This week’s mission is to organize and simplify laundry duty in 5 simple steps: sort, wash, dry, fold, and put away.

1. Sort: Keep your 3-bin laundry sorter (or multiple laundry hampers) wherever you change into your “jammies” at bedtime. Drop your dirty clothes into their respective bins—darks, whites, and colors.
2. Wash: First thing in the morning, put a load of laundry into the washer—towels and/or sheets.
3. Dry: After you’ve gone through your morning routine, and before you head out the door for the day, transfer the load of laundry from the washer to the dryer.
4. Fold: When you arrive home in the late afternoon or early evening, unload the dryer. (You won’t have to fold this load…)
5. Put Away: Hang up your clean towels in the bathroom, and put the clean sheets on your bed. Done!

Additional Tips:

• For any laundry that you don’t want to leave sitting in the dryer all day long, set a timer when you load the washer. If you’re not certain how long your washer’s normal cycle lasts, start with 1 hour and adjust up or down as needed. When the timer goes off, put the clothes into the dryer, and add a new load to the washer. Reset the timer. When the timer goes off again, repeat the process.
• Keep a trash can nearby so you can easily throw away anything collected by your dryer’s lint trap. When you unload the dryer, fold everything immediately! Instant Bonuses: You’ll reduce (if not eliminate) the wrinkles. You won’t have as much ironing to do. You’ll feel great because you just plain got the job done!
• Little ones afoot? Get them involved! Get out a footstool so your child can reach to put dirty clothes into the washer. As you empty the washer, give your child one or two wet items to add to the dryer while you toss in a couple handfuls. Toddlers can also empty the dryer, match up socks, fold washcloths and towels, or even fold shirts and pants. Instant Bonuses: You’re spending quality time with your child. You’re teaching your child important life skills. You’re actually getting the laundry done!

So, what about you? What are your favorite laundry tips? How do you keep laundry duty organized? I’d love to hear from you! Please leave a comment below to share your tried-and-true laundry strategies.

Courtesy of Lorie Marrero, creator of The Clutter Diet, owner of LivingOrder:

People hear that I am a Professional Organizer and they read some of my writing, and they often assume that my home and office must be “perfect.” Let me assure you, with two kids, two parakeets, a dog, a husband, and two companies, it is far from perfect—but my life works for me. And I would not want to aspire to perfection, as it is an unattainable and futile goal.

Instead we teach people to aspire to be NEATER*:

• Not perfect, but…
• Effective—your systems work well for you and your family
• Always improving—you look for how to do things smarter, faster, and better
• True to your style—you work with your own preferences, not someone else’s standards
• Efficient—your systems minimize waste of time and energy
• Ready for anything—you are well-prepared with what you need for life and work

Our definition of what it means to be organized is realistic and defined—it does not mean your house has to look like Real Simple magazine and that you have to become Martha Stewart.

So, is it possible to be TOO organized? Absolutely. Just as in business endeavors, when setting up any organizing system you want to ask yourself about the Return On Investment (ROI). Is the time, money, or energy you are investing in this process going to pay off by offering you more time, money, and energy in return? If the answer is no, you need to think very hard about whether you should bother.

One example of this that we run into fairly often: People think it might look neat to have all matching plastic containers in their pantries that all nest nicely together and present a picture-perfect shelf. But for the ROI of simply having a pretty pantry, you have to spend a lot of time transferring every new food item from its original store packaging into the containers. It’s just not worth the time (especially if your kids go through cereal like mine do! We’d hardly be able to transfer the contents to the container before it would be eaten up). This example also plays into a common myth that if something looks really neat it must be organized and must be better. Maybe not!

Another thing we see is people creating folders by vendor for their common household bills, such as the phone company, the electric company, and the cable company. What we typically recommend instead (if you even want to keep the paid bills) is to file the bills by month in an accordion folder. The time it takes to parse each bill out into the proper vendor folder rarely pays off. In the unlikely event that you need to find something, you can invest the time on the other side of that problem instead of consistently investing it up front.

We like to work on the “Good Enough” principle, meaning that the level of organization is appropriate to provide a return that is worth the investment. Is there something you could cut out today that would be “Good Enough,” and actually gain some time back in the process?

*NEATER acronym © 2005-2007, LivingOrder, Inc.

* * * Update: Mamasource.com is now Mamapedia™ * * *

…a safe and easy way to connect with other moms in your local area where you can find the advice, referrals, and insight you need in a supportive community of moms helping moms.

As a Mamasource member, you can:

• Ask other local moms any question you need help with.
• Read the questions other moms have asked—and see what answers they have received.
• Share your own advice and practical referrals with other moms who need your help.
• Promote your business to other moms who could use your products or services.

Shortly after our family moved to Kentucky in June of 2006, I stumbled upon Mamasource.com while “surfing the ‘Net” one evening. I was able to touch base with other moms in the area for referrals to hair stylists, moms groups, pediatricians, and more.

The following year, once my professional organizing business was officially up and running, I added my [ real neat ] listing to Mamasource.com and shortly thereafter received an inquiry from a local mom interested in learning more about my services! Needless to say, Mamasource has been a wonderful repository of information and a great source of referrals!

Sign up today (for free!), then be sure to check out the listings and reviews for [ real neat ] and GCC MOPS. In fact, feel free to add your own review!

Join me this Friday at Grace Christian Center in Georgetown, KY for an organizing presentation!

What: “Get Organized, Mom!” Seminar
When: Friday, April 25th @ 9:00am
Where: Grace Christian Center, Georgetown, KY
Cost: Free!

The seminar will include tips on how to get (and stay) organized with children through all the stages—infancy, toddlerhood, preschool years, and beyond.

I will share plenty of practical tips and ideas including:

• managing schedules,
• maintaining accurate records,
• storing clothes, toys, and other children’s items,
• travelling with children (from shopping trips to long vacations), and
• cultivating your marriage and personal interests.

In addition, the MOPS moms have been asked to bring photos of the most cluttered (i.e., least organized) rooms of their homes. During the meeting, without knowing which photo belongs to which mom, each woman will vote on which room she believes should be deemed the “messiest.”

At the end of the organizing presentation, all votes cast will be tallied and the “messiest room” award winner will receive a 1-hour organizing gift certificate (a $40 value)! Plus, there will be plenty of free samples, door prizes, handouts, and ideas to take home!

I can hardly wait! Hope to see you there!