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Mar 03 2011

{Organise} dirty clothes in the laundry

Category: Laundry • Organising

Organising Dirty Laundry

As I mentioned when creating a laundry routine, I pre-sort my washing into piles:

  • Darks
  • Colours
  • Whites
  • Other – Tea towels, wash clothes, tablecloths, mop heads etc

I use this wonderful system below, it fits in perfectly between the linen cupboard and the washing machine

Just had to add this one of our little kitty cat.

How it works

My kids don’t have a dirty clothes basket in their bathroom, there is just no room to store one.  So they put their clothes directly into the laundry baskets, sorting into darks, whites and colours as they go.  They have done this for years and it is such a great help to me.  I have a clothes basket in my room which I empty and sort into these baskets daily.

I find this system takes alot of time out of the washing process.  I enjoy going into the laundry and without fuss load the washing machine and continue on with whatever I was doing.

Where I purchased our system

If you have the space I recommend you try separating your washing.  I purchased this wire basket system from Howards Storage World, however they can also be found at places like IKEA, Big W and Kmart.

Other possibilities could be:

  • A row of baskets or plastic storage containers (this is what we had prior to the tiered baskets)
  • Sorting hampers from Howards Storage World

How do you store your dirty laundry?

Please note links and product suggestions are my suggestions only and are not paid links

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  • Tara

    Oh that is a fabulous idea!!! Il be getting one of them for sure i sort my clothes exactly the same way except they are piled in front of the laundry door :| this way is sooooo much better THANKYOU!! xx

    • Katrina

      Will make it look tidier too!

      • Mtomsey77

        i finally organised our laundry too. I have 3 standard laundry hampers from Kmart(however the ones that you have linked actually look smaller and would fit better in my laundry). They are sorted into Everyday Clothes, Uniforms/Work, Towels/Sheets. I don’t have any for whites, but basically because I have a lack of room in the laundry to put another hamper. It is a constant battle keeping it clean, as it is so small and pokey and doesn’t take much to dirty it up. But I have already seen the difference in implementing this system with the kids. They do have their own hampers in their rooms, but this is because I don’t expect them to go downstairs everytime they have dirty clothes. I still have to sort those clothes out, but the majority is sorted downstairs for me.

        • http://www.theorganisedhousewife.com.au Katrina

          It does makes it so much easier when you have a system in place.

  • http://www.facebook.com/KatsCakesKurri Kat

    Thank you so much. I am going to Howards next time I am there and buying this.

    • Katrina

      I love Howards, so much I would like to buy!

  • http://www.deadsea.com.au Jodie Daniel

    I redesigned my laundry and I now have a long bench… with the washing machine at the end & dryer positioned above it. Under the bench I have 3 Ikea baskets (on wheels). One black one (for dark clothes), One white one (for light clothes) and another black one for ironing. I can roll the ironing basket out to the line and put the clothes straight from the line into the basket… then wheel that around the house (where-ever I decide to iron). I love my laundry. Although I don’t love doing laundry. LOL. Your system is a great idea too!!!!!

    • Katrina

      What a great idea, ironing basket on wheels!

  • Melinda Russell

    Are these the Elfa series? If so what one is it Elfa White or Mini?

    Thanks

    Melinda

    • Katrina

      Hi Melinda

      The system we have is ELFA same to the mini but slightly higher with 10 rails on each side. We have 2 deep baskets (taking up 3 rails each, which hold the darks and colours) then 2 regular baskets (taking up 2 rails each for whites and other items) with the shelf ontop to hold the washing basket. I hope this helps.

  • Dannielle

    I too have started thi sidea about 3 weeks ago ( starting to get in a declutter our house) and have found it works very well. Just a question ” Is cat a ragdoll by any chance? As we have one and that’s his favourite place to sit and watch the birds” i look forward to turning on the computer and see what you have up next on your website.

    • Katrina

      yes she is a Ragdoll. She is nearly 2 years old, gorgeous but ever so snobby…lol. Once we are awake each morning she meows like she is hungry but just wanting us to open the laundry door so she can sit there and watch the birds.

      • Dannielle

        Are you sure you are not talking about my raggy,Chocolate? That is exactly what he does ( he turned 2 last month) and is a very spoilt puppycat undeed.

  • Natalie

    Yes. I need one of these :) It would just release me from the sorted piles of clothes on my laundry floor that are waiting to be washed!

    • Katrina

      It’s a wonderful system Natalie, the ELFA system is great, but you can find more economical varieties at your local department stores. I saw some at Big W recently and know Ikea had some too.

  • Summer

    OK I am going to get the laundry done today whilst little one is sleeping. I have been independently decluttering since the start of the year but have lost my way so will try and track with your blog. So I will do yesterday’s laundry sink declutter as well. I will try and post back later when completed to keep me on task! thanks for your wonderful blog.

    • Katrina

      Love your motivation Summer, how did you go?

  • Bec

    That looks awesome! I don’t have room in my laundry for something like that..but currently have a basket that had 2 compartments, 1 side is white and the other blue. The plan is the lights go in the white side and the darks the blue side. My son hasn’t quite worked this out yet and just puts his clothes in anyside. I’m still teaching him to put them in the laundry so will work on the right side later (I usually change it later that night)

    • Katrina

      Lol, he will get their at least he is putting it is the baskets!

  • http://www.skeddadle.com.au/prod123.htm debbie stone

    I love it. It looks great. I was off to Ikea any way so I will add it to my list. Thankyou for all your wonderful ideas.

    • Katrina

      I ? Ikea, can get lost for hours in there.

  • http://www.bouncybrittonie.blogspot.com Brittonie

    That is such a fantastic idea! I can’t wait to try it when I have my own place xx

    We have our own individual laundry baskets here, since we all do our own washing. I usually just sort it out before I do the wash.

  • Joelene Accatino

    I love this idea.

    • Joelene Accatino

      Went out and bought one. Not from Howards though :( Just a little out of my price range. But I found one (not as good, nor as deep) at Sam’s Warehouse (crazy clarks franchise). It’s a 5 drawer storage set. Frame is D480mm x W440mm x H818mm and basket is D480mm x W437mm x H175mm. The baskets aren’t that big, but they do have a little length on them. Also, just makes me do the washing when I need to.

      By the way, I am absolutely loving your site. Thanks so much Katrina. xx

      • Katrina

        It will still work the same way Joelene, will make washing alot simpilier for you! Thankyou for your lovely comments :)

  • Leila

    Love the idea, we bought the kids each a small garbage bin (like the council bins) each a different colour. We took them out of the kids rooms when they stopped putting their clean clothes away and just put them back in the bin. They are now in the laundry where we have 1 for towels/linen, 1 for school/work and white clothes and 1 for everything else.
    I love your idea and think i might head out and look at this system and re-purpose the bins for toy boxes for them.

    • Katrina

      I think that’s a great sorting set up Leila, I love those little wheelie bins so cute!

    • http://justfordaisy.blogspot.com/ Bek @ Just For Daisy

      We had the wheely bins when we were younger too! :)

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  • Leisha

    Katrina – cannot thank you enough. Last Saturday pulled laundry room apart and tossed so much rubbish and stuff that didn’t belong in there. Sunday morning sent DH off to Ikea (Sydney) to get their basket system which is similar to yours $49.99 (Antoniou – 4 baskets with top & frame). Knew that I couldn’t be trusted to get in and out of Ikea quick, so told DH to leave early and get some yummy breakfast at the Cafe. He was out of here in a flash ! LOL… Well, the Ikea baskets are smaller, but we have a front loader and each basket is the perfect size to fill the machine. I am now doing full loads and not forgetting the odd sock etc after the machine has been started (one of the probs with a front loader – cannot open door after cycle started). So… looooove this system – it has made such a difference to my daily routine, especially the hanging out at night, and it is saving us money on water & powder.

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  • http://www.threelilprincesses.com Kellie @ThreeLi’lPrincesses

    Oh, I love this. I’ll be heading down to Kmart tomorrow, I think. Our clothes are in piles… on the floor! At least I can shut the laundry door so people can’t see. But still, it would be nice if it was organised! :)

  • http://www.wheresmyglow.com Glowless

    I’ve got three laundry baskets: one of the IKEA ones that we sort in to lights and darks; a separate basket for my son’s clothing because it’s often wet or covered in food so I don’t want it sitting for a week with the family washing; and a dry-pail nappy bucket!
    I’ve never understood why people don’t sort as they go along, it’s so much easier!

  • http://beafunmum.com/ Kelly B

    I LOVE that storage thing. I need to link this post with my laundry one too!

  • http://acajundownunder.com/ A Cajun Down Under

    My mom had a system like this when we were growing up. I must start something similar here.

  • Kelli Stevens

    Our laundry requires you to go downstairs, out the door and back in another door. Keeping clothes in there is very hard, so we have hampers in the bathroom instead.

    We have one of these (http://www.ikea.com/au/en/catalog/products/90180134) and it’s brilliant. We separate into Darks, Colours/Lights and Towels/Linen/etc. You’d be surprised how much fits in there, and they don’t buckle under the weight of towels or anything like that.

    Then the bags get unclipped, taken downstairs (they each have handles), clothes are washed, and brought back inside in the bags to be folded and put away. I love it!

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  • Tam Wells

    Love this idea! We are moving house in only 15 days (NSW to WA) and I need to keep on top of the housework and especially the washing, with a baby on the way and study as well. I will have to add another basket to the list for hubby’s stinking farm/work clothes!

    • http://www.theorganisedhousewife.com.au Katrina

      Yes great idea to keep his clothes separate.

  • Ann Percival

    Wish I had the room to do this as we store the freezer in the laundry as well and room is limited.

  • spottsy7

    My kids have dirty washing baskets in their bedrooms. I used to work one day per child (we have 5 children) and weekends for hubby and myself. I hang all his shirts straight onto hangers – same with school uniforms. I also fold everything as I take it off the line so it minimises ironing. Because it’s one child per day it keeps everything under control.

    • kirsty

      1 day per child? that’s genius! then bringing the washing in would be so quick and simple too! tfs.

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  • Joolzmac

    A brilliant idea for larger families – you can see which load needs doing at a glance!

  • Michelle

    I got a formica cabinet made with 4 cubbys and 4 holes cut out in the top. I brought 4 baskets, so each kid and parent has its own clean washing basket, then I take the basket to each person’s room and fold the clothes and put into the drawers. Saves on time and dreading Mount Washmore!

  • Katie

    I have colour co-ordinated baskets in the laundry (blue for darks, red for reds, clear for white, green for baby, pink for a “dryer” load ie. undies, pjs etc). Unfortunately though our laundry is down stairs so this sorting happens on laundry day.

    The good thing is that the baskets are always there so if I’m doing a bubba load in the middle of the week (or a few times a week!!!) and something else gets caught up in the load, I can easily put it in the right basket!

  • Lauren

    Am I the only person who doesn’t sort the washing??

    • http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=633679614 Natasha Cain

      I dont seperate unless the whites dont come out so well at the end of the week ill do a load seperatleyI don’t have a clothes line at the moment, I have to do 1 load a day to hang on the clothes airer..

  • Bron

    We have a laundry basket in each bedroom. I only wash from Thursday – Saturday/Sunday for all the clothing. All washing gets taken downstairs and sorted in the rumpus room. I usually have four loads per week. I only wash fold and iron in a space of a few days so that I feel like it has a finishing point. Then I have a few days without having to do any washing of clothes. Then I was towels and sheets throughout the week. At least I have some days when I and my house are not filled with washing.

  • KristyDB

    I use a three-part laundry hamper (just a calico bag on a metal frame) and store it in the bathroom. As we are a childless couple, I have the luxury of only needing to do a couple of loads a week. The hamper is the perfect size for my washing machine, so whichever divider (darks, whites, colours) is full is what is done next. Always doing a full load saves so much time, energy, power and water! I could never go back to sorting all the laundry again.

    • http://www.theorganisedhousewife.com.au Katrina

      Sorting as you take it off saves so much time. I love your system!

  • Lisakim

    Love this. Now got my laundry sorted very similar and its working great. Roughly following the schedule you do with washing certain loads on certain days and its helping keep it so much more manageable. Not scrambling round of a morning looking for some part of a uniform only to findd it ‘missed’ the washing processs

  • Ann

    I’m in New Zealand and I haven’t seen anything like these drawers…. Anyone have hints as to where I could find some? That would so make a difference in my laundry system!
    Thanks

  • http://www.facebook.com/buffiness Diana Sparke

    This looks great. We have laundry hampers in the bedrooms and I usually just drag them to the laundry. Unfortunately I just don’t have the space for a hamper like this in the laundry 24/7, I don’t even have a bench to put things on! I’m definiitely thinking of getting one or two shelves installed though so I can put things like the laundry detergent on a shelf rather than in the laundry sink.

  • Peta Jones

    what a great idea. I usually just end up with piles on the floor!

  • Jo

    i have 2 very large drawers under my bench in the laundry we call hoppers and they are fantastic. I use them for darks and lights. Towels and sheets go straight into the machine. I used to run a house for homeless girls, and was able to pass on many hints. Some on which i learned from my mum….unfortunately, these girls didn’t have this luxury. Anyway, we used little clothes hangers from $2 shops (similar to the PRESSA ones ikea have but with more pegs on) for all the smalls. Each girls had their own and if it was looking like rain, you could easily grab all your smalls off the line with one snatch. Other time saving ideas i have are: gently spin and all items that can be hung straight away onto plastic clothes hangers and hung on line. This takes care of at least 60% of my washing and saves on line space (small line) and then easy to hang straight into wardrobe when dry. We use a system like yours but for clean washing. Each family member has their own drawer and grabs out the drawer and puts it away when they have a spare minute. The last thing we have is a Clevacover over the line that saves a fortune in dryer bills, and is really great. Everyone comments on it when they visit-designed by a QLD mum of 3. Thanks so much for all your tips. I think laundry is the most discussed topic of all household chores amongst mums. We certainly spend enough time in the laundry. I feel i could write a book on it!

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