Homemaking Done Right – Part 4 – Laundry Room Tips

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Laundry! Oh, the rolling hills of laundry that we must climb day after day! How can we get a handle on it?

There are so many approaches to what day of the week, what time of day, when to wash all colors, when to wash all whites and so on. For years, we’ve tried to come up with “the system” in keeping laundry under control. Some laundry systems I’ve seen even suggest washing on one day then folding on another. (That would drive me crazy…just sayin’!) For the Rippy household, putting a load in the wash, is followed by putting it in the dryer, followed by folding and putting it all away where each item of clothing “lives” in the home. It’s finishing the work. I look at laundry like preparing a meal. There are steps it takes to place a hot meal on the table, and if all I did was buy the ingredients, stir up the ingredients, assemble the ingredients, but I never place anything into the oven to bake and if I never place the food into the saucepans to cook, then I’m not finishing the work.

In our kitchen, everything has a “home.” Spices go into a drawer, pots and pans go in their own cabinet, glasses and mugs to into their cabinet, and all serving pieces and mixing bowls are stored in the island. Simplicity is what helps keep the kitchen rolling! Same with the laundry room. Watch this video to see just how simple our laundry space is, but keep in mind, this is what works for “us”.

The more simple the laundry space is set up, the easier it will be to knock out the laundry and establish the routine that works for you.

We keep a very simple and “no frills” laundry space because that helps everyone in the household to “finish the work” of laundry.

Step 1) WASH – store wash detergent above/close to the washer

Step 2) RINSE – store fabric softener and bleach above/close to the washer

Step 3) DRY – store clips for socks and dryer sheets above/close to the dryer

Step 4) FOLD – establish “the folding place” in  your home. If you have children, you may want to fold on the floor, or on the seat of a sofa or a cleared off table. But it helps when, as soon as you take the clothes out of the dryer, you are going to “the folding place” in your home. Involve your children in this because, for example, it’s a great time to ask, “What do you love about your daddy?” as your folding his socks, or “Let’s pray for daddy’s feet and ask God to help daddy everywhere he goes, to help bring a smile to people’s faces.”  Each item you fold with your children can be a great way to teach them “how to be thankful for the blessing of that person and to pray for them.” Folding clothes can be another “fun” activity with kids….it’s all about attitude 🙂

Step 5) PUT CLOTHES AWAY – this is the “final” step. The work isn’t finished until the clothes are placed in their “home” inside the home. This is a huge lesson to to teach children, and that is how to see something to the end.

If you will keep your laundry space clutter-free, organized and make it your goal to “finish the work”, (completing all steps in dong the laundry), you will find the stress is eliminated.

So why the decorative “pear” on the shelf Rip built for our laundry room? It’s a visual reminder to me that taking care of the clothes for my household results in multiplied fruitfulness in God’s eyes. It reminds me that laundry is one of the Proverbs 31 woman’s many “fruit-bearing” behaviors that brought glory to God and good to her family.  The sign beside the fruit says this, “People may forget what you said or what you did, but not how you made them feel.”  How I feel about laundry makes all the difference in my own life, but it also lets my people know how I feel about them, too.  You can feel toward laundry like you do all homemaking tasks….it’s a joy, an honor and a privilege! And that attitude is the fruitfulness that God rewards!

Happy Homemaking!

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lisa rippy

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