you are all working hard at school.   Usually I do about 3 large loads of laundry every other day.  A family with six people can make a lot of laundry!   It does take some effort to get laundry downstairs, sorted, through the washer and dryer in a timely manner, folded, and then put away in the right spots.

Thank you so much for you efforts at putting your laundry away!   You guys have really gotten the knack of that, and it sure helps out around our home.   You have also been really helpful in bringing your dirty laundry downstairs.  I even saw a few kids folding shirts, towels, and socks over winter break.  Great job!

I would like to ask your help with a few things BEFORE you put laundry in your hamper:

1.)  Before you throw something in the laundry, ask yourself, "Is this item REALLY dirty?"   This can be a little tricky.  You already know that we can use towels 2 times or so.   We also should be used to wearing pajamas for 2 or 3 nights before they need to be washed.  Because you wear uniforms on many days, you sometimes use 2 sets of clothes for one day.   Any item worn for a few hours should be saved by hanging on a hook or putting away in your dresser again.   Some examples of this might include:

• Pants or a tshirt you changed into after school, but only wore for 2 hours before bedtime while playing XBox
• Pants you wore to a sport over shorts
• Sweatshirt or sweater that you threw on because you were chilly

Holding off on doing too much washing of an item will keep your favorite clothes less worn out, will make your Mom happy, and will also save on cost of water and electricity for our home.   You can all appreciate the value of resources now that you have learned about renewable and non-renewable ones at school.   (What kind of resource is water?  Bonus:  What kind of resource is Mom's time?)

2.) Dirty socks should always go in a hamper.  I know it is tempting to drop your socks wherever you be, but just this morning we had quite a scramble finding a few pairs of socks before we got in the car for school.   It really helps clean socks end up in your dresser drawer if you do not leave them under couches, in corners, or scattered about the mudroom.

3.) Dirty clothes and socks should NOT be inside-out in your dirty hamper.   Your clothes get way cleaner if they are washed not in a crumpled ball.  Socks that are squished up just stay a little stinky through the laundry process.   Also, it makes Mom's life a lot easier and folding a lot faster if your pants are not inside-out through the laundry process.

Thanks for taking the time to read this laundry tips!  I hope you are learning big things and having fun today.   As always, thank you for the opportunity to be

Your loving,

Mom