Laundry is one of those things that just. never. ends. I’m also a bit picky about how our clothes are treated, so I think the task takes me longer than it should.
While our hampers of dirty clothes have grown in direct alignment with our kids growing bigger, the laundry chore has definitely changed. Now the whole family is involved in the laundry process.
When Haiden and Piper were around the ages of three to five years old, I would get clothes into the washing machine and transfer them to the dryer. James would fold and put everything away, except for socks.
Then I’d line up all the socks on the floor and Haiden and Piper would bring the pairs to me to roll up and put away. It was pretty fun!
As the kids have grown older, Haiden and Piper now always have to turn their clean clothes right side out before they get folded. Because their clothes are always inside out when they go into the hamper.
Yes, I would love to stop them from doing this, but I have hopes that one day they’ll realize that it’s easier to take clothes off without turning them inside-out in the first place!
I still sort clothes and get them washed and dried. James still brings the clean clothes upstairs and folds everything.
Now, the kids have the additional responsibilities of scrounging up hangers, hanging up garments and putting folded clothes away.
Haiden and Piper still match socks, too. I feel like we have a crazy amount of unmatched socks for a family of four, but I dream of the day our dedicated bag of sock singles is empty!
I like that kids can make pairs and and see that pile of socks go down-it’s about as rewarding as laundry can get!
We also only have them match socks when they can do it together. It’s a little project that can help with their teamwork skills – I love watching them and listening to them try out ways to get the job done faster!
All in all, though, it doesn’t matter if the kids’ portion of the laundry task is done quickly or done “right.”
James and I feel that it’s far more important to show them that everyone in the house can pitch in to get the laundry done.
If you haven’t started involving your kids in getting the laundry done yet, the new year is the perfect time to introduce them to some new responsibilities!
Another reason why this is the perfect time to work on laundry-related chores is because there’s valuable savings on Tide right now!
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