Laundry Detergent Tablets
When you are a mom on the go, you have to find ways to cut corners on projects around the house so you are not tied down to housework. Working moms especially have to find ways to not only get the housework done quickly but to enable the rest of the family to become part of the team. When it comes to the laundry, if you can make the process of doing the laundry easy for everyone, they can help out with the simple laundry so your specialized skills are only needed for the more complicated stuff, which is usually yoru clothes anyway.
Most kids and even husbands can learn how to operate a clothes washer and dryer. If you make it fun and take a weekend to help them learn the settings on the washer and dryer to use, they can overcome their hesitancy and become quite good at washing their own clothing. Usually you would not try this kind of orientation with children younger than seven. But even with your husband, you will find if you make the task simple for them, they are more than willing to pitch in and help out.
First, help your amateur laundry helpers know that there is only one setting you want them to learn on the washer and dryer. Select a very basic setting for both machines and set it on there every day. It will be a setting for average loads, medium water at warm temperature. That way they don’t have to make any adjustments to the dials on either machine. Explain this to them so they are comfortable with just coming over, putting in their laundry and hitting the go button. With this simple system, you just overcame 90% of the problems that come up with handing over the laundry to the family.
The detergent measurement can also be made simple by buying detergent tablets that are already measured out and ready to go into the washer. Show the family where they are and that only one tablet per load goes in. Now you have simplified two steps. Your child or husband can come to the laundry room, put the clothing into the drum of the washer, drop in a tablet and hit go and walk away. As long as they remember to move their clothing to the dryer they are all set.
You will find that your family will begin to see doing their own laundry as fun, even if you training a crew of young boys to do the job. Get them excited about working the machinery and then help them learn to use a hamper and sort their laundry into loads. Will they make some mistakes? Yes. Will there be a mess every so often? Yes. But if they keep trying, they can get good at it and take a huge load off of a busy mom by doing their own laundry every day. And you will feel good you empowered them to take ownership over this task. Now maybe you can teach them to do the dishes. One challenge at a time, right?