WFMW Containerize Kids Laundry

Shannon is suggesting a “Greatest Hits” edition of Works For Me Wednesday. While last week’s overnight crockpot steel-cut oatmeal instructions were wildly popular, this post was a big hit in its day. It first appeared in February 2007.I’ve never liked doing the laundry–especially for six people–but what aggravated me the most were two particular steps in the process: finding a temporary location for the clean-and-folded clothes, and getting the kids to put those clean-and-folded clothes away.One day I bought something like this:Mine has a fourth drawer so that I have one for each child (clearly labeled with their names and decorated with stickers-of-choice).[UPDATED INFO: Mine are separate drawers stacked together, not a unit, so if you find the same brand (I bought Sterilite-brand drawers several years ago) you could go floor-to-ceiling with them. You could also dedicate one drawer to sock storage.]Here’s a recent picture with the names blurred out.Now when I’m doing the laundry, I pull the drawers open, staggered, so that as I fold, I can simply place each item into the appropriate drawer. When I’m done, I shut the drawers and move on.Later, when I call the kids to put their clothes away at a more convenient time, say, at bedtime, they trot down to the laundry room, pull their personalized drawers completely out of the cart and easily carry their clothes upstairs–the drawer doubles as a lightweight basket, or tote. The kids put away their clothes and carry the drawers back down, slip them back into the cart, and the cycle continues.We can fit a lot of clothes in these drawers, but if you have taller or older kids than mine, or you go through more clothes in a day, your kids will just have to empty their drawers more often.I like this system because the kids don’t have to be ready to put their clothes away at the instant I’m done with laundry. Also, I don’t have baskets–empty or full–stuck here and there in the laundry room. This stackable system looks neat and tidy whether the drawers are empty or full.And here’s an amazing bonus use:We use them for camping vacations instead of duffel bags or suitcases.We have a pop-up camper, so it’s good to go vertical with storage whenever possible, yet whatever we use has to travel somewhat compressed. The stackable unit we bought is perfect for this. We have the kids pack their clothes into the drawers (sometimes they have to use an overflow bag for some category of clothes, but for summery trips they can still fit it all in their drawers), and unstack them for transport so that they fit in the back of the van or the camper.At the campground, when the pop-up camper is cranked up and ready for us to move in, we stack the drawers on top of each other again and set them on the countertops. Everything stays much more contained and organized during the week than when we used bags.I even have one extra drawer for some of my own things.Double-duty drawers for laundry and vacation.They really work for me.Please visit Rocks in My Dryer to check out other people’s Greatest Tips.Or, before you go, take a cruise through my past WFMW tips.