Laundry Room Reset: Hacks for Moms Who Are Tired of Laundry Piles
- Lauren Alonso
- Aug 10
- 5 min read
If you’ve been wondering where I’ve been—well, I’ve been snuggling the sweetest new baby and finding my rhythm again in this new season of motherhood of 4 littles. Baby E has been here for nearly 7 months now, and with him came a lot of joy… and a mountain of laundry.
Do you loathe laundry too? If so, keep reading!
Today, I’m sharing the system that’s been saving my sanity lately—our new family laundry reset.
Let’s just say: I finally found a flow that works for our family. And I'll go ahead and say it... if you're a type A or OCD person, this might not be for you, and that's ok. The point I hope to make here is that everyone can find a new rhythm, if they are searching for it!
This isn’t a laundry hack from Pinterest or a color-coded chore chart (I’ve tried those). This is a real-life rhythm, born out of trial, error, and an honest need for more peace in our home. The goal wasn’t perfection—it was freedom. And for us, this works.
Piles, Baskets, and Constant Catch-Up
We used to have laundry baskets everywhere- dirty clothes, clean clothes, kids' clothes, mommy and daddy's clothes. And somehow, every time I turned around, another pile had appeared. I felt like I was always behind. Anyone else?
The moment we removed clothes baskets from bedrooms and bathrooms, something clicked. As our family has grown, laundry has quite literally felt like the chore of all chores. The mountain of clean clothes to be folded just got bigger and bigger, and then they would wrinkle, and the whole cycle began again, because I never could get the timing right for when I would have an opportunity to fold, sort, and it all put away. Cue the refresh button.
Something had to give. So, I began problem solving and creating a system of my own, with some inspiration from a friend who claimed she stopped folding laundry... which to me was crazy talk.
So here's how it works. And it's no longer a routine, but a try rhythm that matches our pace of life.
The New Laundry Flow
No more dirty clothes baskets. After you exit the shower, your clothes go directly in the wash.
I do one load a day, max. (Unless of course we are washing rugs or sofa cushions or something out of the ordinary. Even on the days we don't have a full load of clothes, I can substitute sheets or blankets.)
I start a load of clothes after evening showers, once everyone has fresh pajamas on. At bedtime, I dry a load (cooler nighttime drying = less heat in the house during summer).
In the morning, the bigger kids (for reference they are nearly 7 and 4 years old) sort the laundry as part of their morning rhythm—right after breakfast. My near 2 year old is also really great at helping pull the clothes out and hand them off- his love language is acts of service and he loves to feel needed and helpful. So age doesn't really matter here. They are more than capable of helping no matter their age.
As they empty the contents of the dryer, towels and socks go in a shared basket to fold first—easy peasy.
While sorting, they use our vertical numbered bins to separate clothes by person.
Each kid carries the contents of their bin to the coffee table and folds and puts away their own clothes. No perfection required. It's usually only a set of clothes and pajamas, so it's quick and simple.
Clothes needing hangers? They go straight to a collapsible wall rack that makes it easy for me to carry them to the closet and hang without them having a chance to get wrinkled.
In the gaps of my day, I take care of Baby E and Abel's laundry, mine, and my husband’s when I have a few minutes. It feels very gamified to see how quickly I can move thorugh one small bins of clothes, without the overwhelm. And, if I don't get to it, it can sit there until bedtime with no stress.
If someone needs something, they don't have to dig! It's in their bin.
The golden rule? Put it away immediately. That keeps the next load from backing up.
No baskets. No chaos. No Mount Laundrymore. 🙌
Sadly I've been asked countless times about where I got my wired wall racks- they have served as a fruit pantry, office organization for my Etsy shop, and even everything storage racks for my newborns, but they aren't available any longer at Hobby Lobby. However, I did take the liberty of searching for some laundry room storage bins that stack that I think would work well for small spaces like ours! Happy shopping!
Permission to Let It Be Easy
Friend, here’s the thing: I don’t micromanage the folding. I don’t wash colors and whites separately. I don’t fuss over wrinkles. And you know what? We’ve survived. Better than survived—we’ve actually thrived.
Laundry doesn’t stress me out anymore. The kids feel capable. Responsibility for them gives them purpose and makes them feel like part of a team. And, we get to enjoy the simple pleasure of a tidy laundry space that doesn’t overwhelm us.
It’s functional, flexible, and designed for our real life—just like every space in our home.
I hope it encourages you to rethink what’s not working in your home and to give yourself permission to try something new—even if it’s not perfect.
If you try this or it inspires you to find a new flow too, I'd love to hear about it! Shout me out on social or drop a comment below so we can swap laundry tips and cheer each other on.
Let the laundry flow be easy, friend. 💛
Thank you for sharing a few moments of your day with me.
I hope you leave here feeling a little lighter, a little more inspired, and reminded that joy is always worth making room for. Whether we’re swapping recipes, chatting about motherhood, or dreaming up ways to make our homes more peaceful, I’m so grateful to be walking this journey with you.
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With Joy and gratitude,
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