Life With Three Under Three - #2

Monday, Feb 19, 2007

My theology is orthodox, but my notes this week are unorthodox. That is, if my confessions assault your good senses, then feel free to hang me out to dry. Speaking of, let me begin with the laundry.

I prefer knit clothes for the three-and-under crowd because of how it helps with the laundry. I stopped folding baby clothes after the third baby, because really, the piles never stayed neat. Here is my laundry area, which is technically a hallway off the kitchen. The tall basket collaspes flat when it is empty.

So far, so good. Here’s where it gets unorthodox.

Baby clothes go out of the dryer into a deep drawer. All of baby’s clothes (except special outfits) fit into one convenient drawer that is accessible to big kids who are helping. Baby is messy? Send the two-year-old to grab an outfit. This will work because your outfits are only one piece or pre-matched. (Always ask the youngest-abled child to fetch, as you don’t want to over-burden your older ones.)

Pre-matched usually means knit dresses for the toddler girls and onesies for the baby boys. Sometimes we are given shorts and t-shirts, but when I buy, I stick to one-piece items. This helps little ones dress themselves sensibly, and it means there are less casualties in the laundry (i.e. turquoise pants without a match). When boys outgrow the onesie-type clothes, I look for neutral bottoms: navy, brown, and denim.

Everyone wears white socks so that the brands and sizes don’t have to match. They just have to be close.

The sooner they can dress themselves, the better. At age four, they have dressers with folded stacks; this age group puts their own laundry away. I fold, and they do the shuttling upstairs.

And for my last confession regarding the laundry. The reason we are usually on-time for everything is because… I dress the little ones the night before.

35 Comments

1. I love unorthodox laundry methods. Really, what is proper orthodoxy in the laundry room? What is the proper hermeneutic to decide?

   Do the little ones who put away their own laundry do so neatly, or are the clothes shoved into the drawers? My little ones put their laundry away, too, but only the anal one tries to do it neatly. Do you check? I don’t! I don’t want to know. As long as they can find something decent to wear everyday, I really don’t think about it.

   So, where are all the dirty clothes piles in your laundry room? Did you shove them into the kitchen before you took a picture?

   Comment by Leslie (February 19, 2007 @ 5:33 pm )

2. Leslie, The dirty clothes are in the laundry sorter upstairs and then there is the downstairs pile in that large bottom cupboard drawer.

   I rarely check their drawers because I don’t want to know. My #2 daughter (the one just like me) has labels on her drawers, and everything is perfect.

   I only moved a stack of towels for the picture. That tall, tall basket is full of clean to-be-folded clothes.

   I hang all of Greg’s clothes on hangers to dry on an unseen dowel high up. Clothes pins look real pretty and such, but by hanging the clothes that need hangers on hangers on the line, I save myself a lot of work. It’s one step instead of two.

   Comment by Amy Scott (February 19, 2007 @ 5:43 pm )

3. I came to your blog from Bethany’s. The laundry comments crack me up, especially dressing the kids the night before! lol.

   Comment by sarah (February 19, 2007 @ 5:49 pm )

4. The most unorthodox way I have dealt with laundry has to do with the fact that you can only do laundry as fast as your dryer will dry. So for a while, we had two dryers connected with a Y-shaped duct and could now do laundry as fast as the washer could do it’s thing.

   Looking at your pictures, I don’t think this setup would work well, but if you were to get a second dryer perhaps in the basement, you could really increase your laundry to time ratio.

   Comment by Doug McHone (February 19, 2007 @ 5:52 pm )

5. LOL! I am laughing at the fact that you said you dress the little ones the night before! But even if you did, wouldn’t you have to change and re-dress them again after they eat!?

   Comment by Theresa (February 19, 2007 @ 6:13 pm )

6. Having 2 dryers would be AWESOME!! Laundry is my greatest downfall, I get caught up only to get overwhelmed again.These tips are a blessing, as are you, Amy.

   Comment by Tracy from Ky (February 19, 2007 @ 6:19 pm )

7. One laundry tip that transformed my life, is we moved ALLLLLLL our children’s clothes to the laundry room!!! I wash–dry–then throw the older 4 into their own laundry basket. They are responsible to fold and put away their own clothes (ages 11,9,6,4) I put the 2yo and 4 month olds away and mine and dh (we have a dresser in our room) There are no clothes all over the house anymore!!
   There are 2 large dressers in there, one small bookcase up high (so the 2yo can’t change her clothes all day) and a plastic 3 drawer thingy from Wal Mart on top of another dresser for the baby)
   In many ways, it’s easier now that I have 6 children 11 and under…but in some ways it’s harder trying to school 3 grades with a preschooler, toddler and a baby.
   I wouldn’t trade my life for anyone’s though..but it is VERY nice to know other mom’s are living my life somewhere else!
   Misti
   MOMYS to 6 in KY (11 and under)

   Comment by Misti in KY (February 19, 2007 @ 6:20 pm )

8. Is the tall basket ever put into flat position? It would never, never, never be empty at my house.

   I tell myself that I am very, very thankful for this.

   Comment by Holly (February 19, 2007 @ 6:37 pm )

9. I whole heartedly agree!! Bravo! We do it much the same way… everyone wears the same brand and color of sock for the most part, once you are four you put away your own laundry, and I keep everything to one-piece for the little ones and in a low drawer so the next oldest child can reach the drawer to help bring me clothes for the baby. Once they are 10 to 12 years old, they do their own laundry from start to finish. Now that’s really nice!!! Sometimes they even help Mom with the rest of the family laundry. Got to love those older ones! It’s so nice to find a kindred spirit in the laundry room!

   Comment by Lady Why (February 19, 2007 @ 7:22 pm )

10. I love your laundry room!!

    My biggest downfall is the basket of clean laundry that needs to be folded! I tend to let it sit, and I only have two children (3yrs and 10 months) I am trying to work with the 3 yr old on putting away laundry. I am a perfectionist and tend to do it myself. I like your idea for the baby clothes, right now we are swimming in them!

    Comment by Christy (February 19, 2007 @ 7:58 pm )

11. wouldn’t you have to change and re-dress them again after they eat!

    A bib usually works fine enough. Floridians wear short sleeves most everyday.

    Is the tall basket ever put into flat position?

    Once a week, yes. A long time ago I wrote about my theory that it takes less steps to put away 1 stack of 9 towels once a week than it took to put away 3 stacks of 3 towels 3 times a week.

    One laundry tip that transformed my life, is we moved ALLLLLLL our children’s clothes to the laundry room!!!

    Space and configuration prevent us from doing this now, but I want to. (Misti is a fellow MOMYS, who collectively, rule the world concerning laundry issues.) When I am switching laundry, I’m actually standing in a narrow hallway, which is the only path to the downstairs bathroom.

    but if you were to get a second dryer perhaps in the basement

    I saw a basement for the first time just a couple years ago. In Florida, we lack three things: snow, basements, and decent drivers.

    Front loaders have helped a lot. They use a fraction of the water, less detergent, get things cleaner, and can do a larger load. Oh, and the kids can do the switch. Yahoo!

    My laundry area used to have a utility sink in it and no shelving. When we were in CA with Greg for 7 months while he worked, we lived in an 888 square foot apartment. The laundry facilities weren’t very close. It rained a lot, the trek got tiresome (I bought a wagon), and the washers were microscopic. I think they were made for one person’s daily underclothes and that’s it (which I one time came home with…ewwww). Greg flew back to FL (still) when he was working in CA (which is why we went out there), and on two of his trips home, he hammered away on the laundry area. It was a nice surprise when we got home. I used to complain about hauling the laundry up and down the stairs (all the bedrooms are upstairs), but those months put things in better perspective. I don’t believe that I’ve sighed sideways since, and I also think our 2282 square foot house is a mansion.

    Comment by Amy Scott (February 19, 2007 @ 8:34 pm )

12. Our biggest unorthodox? We don’t match socks. All the white (or primarily white) socks go in one big Rubbermaid container, all of the colored socks go into another. Granted, we’re a family of three and the youngest (myself) is a teenager, but with so many variants of socks due to outdoor work, it was just easier not to match them. Plus, this presents less wear on the elastic.

    *shrug*

    Comment by CountryGoalie (February 19, 2007 @ 8:36 pm )

13. I normally make it a rule not to link to my own posts in comments because it’s so self-promoting. However. Did you know I am the laundry queen? I am. I explain at length here and here.

    The drawer in the LR, I admit, I had not thought of. That is a really good idea.

    Comment by Jeana (February 19, 2007 @ 8:38 pm )

14. I have 5 kids ages 9, 7, 5, 4 and 2. Four of them are outdoorsy boys and the girl is the messy 2 year old so my laundry was out of control. In an effort to reduce the amount of laundry that piled up, I pared everyone’s clothing down to 5 play outfits and 2 nicer outfits. I don’t know why, but that cut way down on the piles of laundry and made it all more managable. I still do a lot of washing, but the stacks don’t get so high.

    And my kids stuff their clothes in their drawers too. I don’t know why I bother to fold.

    Comment by tonya (February 19, 2007 @ 9:20 pm )

15. I don’t have time to wait till mine are four to make them put away their own laundry. My twins are not 3 yet and I’ve already taught them this task. I got three big galvanized buckets from IKEA. I labelled them with pictures of pants, shirts, and pj’s. Once they learned the system, I use laundry time as a way to get out little boy energy. They take their clothes upstairs, one or two pieces at a time. After five trips up and down the stairs, they’ve burned a few wiggles. I’ve now taught them to help me put away my own laundry by showing them which are mommy and daddy’s sock and underwear drawer. They have races to and from the drawers as they put away each item INDIVIDUALLY. That part is key for me. Putting away laundry (a task I hate) and burning some energy. Your laundry area is beautiful. I know it’s small, but it’s not a dark, dingy basement with steep stairs running down to it. I love the clean, sunshiny feel to it! Keep the thoughts coming, I love this.

    Lora
    Mom to four 2 and under

    Comment by Lora Lynn (February 19, 2007 @ 9:32 pm )

16. That is all brilliant! Especially the drawers in the laundry room, the colour schemes, and also the sock idea. How do you get 9 yr olds to wear bibs at breakfast if necessary? I have 6 kids under 9, and they are all prone to breakfast spillages. What materials won’t actually LOOK like the kids slept in them? This tactic would help greatly in getting us out the door for early morning activities. Also, if you store the clothes in the laundry, are they effected by mould or dampness when you run the dryer as well? Always looking for ways to make this huge task easier in our home! Blessings from Meg in Oz

    Comment by Meg in Sydney (February 19, 2007 @ 10:19 pm )

17. I haven’t stopped laughing yet…my younger brother used to get dressed the night before when we were in high school. That way he could get up and grab a pop tart on his way out the door. I love your laundry idea. Gotta love those one piece outfits! I am dreaming of a REAL laundry room someday…

    Comment by Nancy (February 19, 2007 @ 10:31 pm )

18. Does anyone have any good ideas for keeping two-piece outfits together? One-piece outfits are great for the babies, but we live in Chicago, where a dress is not enough in the winter. My daughter is 4 and still sometimes appears with tights that clash with the dress.

    Comment by Newt (February 19, 2007 @ 10:48 pm )

19. Oh my. I thought I was the only one who dressed kids the night before. I still dress my six year old son for everything (except church) the night before. Can’t do the nine year old. She doesn’t like to sleep in jeans…and since I hate that too, I don’t make her!

    Comment by Bethany (February 19, 2007 @ 11:03 pm )

20. hey…..I don’t fold my kids clothes either, not even the 5 yo. We hang up “church” clothes (anything with a button and no stains) the rest goes into a basket for each person and they put it in their drawers. It is SO nice!

    Comment by Amie (February 20, 2007 @ 8:09 am )

21. What revolutionized my laundry was watching the Duggars… AND having children old enough to do it. My 14 yo daughter does the laundry (2 loads a day, except Mondays which are 4 loads from not doing it on Sunday). She puts some in first thing, switches after breakfast, switches again midmorning, and folds for about 15 minutes at night. Really isn’t much. We do sheets and towels on Thursdays.

    The boys (9 and 13) do the kitchen cleanup…

    So my hardest thing as far as clothes and kitchen is trying to find where they put it all!

    Lest you all think I live the easy life, I have a 14 yog, 13 yob, 9 yob, 7 yog, 5 yog, 3 yog, 2 yob, and 2 month old girl. 5 in school, a preschooler, a toddler, and a newborn makes school alone a full time job!!!

    Comment by petersonclan (February 20, 2007 @ 9:31 am )

22. Does anyone have any good ideas for keeping two-piece outfits together?

    The only thing I can think of is to attach clips to the dirty clothes basket, attaching two pieces together before they go in. Some people do this with socks, but since we rarely have matching white socks, there’s no point in it…

    How do you get 9 yr olds to wear bibs at breakfast if necessary?

    I think if I could do that, it’d be a miracle! I meant that my little ones wear bibs. Could be that our breakfasts aren’t too messy, so that nobody really needs clean-up. Pancakes, waffles, fruit, oatmeal, and cereal are the standard fare.

    What materials won’t actually LOOK like the kids slept in them?

    Mostly just the stretchy knit-type stuff. My big kids dress themselves, so for example, my eight-year-old doesn’t sleep in a tie and suit. I have to draw the line somewhere. He does, however, sleep a few nights in his baseball uniform whenever he gets a new one. He acts like he’s not excited, but we all know otherwise!

    Also, if you store the clothes in the laundry, are they effected by mould or dampness when you run the dryer as well?

    I have a metal bowl for wet dishrags in the cupboard. It doesn’t become a problem, as usually there’s some disaster on a non-laundry day, and I always throw in wet items with whatever is about to be washed. Does that make sense? The wet stuff doesn’t mingle with other laundry and all washrags go in with whatever load is going so mold is rarely a problem.

    Comment by Amy Scott (February 20, 2007 @ 11:59 am )

23. Confession time: My two youngest sons (ages 11 and 13) dress themselves the night before, Makes the mornings run a lot smoother.

    Comment by Mary (February 20, 2007 @ 3:46 pm )

24. I have to do at least two to three loads of laundry a day, with all the baby clothes. (I have two little ones, plus myself and husband.) I feel like its a constant battle of the laundry basket over filling. I feel better that I’m not alone!

    Comment by Lauren (February 20, 2007 @ 6:54 pm )

25. I’ve read this tip elsewhere but didn’t need it with my first daughter but the second one isn’t as neat/orderly - gallon ziploc bags (or generic of course!). I fold and match up her outfits then put it into the bag. She can put it into her dresser then just has to pull out a bag for matching clothes to wear. The clothes stay pretty well folded and it is much easier! (Mom to 3, soon will be 4, barely age 6 and under)

    Comment by Jennifer (February 20, 2007 @ 8:17 pm )

26. “I dress the little ones the night before.”

    Oh, I did this! Very helpful for momma in the morning!

    Comment by Molly (February 20, 2007 @ 9:47 pm )

27. But now since you bared your laundry room….. I would love to see some real life kids rooms and how to keep those organized. Willing to show photos? Any ideas or rules on what to keep or toss? What to do with all the collections without taking stock in Rubbermaid?
    I wish there was a scientific formula of what to have for each child. Sort of like a list for camp….One bin of Legos, two spiral notebooks, one box crayons, two action figure heros and one bad guy….
    Any thoughts?

    Comment by Stacy (February 24, 2007 @ 12:07 pm )

28. Instead of putting bibs on your older kids….I have a friend who has hers wear aprons (gender neutral of course).

    Comment by Amy Faith (February 24, 2007 @ 2:50 pm )

29. Stacy,

    I keep all the kids toys in the family room. (That’s how I keep their rooms clean.) Keeping the pile under control? If it doesn’t fit behind the (angled on the wall) couch, then we pitch/give away something else to make room for something new.

    Comment by Amy Scott (February 25, 2007 @ 3:12 pm )

30. some good ideas. I am also in Oz! i do one load every day (just can’t fathom doing 2 loads/day!!) and hang it out to dry (culturally normal here in oz - few families use a dryer every day). i collect all clean washing (always folded as i bring it off the line) into a basket, and do all the sorting on Saturday (well, actually my dd 12 does it ). all family members have a basket, and folding is placed in their basket on saturday for them to put away before dinner. sheets are washed on mondays (dh and mine, plus either girls or boys - alternating), and towels/tea towels etc on thursdays. i haven’t done the dressing baby-the-night-before trick here, although my toddlers have been known to wear their pjs all day! oh, i have 6 ages 3-12. and yes, i do remember those first 3 years (of 3 under 3)!!

    Comment by sam (February 25, 2007 @ 6:54 pm )

31. Just found your blog from a link at This One’s For The Girls. I, also, had 3 children under the age of 3. (Now they are 6, 7 & 8 and we have 2 more to add to that.) I thought I was the only one dressed my kids the night before. (Sometimes I still do it!) Thanks for the encouragement.

    Comment by Kristin (March 6, 2007 @ 9:17 pm )

32. [...] with three under three, #1 Life with three under three, #2 Life with three under three, #3 Life with three under three, #4 Life with three under three, #5 [...]

    Pingback by Amy’s Humble Musings » Life with Three Under Three #7: God’s providence (May 3, 2007 @ 6:20 pm )

33. I just found out today I am expecting # 3 and I am freaking out! I have a 25 month old and a 10 month old now. I just read your post on dressing the baby the night before and had a laugh…I was doing that when I just had one! What will I do with 3?

    Comment by sherry (January 20, 2008 @ 6:10 pm )

34. Well, I can say I have never dressed my kids the night before-never thought about that, really, but now I might do it! With laundry, I have 3 kids (7, 5, and 5 mo) and 2 laundry hampers-one for me and my husband, the other one for the kids. The only day I do laundry is Monday, though it does go on over to Tuesday, if I don’t stay on it Monday-ususally I get caught up at this computer thing and don’t get up to do it. Anything after Tuesday usually waits until the next week-most of the time it is kid clothes I have already folded and put in the basket to be put up, but I’m waiting on the next load to dry so I can put all up at once and not make 3-4 trips to each room throughout the day. I wish I could knit clothes like you, Amy, but how do you have time? I have a crosstich blanket I have been working on for 5 years and still have not finished it-though I’m almost there. I guess if I put my mind to it it would be done, but I get caught up on this computer thing. I am the one who HAS to do the laundry because I am VERY particular about how it is done-keeping the socks together-I use those mesh bags and put all of the kids socks in that-one for the white socks and one for the colored. I put numbers on the white socks so they will stay together and match-as I said I am very particular-I won’t even let my husband do any of the laundry unless it is his coveralls for the winter. I am not that particular about anything else in the house-I don’t know why. I should be because my counter, table, coffee table, end tables, etc. are ALWAYS cluttered. I will get around to it one day.

    Comment by Cassie (July 11, 2008 @ 6:29 pm )

35. I wish I could knit clothes like you, Amy, but how do you have time?

    

    Cassie, Saying that “I prefer knit clothes” isn’t the same as saying “I knit my own clothes.”

    Comment by Amy Scott (July 12, 2008 @ 1:46 pm )

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