Laundry is one of those tasks that is always there. Sometimes I feel like it nags me, adding to itself every day! It must be done, so finding a way to make it easier is very helpful! For me, this begins in the room where the magic happens, the laundry room. Try to make the room as appealing as possible. I painted mine a very light purple color (my favorite color) and put up some art. A cushioned rug in front of the washer and dryer is both functional and welcoming. Most laundry rooms have hard surfaced floors, so the extra cushioning makes it much easier on your feet!

I HIGHLY recommend front-loading washers and dryers on pedestals. The pedestals are key! Trust me, I tried to save money and do it without them. I only lasted six months. This type of machine set up reduces the amount of reaching and bending over. Having a trash can near the dryer makes cleaning out the dryer lint trap much handier. If you let clothes air-dry, it is much easier on your body to be able to place them in your laundry room than have to carry heavy, wet clothes to another part of your house. Consider using a bar or drying rack in your laundry room. There are many styles available and some even attach to walls and shelving systems.

Having some sort of flat, elevated workspace is also very helpful when sorting and folding clothes. I’m lucky that there is JUST enough room for my ironing board to stay expanded in the ready position. This is my workspace, but more importantly it allows me to actually iron when I need to. I know that just thinking about the extra energy and physical effort it takes to get out and set up an iron and ironing board would pretty much keep me from doing it. I already don’t like ironing, so I need to make it as easy as possible.

I find it much easier to do 1-2 loads of laundry on a continual basis than having to dedicate an entire day to doing laundry. This gives my clothes time to air dry and gives my body a break from doing the same repetitive motions. If I’m not feeling up to it, I leave socks to be paired up or clothing to be ironed on my ironing board, until I feel able to take it on. When clothes are clean and ready to be put away I take what I can carry in one trip to the appropriate place and wait until I’m walking around again to get the next batch. I try to keep up on sorting my dirty clothes, so that I can always just pop a load in on a whim. This also helps keep my laundry basket lighter weight, so I can carry it to the laundry room. When it gets too heavy, I ask The Helpful Hubby to bring it to the laundry room so I can sort it. If I was living alone I would certainly invest in a laundry basket with wheels.

What are some of your tips to make laundry easier?

I face laundry one load at a time*

*Image Credit: from www.wikipedia.org by David R. Tribble