I just switched the laundry around for the day, and I'm back on the couch, taking a rest. Seriously, after a couple weeks seeing the results of just the laundry and load of dishes a day, I hope it motivates you! I certainly love the feeling of having a couple of things done each day!
Today, we're revisiting the dishes and the laundry in an attempt to help simplify HOW you are working to make these basic tasks, as simple as possible!
First, here are some tips on simplifying the dishes:
1. Store your most-used dishes where you can most easily reach them. We use a lower, not upper cabinet for our everyday cups, plates, and bowls that our girls can get to, and I can reach sitting on a walker/wheel chair. (Or even the floor.....)
2. Use easy-to-clean, children-sized dishes for everyday. Seriously, you'll eat healthier portions, and fit everything easily in the dishwasher without having to worry about things breaking.
3. Use fewer dishes whenever possible. We love large sauce pans that can handle everything in a single dish! We also often use our instapot for meals made with only one dirty pan!
4. Disposable dishes are used by perfectly healthy individuals who are overwhelmed with life, so use these time-saving dishes as needed!
Next, some tips on simplifying the laundry:
1. Simplify! Thanks to modern-day clothing styles and materials, you can clothe an entire family in forgiving materials that don't have special washing instructions, are mostly wrinkle-free, and don't require a lot of sorting. I do only 3 types of wash: whites, jeans, and everything else. See if smart clothing choices can make laundry easier for you! Get rid of clothes that don't serve you.
2. Have small containers of your preferred stain-remover where stains happen or where you remove stained clothing so you can treat them without extra effort. Ensure that your stain remover earns it's keep! We use Oxyclean Maxforce.
3. Don't do it alone! Your spouse, roommate, good friend, mother, can all help! Children can help with laundry sooner than you think. My five year old puts her laundry in, uses the handy spout on the Purex Laundry Detergent we use to fill the washer's soap dispenser, and starts her load. When it's done, our front loads mean she can switch the clothes around to the dryer. When those are done, a dedicated large Lamper allows her to empty her clothes and bring them over to me, where together we turn the clothes right side out and sort them into 3 piles for her 3 dresser drawers (folding kids clothes with a chronic condition......I don't think so!).
4. I've already suggested buying baskets for pre-sorting laundry, but if you haven't done this yet....seriously don't do work for the rest of your life that you could just skip over with the help of an extra laundry basket!
I hope these tips help as you seek to make the daily tasks of dishes and laundry as easy as possible so you can focus more energy on creating the life that works for your chronic condition.
31 Days to a Chronic Clean
