I have three daughters and a son, and in Australia the schools have uniforms. My tip to organise everyone’s clothes. I used a permanent marker to add a dot to first child’s clothes (on the label, or toe of the sock), second child had two dots and so on. So if you passed clothes on it was easy to just add another dot.
I brand-coded my three boys' socks. Oldest wore all Nike socks, middle wore Adidas socks, youngest wore champion brand. Any color, any style, but always with their brand!
My daughter does that for her son and husband. I colour coded laundry baskets for my kids when they were old enough to put their clothes away. They picked up their basket from the laundry room and took it to their room to put away clothes.
My mother in law did this with her husband and her two sons. I will do the same thing when we will start having kids and even take it a step further: I will buy 10 pairs of the same sock for each family member. I already do this, I have one kind of summer socks and one kind of winter socks. I wash and hang them, after that they are dumped in a basket in my dresser. Life is too short for soting and matching socks.
Love you so much, Dana!!!! Who else makes sure they are watching at the end to see what the editor has added to the video? Lol I'm always just listening while I housework, but I always rush to the phone to read the words!!!! So funny.
For that lone sock stuck on the far side of the washer tub, you should be able to spin the tub around freely by hand to bring the sock closer to you and therefore reachable. It took me *years* to realize this was possible. Doh! In addition to the laundry tongs everyone should have a 3-foot grabber stick thingy to retrieve stuff that falls behind or between the machines. Also helpful for snatching stuff off the top shelf. Makes life in the laundry room so much easier! Love your laundry hacks! ❤
My son used to call the grabber thingy an "extendo-grabber" because of some Disney cartoon (Agent Oso, maybe?) back in the day. So it stuck and we all call it that now.
I absolutely love the laundry tongs!!! And the fact that your washer lid won’t open all the way. Call Dawn and Tom to redo your laundry room since they don’t have enough projects!!❤
Me and my 2 kids only wear 1 type of sock each so no matching required. My husband has a million different pairs of socks by choice and gets to sort them himself 😁
I found hangers drove me batty because my children would toss them in the floor, then I needed to buy more because they would break. What helped me the most was to have a girls sock basket (my girls were stairstep) and a boys sock basket( they are stair step) and each child has one drawer for their clothing. Once a week I wash everything (minimizing as you teach us crucial to this method) and fold it nicely...then I do not care if their play clothes are a mess...I know I mama folded them once. I keep 2 nice town outfits in a separate closet I use for Sunday clothing. Special shoes, socks, hair brushes, anything needed to run out the door is in a bag hung up in that closet. Washing once a week also keeps them from losing clothes they need, because if they want to go outside they need to be in clean clothes...a simple natural motivator.
Omg you just changed my life with the laundry tongs thing! My poor boobs got painfully squished with me reaching to the bottom of the tub, so slap my head-what an excellent suggestion!
Our boys had different coloured socks. One had navy, one had grey, etc… Sandshoe socks come in 3 different trim colours in a pack so I would buy enough packs that they would each be allocated a trim colour. We peg our clothes on the clothesline and I would just get everyone to get their own clothes off. If it was a wet day and the clothes went in the dryer I would tip them on a bed, tell them to get their own clothes out and when they had done that dinner would be waiting - food is a great motivator… no arguments and it gets done quickly 😉 Thanks Dana
Wholly carp. My mind has been blown by the tongs thing. Why have I never thought of that???? I hate having to crawl into my dryer to get my clothes out.
1. All dirty clothes go directly into the washer. No hampers, no fussy fabrics. 2. Dawn the Minimalist Mom taught me to keep all clothes in the laundry room. I have four young boys who mostly wear play clothes. If their clothes were in their room, it would be more work and more mess. 3. Container method. Each kiddo gets a bin that cannot overflow or have too many clothes. 4. The boys get Hanes socks that have a logo that is color-coded by size. Those are the only socks I buy.
Lol, Dana! Love the laundry tongs! I AM a short person, so I have a hard time reaching the items on the bottom as well...so my solution was to buy a wooden "back scratcher " to "fish" the items out with...I still use it! Lol!
I was glad to find out in the credits how the sock basket strategy worked, but I actually watched the credits to see if it is creative Reid who gets the colored hangers. 🤔☺️
I had a friend in school who's grandmother would code their socks with dots on the bottom. My friend had 1 dot, her sister had 2 dots, and of course, their grandmother had zero dots. It worked for them!
I now have severe spine / back issues and i have major trouble stretching to reach laundry products in the cabinet or in the washer/dryer. I have a dedicated tongs and hang it inside the upper cabinet door 😅
The laundry tongs are brilliant! I’m 4’10” and have been more or less climbing into my washing machine to get lose socks from the back of it but I’m definitely getting some laundry tongs on my next store trip. Love that tip!
I love the sock basket idea and with four kids in the house and no one who enjoys folding laundry, I am going to -torment my family- implement this today! Reid's comments on this one really had me cracking up!
Love this! Color-catching sheets are on my list of laundry hacks. Helps to consolidate clothes into a smaller number of loads and also helps with the "new" clothes my kids buy at thrift stores.
Haha, love how the sock problem was solved. Oh my, I'm 5' nothin' and I definitely need to put some tongs down by the washer. I just happen to have extras that I was donating, lol. Thank you Dana!
Omg we have a sock basket its been soo much easier also my girls like to wear mismatched socks. ( drives me crazy) and I watched your laundry day video last week was week 3. Omg!!!! LIFE CHANGING!!!! THANK YOU ♥️
Add a screw eye & a large s hook to the bottom of the shelf over the washer so that it can catch the edge of your lid. Saves you from continually having to hold it open.
LOVE the laundry tongs. I have to spin the interior of the washing machine so that anything at the bottom back comes to the front and then stretch to reach it still. But I sometimes have even more of a problem with the dryer because I don't have great access to it. Brilliant! I'm getting laundry tongs. Thanks
So great! And Reid's credits! Growing up we had to put our dirty socks on a diaper pin and that's how they stayed together in matches through the wash.
Great tips! When my 3 kids were small I would buy one type of sock for each kid so when I sorted I knew which type belonged to which kid. However I love the idea of a sock bin!
Each of the kids got multiple pairs of one type of sock, so it didn’t matter if one went missing or got a hole, all the rest matched. For family with different socks, any strays just went next to dryer. The mate either turned up or the sock got tossed. Just myself and hubby now, I hang all my clothes, I even use a drying rack for socks and underwear. Just a quick tumble to soften the wrinkles and hang up. Love the color coded hangers!
OMG I love the laundry tong idea. I am 4 ft 11 and shrinking every day. That along with short arms well need I say more. You have just saved and made my day
Thanks for the tips! I've never heard of the tongs, but we have a front loader. I do have to use a spatula handle to get the blind handle for the blinds above our kitchen sink haha. 🤣 I'm 5'3". We have always done colored hangers! My daughter has purple, sons have dark blue, green, cerulean like blue, and gray. My husband has white. I have a light powder blue. We have a child sized pink hanger set for a next girl that my daughter grew out of that we just store in our spare room/extra baby supplies we store because our kids share rooms room. 🤪 We have a missing sock bin. We fold socks that have matches in current load, but any that are missing pairs just go in bin that kids go through every now and again to search for matches. It works well for us!
I love the sock basket! We started that a long time ago and we keep it near the boots and shoes so kids find their socks when they need to put on shoes to go out. Last month we started keeping a basket in each room to do a separate load for each kid so we are phasing out the sock basket but now i think it might stay because I always find kids socks everywhere, and convenient to have by the front door.
Color-coded hangers I had seven kids and many times their sizes overlapped. Best idea. Sock basket yes! There are two people I actually match socks for all others are on their own. Unfortunately, the sock basket seems to please everyone in my house. I name-branded my boy's clothes and now that's the only brands they will wear (socks & underwear).
laundry tongs! Genius! I am only 5' tall on a good day and I have a heck of a time reaching the bottom of my top loading washer. I'll be picking up a set of laundry tongs this weekend.
I have step stool for my front loaders, it makes transferring so much easier! As a 5’ 2” person i hated top loader because I would literally feel like I was climbing inside to get everything out. 😂
I’ve done sock basket for years but with dirty socks because I do each bedroom laundry separately- (actually each kid took care of their own laundry from age 11)This way I never lose socks! And hamper doesn’t stink either!Genius about the color coding hangers!
My washers' drum spins and that makes it easier to reach things because there isn't a "back", but my mom's does not spin. I totally understand the laundry tongs!
Laundry tongs!! Brilliant!! I’m a tall girl (5’11) but I HATE reaching over to try to get the socks or whatever that are in the back of it. Getting me some 😂
The laundry tongs are genius! 😅😂 I will be doing this from now on! My kids are small and it will be very helpful and fun (till the novelty wears off) for them.
Each kid has a zippered laundry bag with their name/initials on it. They put their socks in their own bag. On laundry day socks will STAY in the individual bags to be washed and dried.
Oh I wish I had thought of Laundry Tongs 40 years ago! Only 1 son, but I'm short compared to the machine & family. I'll see how that works with my new front -loading machines. It's SO hard to reach in to there at my age!
Love the laundry tongs! I can reach mine, but some days it strains my back too much. Going to use this tip for sure! I would love more cleaning tips for the rest of the house. We’ve heard a lot about doing the dishes and laundry now. How about bathrooms, dusting, vacuuming, etc please!? Fly lady does not work for me.
Love the IDEA of the Sock Basket. I have TWO Sock Baskets. One for Matched socks and one for NON Matched. If I don’t see an easy pair up out of the dryer in they go to the UNMATCHED Bin. The system works great.
When she held up the tongs my face wrinkled up and my eyes squinted. But a second later my face released and my eyes got big because I had a feeling I knew what she was going to say they were for. YAS! I don't have tooooo much trouble reaching the errant sock but my mom does so I made sure to tell her about it this evening. She is on board, and we will be on the lookout for some laundry tongs! 👀
Just as a side note, today is our laundry day. The Sunday my kids are at their Dad's house. Every other week. Like I said, I'm not completely caught up, but before I got COVID again, I was pulling clothes out of rooms this day, doing laundry Sunday-Thursday that week, and then the week the kids are home, I might do 1 load if someone runs out of socks or underwear or wants to wear something twice...... Although last week my daughter wound up hand washing the stuff she was missing.
I noticed that you pointed to the link on the proper side!!! Not sure if this was the first time 😂 But I will miss you pointing to both sides in all honesty.
I have a sock basket too. I throw the socks in a lingerie zip up bag, and then when they come out of the dryer I don’t have to fish them out. I just grab the bag out of the dryer, unzip, and dump. I also have a lot of hooks in the bathrooms and in the laundry room. I don’t fold towels, I just throw them in a hook. Extra towels get hooked up in the laundry room.
I am so glad i donlt have to deal with all those socks anymore…. We had 2 kids and husband in militairy ….all the same black socks in different sizes and 2 sort of socks ( they look the same but there are thin and thick ones) than my son in law lived also with us…..also militairy. Horror on washdays 😊
1) I forget when my mom started doing it, but at some point when I was in either grade school or junior high she started color-coordinating the hangers for each person in the family (4) - my dad got blue (and some black because my mom couldn't tell the difference between navy and black with those particular hangers), my sister green, I got white, and my mom got all the other colors. She still does it to this day, and we've since organized the coat closet to be that way as well (makes it easier since these days my dad sometimes has a hard time remembering which things are his). 3) I'm 4' 11.8" tall, and my washer is a regular height high capacity washer with a full-height agitator - my feet come off the floor when I need to reach something down in the very bottom, but if the thing is in the back, I spin the drum until it's in the front before I reach in to get it so that I don't have to reach so far.
Socks are such an issue for so many people. Growing up I used to wear mismatched socks all the time. Now I’m 40 with 2 back injuries and my socks have to be matched. I’ve changed so much but it’s my way of coping. Growing up there was always a mountain of laundry you had to climb in the laundry room to get into the back yard from the kitchen, I hated it with a passion and as a result I’ve always been all over my laundry. I hate if it builds up - gives me huge anxiety. I rarely fold anyone’s washing but my own, my son hangs it and brings it in and then he sorts it into different baskets and everyone has to pack it away then and there. It’s so simple and I’m thankful my 15 yo is going to be good at keeping his own place sorted when he eventually moved out. Next person to be trained in the 9yo
My big things for laundry are color catchers and peroxide. My son is grown now but even with just him I gave up on socks and underwear. He had a basket for that (plus he had a real thing for socks. He had so many besides regular ones and ones for sports lol). He would just take the basket to his room and pull them out to wear or just throw them all in the drawer from the basket. 😅😅 The things I deal with now are mostly multiple cat bed pads and baby blankets (and their dander) they sleep on. 6 cats plus a few strays for the porch. Lol.
I have three daughters and a son, and in Australia the schools have uniforms. My tip to organise everyone’s clothes. I used a permanent marker to add a dot to first child’s clothes (on the label, or toe of the sock), second child had two dots and so on. So if you passed clothes on it was easy to just add another dot.
I did this too!
That's brilliant.
Great idea!
I brand-coded my three boys' socks. Oldest wore all Nike socks, middle wore Adidas socks, youngest wore champion brand. Any color, any style, but always with their brand!
My daughter does that for her son and husband. I colour coded laundry baskets for my kids when they were old enough to put their clothes away. They picked up their basket from the laundry room and took it to their room to put away clothes.
I did the same with my boys underwear
My mother in law did this with her husband and her two sons.
I will do the same thing when we will start having kids and even take it a step further: I will buy 10 pairs of the same sock for each family member. I already do this, I have one kind of summer socks and one kind of winter socks. I wash and hang them, after that they are dumped in a basket in my dresser. Life is too short for soting and matching socks.
That’s a great idea!
I appreciate this. Y cousins had color code which. One got white one got black another got colors. Didnt seem fair
Love you so much, Dana!!!!
Who else makes sure they are watching at the end to see what the editor has added to the video? Lol I'm always just listening while I housework, but I always rush to the phone to read the words!!!! So funny.
I do that, too. 😂😅
😂yes!
Never noticed that before. Went back & looked 😂
I was JUST going to say this!!! Huge Reid fan!! Dana’s are the only RUclips videos I ALWAYS watch to the very end!
Love the laundry sock bag idea! I’m going to train my people to put their socks directly into that thing. So smart!
For that lone sock stuck on the far side of the washer tub, you should be able to spin the tub around freely by hand to bring the sock closer to you and therefore reachable. It took me *years* to realize this was possible. Doh!
In addition to the laundry tongs everyone should have a 3-foot grabber stick thingy to retrieve stuff that falls behind or between the machines. Also helpful for snatching stuff off the top shelf. Makes life in the laundry room so much easier!
Love your laundry hacks! ❤
My son used to call the grabber thingy an "extendo-grabber" because of some Disney cartoon (Agent Oso, maybe?) back in the day. So it stuck and we all call it that now.
I use laundry delicate bags for “sock sacks” that way each person has their sack and no one loses socks. And I don’t have to match or fold them.
This is a great idea!
Great idea!
Laundry tongs! Yes. My youngest can't reach the bottom of the washer, so we have laundry tongs for him. He loves being able to help.
I absolutely love the laundry tongs!!! And the fact that your washer lid won’t open all the way. Call Dawn and Tom to redo your laundry room since they don’t have enough projects!!❤
😂😂😂
Omg😂😂😂😂
Lol this!!!
😂😂😂 👍
❤LOVE the laundry tongs!!
Common sense and ingenuity save the day, yet again. Brava!
Me and my 2 kids only wear 1 type of sock each so no matching required. My husband has a million different pairs of socks by choice and gets to sort them himself 😁
It was the same in my house!
I found hangers drove me batty because my children would toss them in the floor, then I needed to buy more because they would break. What helped me the most was to have a girls sock basket (my girls were stairstep) and a boys sock basket( they are stair step) and each child has one drawer for their clothing. Once a week I wash everything (minimizing as you teach us crucial to this method) and fold it nicely...then I do not care if their play clothes are a mess...I know I mama folded them once. I keep 2 nice town outfits in a separate closet I use for Sunday clothing. Special shoes, socks, hair brushes, anything needed to run out the door is in a bag hung up in that closet. Washing once a week also keeps them from losing clothes they need, because if they want to go outside they need to be in clean clothes...a simple natural motivator.
The tongs trick is priceless ... I have a very short, adult daughter, who uses her childhood step stool to stand on to reach the bottom of the washer.
I'm still loving the comments at the end - it's my favorite part of the videos even though the videos themselves are also great. 😁
Omg you just changed my life with the laundry tongs thing! My poor boobs got painfully squished with me reaching to the bottom of the tub, so slap my head-what an excellent suggestion!
I love the tongs idea! No more “stretching into the tub”.
Omg- I didn't even need laundry tips, but I'm so glad I watched anyway and learned about laundry tongs and the reviled sock basket 😂
Our boys had different coloured socks. One had navy, one had grey, etc… Sandshoe socks come in 3 different trim colours in a pack so I would buy enough packs that they would each be allocated a trim colour. We peg our clothes on the clothesline and I would just get everyone to get their own clothes off. If it was a wet day and the clothes went in the dryer I would tip them on a bed, tell them to get their own clothes out and when they had done that dinner would be waiting - food is a great motivator… no arguments and it gets done quickly 😉 Thanks Dana
Great ideas!
Laundry tongs will be added to my laundry room! That’s genius!
I colored code my kids socks. One gets white, one black, and one gray. Works like a charm but I love the brand idea that someone else commented too!
I love this - especially the different colour hangers. Thank you Dana ☺️
Laundry tongs!!! I am a really short woman so this will help!
I always love the credits at the end! And your books and videos have been life changing. Thank you!
Wholly carp. My mind has been blown by the tongs thing. Why have I never thought of that???? I hate having to crawl into my dryer to get my clothes out.
1. All dirty clothes go directly into the washer. No hampers, no fussy fabrics.
2. Dawn the Minimalist Mom taught me to keep all clothes in the laundry room. I have four young boys who mostly wear play clothes. If their clothes were in their room, it would be more work and more mess.
3. Container method. Each kiddo gets a bin that cannot overflow or have too many clothes.
4. The boys get Hanes socks that have a logo that is color-coded by size. Those are the only socks I buy.
I’m 5’9” with long arms - I still love the idea of laundry tongs! Awesome 🤩
Lol, Dana! Love the laundry tongs! I AM a short person, so I have a hard time reaching the items on the bottom as well...so my solution was to buy a wooden "back scratcher " to "fish" the items out with...I still use it! Lol!
Reid: the editor that still has his mom pointing to air 😂😂😂
I am old enough to remember using wooden laundry tongs. Not because the machine was deep, but because I was using a twin-tub and the water was HOT.
Same here, moving the hot wet clothes from the washer into the spin-drier
Oh man I miss the twin tub! My dad still loves it and I enjoy visiting and using it haha 😂
I was glad to find out in the credits how the sock basket strategy worked, but I actually watched the credits to see if it is creative Reid who gets the colored hangers. 🤔☺️
I had a friend in school who's grandmother would code their socks with dots on the bottom. My friend had 1 dot, her sister had 2 dots, and of course, their grandmother had zero dots. It worked for them!
I now have severe spine / back issues and i have major trouble stretching to reach laundry products in the cabinet or in the washer/dryer. I have a dedicated tongs and hang it inside the upper cabinet door 😅
The laundry tongs are brilliant! I’m 4’10” and have been more or less climbing into my washing machine to get lose socks from the back of it but I’m definitely getting some laundry tongs on my next store trip. Love that tip!
I love the sock basket idea and with four kids in the house and no one who enjoys folding laundry, I am going to -torment my family- implement this today!
Reid's comments on this one really had me cracking up!
Laundry tongs! That's what I need to help me reach stuff in the back of the dryer - thanks 🙂
Love this! Color-catching sheets are on my list of laundry hacks. Helps to consolidate clothes into a smaller number of loads and also helps with the "new" clothes my kids buy at thrift stores.
I love color catchers. I get mine at Dollar General for $1 in the dollar section.
Laundry tongs.....brilliant!!!! Thank you!
Laundry tongs-brilliant!
Dana, laundry tongs ...great idea for a short person like me! Thank you.
Laundry tongs - mind blowing!
Haha, love how the sock problem was solved.
Oh my, I'm 5' nothin' and I definitely need to put some tongs down by the washer. I just happen to have extras that I was donating, lol. Thank you Dana!
Omg we have a sock basket its been soo much easier also my girls like to wear mismatched socks. ( drives me crazy) and I watched your laundry day video last week was week 3. Omg!!!! LIFE CHANGING!!!!
THANK YOU ♥️
Add a screw eye & a large s hook to the bottom of the shelf over the washer so that it can catch the edge of your lid. Saves you from continually having to hold it open.
LOVE the laundry tongs. I have to spin the interior of the washing machine so that anything at the bottom back comes to the front and then stretch to reach it still. But I sometimes have even more of a problem with the dryer because I don't have great access to it. Brilliant! I'm getting laundry tongs. Thanks
So great! And Reid's credits! Growing up we had to put our dirty socks on a diaper pin and that's how they stayed together in matches through the wash.
Great tips! When my 3 kids were small I would buy one type of sock for each kid so when I sorted I knew which type belonged to which kid. However I love the idea of a sock bin!
Each of the kids got multiple pairs of one type of sock, so it didn’t matter if one went missing or got a hole, all the rest matched. For family with different socks, any strays just went next to dryer. The mate either turned up or the sock got tossed.
Just myself and hubby now, I hang all my clothes, I even use a drying rack for socks and underwear. Just a quick tumble to soften the wrinkles and hang up.
Love the color coded hangers!
OMG I love the laundry tong idea. I am 4 ft 11 and shrinking every day. That along with short arms well need I say more. You have just saved and made my day
Thanks for the tips! I've never heard of the tongs, but we have a front loader. I do have to use a spatula handle to get the blind handle for the blinds above our kitchen sink haha. 🤣 I'm 5'3".
We have always done colored hangers! My daughter has purple, sons have dark blue, green, cerulean like blue, and gray. My husband has white. I have a light powder blue. We have a child sized pink hanger set for a next girl that my daughter grew out of that we just store in our spare room/extra baby supplies we store because our kids share rooms room. 🤪
We have a missing sock bin. We fold socks that have matches in current load, but any that are missing pairs just go in bin that kids go through every now and again to search for matches. It works well for us!
I love the sock basket! We started that a long time ago and we keep it near the boots and shoes so kids find their socks when they need to put on shoes to go out.
Last month we started keeping a basket in each room to do a separate load for each kid so we are phasing out the sock basket but now i think it might stay because I always find kids socks everywhere, and convenient to have by the front door.
Color-coded hangers I had seven kids and many times their sizes overlapped. Best idea. Sock basket yes! There are two people I actually match socks for all others are on their own. Unfortunately, the sock basket seems to please everyone in my house. I name-branded my boy's clothes and now that's the only brands they will wear (socks & underwear).
laundry tongs! Genius! I am only 5' tall on a good day and I have a heck of a time reaching the bottom of my top loading washer. I'll be picking up a set of laundry tongs this weekend.
Thank you, Dana 😊
I use a metal hanger bent long ways a the hook I bend to a crook shape for my “tongs”. Works great, and longer than tongs.
I have step stool for my front loaders, it makes transferring so much easier! As a 5’ 2” person i hated top loader because I would literally feel like I was climbing inside to get everything out. 😂
We bought a grabber that seniors use to pick things up. And I repurposed my kids old bathroom step stool that lives in front of my washing machine.
I'm going to make a sock basket today! 😂 I cannot keep my kids socks straight and sorted to save my life.
Yes I find frustrating family members the best way to get things done too😂
😂😂
You are so funny, but helpful! Sock basket, great idea!
I’ve done sock basket for years but with dirty socks because I do each bedroom laundry separately- (actually each kid took care of their own laundry from age 11)This way I never lose socks! And hamper doesn’t stink either!Genius about the color coding hangers!
My washers' drum spins and that makes it easier to reach things because there isn't a "back", but my mom's does not spin. I totally understand the laundry tongs!
I do different colored hangers for our house too!
Happy laundry to you too Dana 🙏
I am short and I also use laundry tongs. What a great help! Loved the sock basket idea!
Laundry tongs!! Brilliant!! I’m a tall girl (5’11) but I HATE reaching over to try to get the socks or whatever that are in the back of it. Getting me some 😂
Love the tongs idea!! Reading your book and loving it so much…you make me laugh out loud 😂
The laundry tongs are genius! 😅😂 I will be doing this from now on! My kids are small and it will be very helpful and fun (till the novelty wears off) for them.
Love the idea of the sock basket, I spend so long sorting socks but I don't think my hubby would 🤣
No laundry tongs are a big deal. I'm short and it sucks to reach to the bottom. Thanks for the helpful tip!
I've had a sock basket for years and I agree that I'm the only person in the house who appreciates the sock basket 😂
A laundry stick or tongs was a must have back when we boiled clothes on the copper. Still convenient today.
Inspiring sock basket… 😂. My two daughters and I share all the same black ankle socks. It also makes life easy.
I thought I invented laundry tongs! But I use mine for sweaty sports uniforms and nasty Boy Scout camp clothes. 😅
❤ awesome tips. First time hearing them. I will give the tongs a try.
I put one sock inside the other and then in the sock basket 😂 that's worked for me for a long time!
So so helpful ❤
Each kid has a zippered laundry bag with their name/initials on it. They put their socks in their own bag. On laundry day socks will STAY in the individual bags to be washed and dried.
Oh I wish I had thought of Laundry Tongs 40 years ago! Only 1 son, but I'm short compared to the machine & family. I'll see how that works with my new front -loading machines. It's SO hard to reach in to there at my age!
Tongs are great for everything when you’re pregnant. Then later in life when your belly gets a little bigger. 😆 That’s my stage of life right now.
Mine too
Love the laundry tongs! I can reach mine, but some days it strains my back too much. Going to use this tip for sure!
I would love more cleaning tips for the rest of the house. We’ve heard a lot about doing the dishes and laundry now. How about bathrooms, dusting, vacuuming, etc please!? Fly lady does not work for me.
I also have laundry tongs, bought at Goodwill!
Love the IDEA of the Sock Basket. I have TWO Sock Baskets. One for Matched socks and one for NON Matched. If I don’t see an easy pair up out of the dryer in they go to the UNMATCHED Bin. The system works great.
When she held up the tongs my face wrinkled up and my eyes squinted. But a second later my face released and my eyes got big because I had a feeling I knew what she was going to say they were for. YAS! I don't have tooooo much trouble reaching the errant sock but my mom does so I made sure to tell her about it this evening. She is on board, and we will be on the lookout for some laundry tongs! 👀
Not caught up quite yet, but working on it! Realizing we do have a laundry day!
Just as a side note, today is our laundry day. The Sunday my kids are at their Dad's house. Every other week. Like I said, I'm not completely caught up, but before I got COVID again, I was pulling clothes out of rooms this day, doing laundry Sunday-Thursday that week, and then the week the kids are home, I might do 1 load if someone runs out of socks or underwear or wants to wear something twice...... Although last week my daughter wound up hand washing the stuff she was missing.
Brilliant trick with the coloured hangers. Just me and my husband in the household but I'll file the idea away in case it can help someone else. G Ire
Did YOU SAY you had a STORAGE room behind you????? HAHAHAA!!! I want to see a video of THAT room :D
Laundry tongs. Fabulous idea. If only to pick up the inside-out ick underwear to toss in the washer.
I noticed that you pointed to the link on the proper side!!! Not sure if this was the first time 😂 But I will miss you pointing to both sides in all honesty.
Reid forgot to link the videos or edit out the pointing and it is adorable. LoL.
I have a sock basket too. I throw the socks in a lingerie zip up bag, and then when they come out of the dryer I don’t have to fish them out. I just grab the bag out of the dryer, unzip, and dump.
I also have a lot of hooks in the bathrooms and in the laundry room. I don’t fold towels, I just throw them in a hook. Extra towels get hooked up in the laundry room.
I am so glad i donlt have to deal with all those socks anymore…. We had 2 kids and husband in militairy ….all the same black socks in different sizes and 2 sort of socks ( they look the same but there are thin and thick ones) than my son in law lived also with us…..also militairy. Horror on washdays 😊
I feel like I’m already doing a better job and I haven’t even started yet! 😂. Thank you for the inspiration!
1) I forget when my mom started doing it, but at some point when I was in either grade school or junior high she started color-coordinating the hangers for each person in the family (4) - my dad got blue (and some black because my mom couldn't tell the difference between navy and black with those particular hangers), my sister green, I got white, and my mom got all the other colors. She still does it to this day, and we've since organized the coat closet to be that way as well (makes it easier since these days my dad sometimes has a hard time remembering which things are his).
3) I'm 4' 11.8" tall, and my washer is a regular height high capacity washer with a full-height agitator - my feet come off the floor when I need to reach something down in the very bottom, but if the thing is in the back, I spin the drum until it's in the front before I reach in to get it so that I don't have to reach so far.
My friend is short and uses longer barbecue tongs for her laundry.
I love the irritates her family to do their own a very valid method😁
Socks are such an issue for so many people. Growing up I used to wear mismatched socks all the time. Now I’m 40 with 2 back injuries and my socks have to be matched. I’ve changed so much but it’s my way of coping.
Growing up there was always a mountain of laundry you had to climb in the laundry room to get into the back yard from the kitchen, I hated it with a passion and as a result I’ve always been all over my laundry. I hate if it builds up - gives me huge anxiety.
I rarely fold anyone’s washing but my own, my son hangs it and brings it in and then he sorts it into different baskets and everyone has to pack it away then and there. It’s so simple and I’m thankful my 15 yo is going to be good at keeping his own place sorted when he eventually moved out.
Next person to be trained in the 9yo
Reid, I am only jealous that I didn't think of it when our kids were young. 🤣
Reid is hilarious!! 😂
Laundry tongs 🎉 what a great idea 😂
My big things for laundry are color catchers and peroxide. My son is grown now but even with just him I gave up on socks and underwear. He had a basket for that (plus he had a real thing for socks. He had so many besides regular ones and ones for sports lol). He would just take the basket to his room and pull them out to wear or just throw them all in the drawer from the basket. 😅😅 The things I deal with now are mostly multiple cat bed pads and baby blankets (and their dander) they sleep on. 6 cats plus a few strays for the porch. Lol.