Laundry: life's never-ending cycle

When I left home for the first time, I was shocked at how many peers had no real knowledge of doing laundry beyond tossing things into a washing machine, pouring in some detergent and hoping for the best. Let me stress that I am no laundress-extraordinaire. My children balk at folding and putting away their laundry on a weekly basis even after years of having the routine in place. That being said, this is what we try to work on:

• Explaining separating dark colors from lights (these days most things are colorfast, but not all, so it is vital that they understand washing dark colors separately).

• Emptying pockets. How much grief can be saved when that crayon is removed prior to laundering! I often will shift their clothes from the washer to the dryer, so that it is ready to be folded when they get home from school. I tell them that I claim all money found in the washer. And, heaven forbid, that crayon makes it to the dryer – well the natural consequence is to have them clean out the dryer, then sort through the ruined laundry and they pay the dry cleaning bill for the salvageable items. Mourning the loss of favorite clothes is a memorable lesson.

• Teach load size and water level as well as temperature. It is vital they learn how much a washer can reasonably hold and how to check washing instructions on delicate or new clothing items.

• Stain treatment. Again, something we struggle with. Trying to get them to treat a stain as soon as the clothes come off hasn't really sunk in yet, but we keep trying!

• Prompt removal of clothes from dryer. Usually, we have to resort to the “re-fluff trick” of turning the dryer on for another few minutes so the wrinkles that have formed from sitting in the dryer can relax out.

Yes, I have taught my kids the shortcut of a damp rag and a wrinkled clothing item tossed in the dryer for a few minutes. Unfortunately, this does undermine the whole ironing-skill-thing. *smirk*

Still, in real life, they will need the quick go-to tricks as well as the old-fashioned long-hand version of things!

As I said, these lessons are far from cemented in my kiddo's long-term memory. But we've still got another almost decade of training ahead, so maybe there's hope!