Proper Handling of Laundry – Part 1

It seems that my kids cannot grasp the concept of laundry. Even the simple part like getting their stinky clothes from the floor to the laundry room is overly difficult. This basic guide was written with the hope that they will begin to grasp some of the elementary concepts associated with making dirty clothes clean. I know it’s a stretch, given that I still find spoons under the couch.

In the exciting world of laundry, there are four basic steps which must be accomplished to achieve success. Each task builds upon the previous one, and the final culmination results in clean, folded clothes. 

At first glance the task seems insurmountable, and I realize that your fear may cause you to exclaim, "I don’t have the know-how to wash clothes!" But do not fret you sweet laundry neophyte, each step is actually quite simple, and unlike rocket surgery, the entire task can be accomplished without the aid of specialized training, advanced university degrees, or a Lexile reading score of over 200. Essentially, laundry can, and should, be enjoyed by everyone.

This is Part 1 of a four part series designed to explain the seemingly complex intricacies of washing your own clothes. The phases that will be discussed over the next four weeks are listed below. 

• Part 1: Transport and Sorting
• Part 2: Washing and Drying
• Part 3: Folding and Transport
• Part 4: Storing

Feel free to come back to any part for further review as required.

Transport and Sorting
Although it may seem that getting your clothes off the floor and to the laundry room is a difficult chore, it is actually very easy. It simply involves picking them up. In actuality, you could even kick them there, thus delaying bending over by minutes! The goal is merely to move your dirty clothes from Points A through F to Point G.

Once the clothes have made the long, arduous journey from various locations around your home, the next action actually requires a specific skillset: the ability to sort colors. Fortunately, if you were ever a three-year-old you have had the training required to complete this task.

In case you don’t fully understand the concept, just make piles of clothes that are in the same color family. If it’s red or orange, put it with other stuff that’s red and orange. Black or grey? That’s right, with other black and grey things. And, if it’s white, don’t put it with the reds. There are lots of strategies employed for color sorting. Go with what suits you best...or at least with what you are told to do.

Please note, that the task of sorting is made more difficult when your clothes are wrong‒side out and knotted together. Nothing slows the sorting process down like untangling tee shirts from sweaters and underwear from pants. Keep in mind that when undressing, your clothes are usually not on fire. An extra three seconds up front will save you a lot of work in the end.

Advanced Activity: If you truly wish to excel at Part 1 of laundry, this is a perfect time to treat any stains that may be smeared across the front of your favorite tee shirt or across the cuff of your pants. A wide array of pretreatment options exist, none of which are exceedingly difficult to apply.


Next week, I will focus on using those two intimidating machines known as the Washer and Dryer.