Surprise… keeping on top of the laundry for a family of six can be a LOT. Especially when two of the family members get through multiple outfits each day. It has been and could totally be an area of constant overwhelm for me if I let it, which is why I have a few key systems that I stick to semi-religiously that keep it all under control. The laundry will just keep coming, everyday clothes will get dirty, the beds will need changing, towels will need washing etc etc – these are just the facts of life!

So I just needed to decide that I wasn’t going to let it overtake me and figure out how I was going to do that. I will have to share my whole laundry routine soon because I think that good old necessity has forced me to get it down to a science (half joking).

The kids clothes were always a source of annoyance for me. I would spend the time washing, fixing, ironing and putting away their clothes to then find them scrunched up or all over the floor after someone ravaged through their drawer searching for that particular shirt that the absolutely had to wear that day. Nope.

Because the kids all share a room it made sense to have all of their clothes in one place. I didn’t want to have drawers taking up floor space in their room and offering them another dangerous surface to climb on whilst playing some wild imaginary game, and so with a little help from trusty IKEA I was able to make the one closet in their room function for the four of them.

• I wanted the big three kids to be able to find, reach and put away their clothes as easily as possible so that it wasn’t always up to me to manage that.
• I wanted the big two to know how to fold their own clothes because… life skills
• I wanted to be able to easily see what they were short of so that we could avoid gaps in their wardrobe
• I wanted to only keep clothes that fit right now and are season appropriate in their closet so that anything that they pick is ok for them to wear

When it comes to organising a closet, if the budget allows and you can get matching hangers I think it makes a HUGE difference to the space feeling uniform and organised. I have had so many different brands over the years and in my opinion these cheap target ones are the best!

There is a useful shelf above the rails in this closet which is perfect for storing extra diapers and wipes.

Top Tip! – I buy our wipes and diapers in bulk BUT I always take them out of the boxes right away and store them like this so that I have a visual reminder of when we are running low and need to get more. When they are in a big box it is easy to think that you have a good supply to then grab the last packet and be caught short. You never want to run out of wipes and diapers!

A few things that I do to help keep this system as simple as possible ….

• Whenever anything comes through the laundry room stained or needing repair, I do not send it back to their room until it is ready to be worn. I have a box in the laundry room that is labeled ‘sewing and repairs’ and once every couple of months or once it is full I will tackle it all together. Having it all in once place helps me visually see what needs doing. If it is not in the box, it won’t get fixed.
• I always have a bucket of stuff soaking in stain remover in the laundry room. This makes it so much easier to throw something in and sorted rather than putting something stained in the laundry hamper and it being game over
• When Freddie grows out of something it goes straight into Arlo’s side and then from Arlo to Sonny. If it isn’t season appropriate then it gets stored in the ‘hand-downs’ hamper elsewhere. That way, everything in everyone’s section fits right now. This makes it so much smoother when someone else is getting them dressed too.

These two thing on the shelf make me smile.

The spray bottle of purple liquid is ‘Mr Sleepy Spray’ (a.k.a. water with a few tops of lavender essential oil and some food colouring) …he comes out when someone is having trouble sleeping or maybe they are all a little over excited when they need to be bringing the chill vibes. The lay in their beds and shut their eyes and I spray it over each of their beds and they wait to feel the mist on their faces. It helps them fall asleep! Placebo? Whatever works. He is staying.

I can’t even remember how many times we have read this little bible cover to cover. We read a story most nights before bed and this one is ready for retirement. It has been taped and taped and taped again. We have just moved onto *this* kids bible which we are all absolutely loving!

I cannot tell you how much quicker it is putting away their clothes when it is all stored in one spot. I know that some really big families have ‘family closets’ where the keep all the clothes in one place. I can totally see why that works! It makes laundry SO much quicker.

Anyway, that is how I keep our kids laundry and closet storage as simple and as minimal as possible. I am sure that this could even be paired down a little more but for now it is great. They say that the sign of effective organisation is that you don’t have to maintain it too often and that it true for this space.

I am going to get working on a general laundry routine post!