How to Manage Laundry in a Large Family

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Oh! Look, everyone’s favorite thing to talk about! The laundry. It doesn’t matter if you’re a working mom or a stay-at-home mom, laundry is laundry. But it doesn’t have to run your life or be a burden! I’ve been a stay-at-home mom for almost 14 years and have 5 kids! I’ve tried my fair share of laundry schedules, tips, and tricks. And today I’m sharing with you how to manage laundry in a large family.

Glass jars with black lids in cabinet storing laundry powders for favorite products of how to manage laundry in a large family.

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How to Manage Laundry in a Large Family: Mindset

You might be laughing, but seriously, friends, we’ve got to change our mindset. We all have tasks that we love and ones we don’t love. Laundry might be on your list of least favorites. If it is, this blog post will help you get on the right track so laundry isn’t a daunting burden. But also try to change your mindset. Stop looking at your laundry hamper and saying, “Oh my gosh, I have so much laundry to wash, I’m never going to get this done.” Look at that laundry pile and say, “I’m so thankful we can provide clothing for our family.” With that being said, no, I’m not always grateful. I’ve been known to become super frustrated with the laundry, but arrest those negative thoughts and move to positivity. Now, let’s get into the nitty-gritty of getting your laundry room under control instead of it controlling you.

How to Manage Laundry in a Large Family

First, you need to set up a laundry schedule! The best way to incorporate a new task into your current day is to attach it to a task you’re already doing. For example, when you get up and get dressed in the morning, grab the dirty clothes to take to the washing machine and start a load. Getting dressed and ready for your day is something you’re already doing daily (hopefully haha), and now you’re attaching the laundry to it.

Now, you don’t want the clean laundry sitting in the washer all day. Attach switching it out to the dryer at lunchtime. Once it’s dry, get it folded and put it away.

Get Family Involved

Get the family involved. This is the perfect time to teach some life skills! Typically, I have the kids fold towels and washcloths and they match socks, and they lay out whatever gets hung up. They’re also responsible for delivering laundry to the different rooms and putting away their own laundry. Every family member is expected to take care of their own clothes and take ownership of the laundry tasks they can manage. This helps build independence and reduces the burden on mom.

Simple Trick, Big Impact

In big families, managing laundry can quickly become a daunting task. A simple trick we’ve used is color-coded laundry baskets for each person. This way, everyone has their own laundry hamper and knows exactly where their clean clothes go. It’s one of my favorite tips for staying on top of laundry in a large family. Little kids can help too—they can carry their own laundry basket, even if it’s just from the hallway to the bedroom.

Stack of folded navy towels sitting on dryer next to wool dryer balls for how to manage laundry in a large family.

We often talk about working as a team. When each family member does their part, the mountain of clothes feels less overwhelming. This is one of the best laundry tips I can give—empower your family to help. To help encourage them in making decisions, I will allow them to go ahead and put their laundry away after it’s folded or they have the option to do it during their quiet time. They’re still doing the chore, but they’re getting to make a choice.

If you’re a working mom outside of the home, attach this new rhythm to the end of your work day when you come home. Start a load when you begin supper, switch it during supper clean up, and fold and put away before bed. You could even leave it to fold in the morning if that’s more doable.

Bottle of Plant Therapy Tea Tree essential oil nestled into a basket of wool dryer balls.

How to Manage Laundry in a Large Family During Busyness

At some point, you’re going to get behind. This happens to every single one of us. There could be a sickness that sweeps through the entire house, busy with summer schedules, something. This happens, it’s life. But again, don’t let it control you. We recently had our entire house get sick. I continued to do at least one load of laundry every day. When I felt well,l I would fold some. For a couple of days, we just grabbed what we needed from the clean pile. But because we continued to at least wash and dry daily, it wasn’t this massive, unmanageable pile of laundry. And within the week, we were back to our regular schedule.

The key is to stay consistent. In large families, falling behind can quickly lead to a lot of laundry building up in every corner of your home. I’ve found that full loads washed daily—even when it’s just one—help keep the laundry process under control. When busy schedules hit, we rely on different systems we’ve put in place: one for towels, one for kids’ clothes, and one for bedding. These systems are essential for effective laundry management.

How to Manage Laundry in a Large Family: Vacation Laundry

We haven’t gone on vacation a lot, but I had a friend share with me once that she does all their laundry before returning home. I thought that was an interesting idea. So, next vacation, I decided to just keep our daily laundry routine. I took our own laundry detergent and washed one small load a day.

When it was time to pack up and head home, I had everything washed, folded, and packed back in the appropriate bags. Traveling back home always seems harder for everyone than traveling to the vacation spot. Not having to worry about coming home to a mess of laundry felt so much better. Everyone took their bags to their bedrooms and put their laundry away the day after getting home. So yes, I’m totally telling you to do laundry on your vacation! This is one of those laundry hacks that sounds extreme at first, but it makes a huge difference. Trust me, doing a few loads of laundry during your trip prevents the overwhelming feeling of a mountain of dirty laundry when you walk into your home after traveling. Plus, it helps the kids learn to manage their own clothes even away from home.

Our Rhythm For Doing Laundry Efficiently

So here’s what doing laundry efficiently in our home looks like. Maybe you can start your rhythm off by doing the same and tweaking what you need to as you go to see how it will work for your home.

Woman spraying Puracy stain remover onto a baby onesie.

Schedule

  • Sunday: Day of Rest
  • Monday: Do at least one load of laundry, start to finish. Wash sheets from 1-2 bedrooms.
  • Tuesday: Do at least one load of laundry, start to finish. Wash the remaining sheets from the bedrooms.
  • Wednesday: Do at least one load of laundry, start to finish.
  • Thursday: Do at least one load of laundry, start to finish.
  • Friday: Do at least one load of laundry, start to finish.
  • Saturday: Do at least one load of laundry, start to finish.

Tips For Doing Laundry Efficiently

  • Do 1 to 2 loads daily: I usually wash all of our clothing items first (shirts, jeans, pants), then wash a load of towels, washcloths, underwear, and socks.
  • Older children: Have them switch laundry from the washer to the dryer while you’re making lunch, or if it’s in the evening, while you’re cooking supper.
  • Children 2 and up: Are capable of helping fold laundry. Have the younger ones match socks. My 4-year-old will even stack my nursing pads in a pile. Washcloths and towels are fairly easy for them to fold after you teach them a couple of times.
  • Do something while you fold: Listen to an audiobook, a podcast, or music.
  • Wash bedding by bedroom: For example, I wash the crib bedding and the master bedroom bedding together, the next day I wash the boys’ bedding, and the next day I wash the girls’ bedding. By Wednesday, everyone has fresh sheets.

Favorite Laundry Products

Graphic displaying laundry room favorite for getting laundry done efficiently.
  • Wool Dryer Balls: I haven’t used dryer sheets in years. I love applying some essential oils to these and tossing them in the dryer for a fresh, natural scent. Molly’s Suds or Truly Free Laundry Detergent: I gave up toxic laundry detergent back when our daughter was having skin issues. I’ve used several natural laundry detergents, but so far, these two have been my favorites, and they’re affordable.
  • Glass Jars: These are not a need, but they are pretty and I like looking at them when I’m doing laundry! I scored two of these at a thrift store for $6!
  • Puracy Stain Remover: If you have kids, you’re going to have stains. I was so happy to find this natural stain remover that actually works! It’s especially good for tough stains that little kids always manage to get into.
  • Plant Therapy Oils: Use the link and get $10 off your first order of $10 or more! These are my favorite oils to apply to my wool dryer balls and diffuse in our home! I use tea tree mostly for our towels and washcloths.
  • Rockin’ Green Dirty Diaper: If you are cloth diapering, I have found this laundry detergent to work the best.

Final Encouragement

And remember, doing laundry the right way doesn’t mean being perfect. It means having systems that support your unique lifestyle. Different families need different ways to tackle laundry, and that’s okay. Whether you do laundry every single day or on a single day of the week, find what works for your household. Even in large families with lots of kids and busy schedules, there are great ideas and simple routines that make a big impact. Laundry management doesn’t have to take up so much time. With the right system, even big families can simplify the laundry process. Whether it’s choosing full loads, owning fewer clothes, or teaching younger kids to help, these small shifts really do make a difference in keeping up with a lot of laundry. Now that you’ve got your momentum rolling, did you check out my blog post about organizing your kitchen cabinets?

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