Large family laundry routine- simple & flexible!

Keeping up with laundry for a large family can be tricky! If you’re looking for some encouragement in your homemaking, particularly with laundry, check out my recent post.
In our family of 8, kids’ ages currently range from 17 to 4. Four girls. Two boys.

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As much as I would like to simplify and minimize our belongings, wardrobe is not a place that’s been effective. At least not at this point.
And… with so many girls, we have a lot of clothes!
Most of our items are either hand me downs or second hand. I participate in a big consignment sale twice a year in order to sell what they’ve outgrown and stock up for the season.
It’s a great way to reduce the cost of clothing so many bodies!

Since we’re not exactly minimal, how do we keep up with it all?

The foundation of my system is at least one load a day. A set “laundry day” for all the laundry doesn’t work for my family. But there are many who love that system!

The second most important part of my system is that we teach our kids to do as much as they can on their own.
This means that currently, our oldest 3 (11, 14, & 17) are totally autonomous when it comes to their laundry. They each keep dirty laundry in their personal laundry basket in the bedrooms, and they are responsible for washing it themselves.

Color coding for the win!

Each person also has a designated bath towel color. No more wondering who left that wet towel on the floor! We each have two, but honestly, we’d probably be fine with just one! When I was young, a friend’s family all had color-coded towels. Even as a teenager, I thought that was genius. We adopted this several years ago and I love it. They all hang on the wall and can be re-used by the same child several times before needing to be washed. Large family laundry routines can be simplified in so many ways!

Any good system requires flexibility!

Beyond the washing, everyone is involved in the sorting and putting away.

Ideally, it is only the 3 youngest’s clothing and household items, like kitchen or bath towels, that need to be sorted and put away. And hopefully in somewhat separated loads so that there’s minimal sorting.

This happens in a myriad of ways – again, flexibility. Sometimes we have a whole load of towels that the younger kids can (mostly) fold and put away without help. At least the 7- and 8-year-olds… The 4-year-old, maybe not as much! When the load is their clothing, they can sort it and put it all away with minimal help.

No folding required!

Or, at least very little! I DO NOT FOLD KIDS’ CLOTHES! For a large family, this is my most important laundry tip -it just isn’t worth anyone’s time!

In my early motherhood days, I was much more particular. I folded and organized my kids’ clothes. My 2 oldest children are girls and I don’t think I’ve ever met a toddler-preschool age girl that doesn’t change clothes multiple times a day. Or at least attempt to!

Minimize where you can!

I remember being frustrated when they’d rummage through their drawers or closet for the 13th change of the day and leave a jumbled mess. As I had more kids, I naturally stopped micromanaging as much simply because I didn’t have the time or energy! And, of course, minimizing the mid-day changes is essential, too!

These days, my kids may choose to fold their own clothes, which is great, but I do not spend any time on that. Occasionally, one of the younger kids may ask for help with folding but not often. This is most likely to happen in the summer to fall/winter transition, when they may not remember how to deal with the bulkier cold weather items.

I also help them at least once, probably a few times, each season when transitioning wardrobes. We live in Texas, where we need tees year-round, but layers are required in the winter! Fall is usually a little sluggish to show up, sometimes not really even appearing before Christmas! We’ve usually cooled off enough to consistently need hoodies and sweaters, but the heavier coats won’t really be needed until January.

This makes it kind of tricky to keep the needed clothing all together, because we don’t really ever pack away the summer items, aside from swimsuits and beach towels!

Even with multiple types of clothing during most of the year, my younger kids are mostly able to keep track of their own clothing.

Keeping up with it all

Like I mentioned above, we have a schedule. My 3 oldest kids each have a day: Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday. These days also coincide with their weekly bathroom-cleaning assignment. This is helpful because as part of their bathroom chore, they bring the dirty laundry basket from the bathroom to the laundry room.

After they’ve completed their own laundry for the week, which is usually just one or two loads, depending on whether or not they’re also washing their bedding, they usually start a load of the laundry from the bathroom. This load is mostly the younger kids’ clothes with a few random washcloths thrown in. If the big kids forget to do this extra laundry, which honestly is probably most of the time, I will do it that afternoon or the next day when I work on the other laundry.

My “days” are Monday, Wednesday, Friday, and Sunday. I don’t always do laundry on all these days, but they’re set aside for me to get caught up on whatever needs to be done! It might be mine and my husband’s clothes, bathroom towels, kitchen items, or any bedding. Sometimes I sort these loads, sometimes I just throw it all in!

Keep it simple.

If you have only littles, my system probably won’t work for you. But take what makes sense and make your own system! That’s exactly how I landed on my current system for our current season. It has changed many times over the years.

Here are some other great systems, especially if you’re a little more minimal than me!

Farmhouse On Boone has a great, super simplified system! If we were a little more minimal in our wardrobes, my system might be very similar! She has been an inspiration in my homemaking for many years.

The system shared in this blog post has a different approach. The one-day laundry day works for many people! It’s always important to customize your family’s routines to your family’s needs! Our Large Family Laundry System (Tips and Tricks With Kids) – Twenty-Four Six

You can simplify your family’s laundry!

At the end of the day, your system needs to work for you. If you have a large family and are overwhelmed by the never-ending laundry, consider trying my system! Maybe it’ll help you pin-point what works best for you!

If your laundry supplies need replenishing, take the time to restock now!