Giveaway: Our Daily Laundry Routine And $25 Visa Gift Card

As I’ve mentioned in my previous Arm & Hammer Switch & Save Challenge post, laundry is a never-ending chore, with at least two loads of laundry needing to be washed every day in order to keep up.  In our home, it is essential we work together as a team to ensure that it doesn’t get out of control.  We miss one day of laundry and it takes much longer to stay on top of it and seems almost impossible to catch up.

While my kids are young, I like to reinforce good habits and teach them how to do laundry so by the time they are preteens, they will be able to do it on their own without my supervision.  It takes a routine that we have to follow every day so it gets ingrained in their minds and develop habits so that they instinctively know what to do without me having to tell them how to do them every step of the way.

As we get up in the morning and before the kids can leave their rooms, they must bring out their dirty clothes hamper into our laundry room.  From there, they will separate clothes into whites and colors with the older ones instructing the younger children how it’s done.  They will also make an individual pile for clothing they notice is stained.  When the older kids were little, I had them by my side and working together with me so they can determine which piles they go into.

When they are done with sorting, they will call me down to check their work.  I will go through the piles and make sure they are in the right piles.  I will point out if there are any delicate clothing and instruct them to put them in another pile for either dry cleaning or so they can be washed in the delicate cycle on cold.  During this time, we’ll go through the stained clothing and talk about what to use on each stain and how to get it prepared for washing.  Sometimes I’ll make it fun and quiz them on how to treat each stain.  They are so proud of themselves when they are able to recall how to properly treat a stain!

We then determine which load we’d like to wash first.  I like to start out with a cold water load so that it can wash and dry in the event that we have a load that needs to be soaked in warm or hot water after the first wash.  I teach them it is done so we can save time and get the loads done as quickly as possible.  They will proceed to show me which settings on the washer that we’ll have to set it to for the load we’re working on and if they’re correct, they can turn it on.

As the water fills up the washer tub, I have one child fill up the correct amount of detergent to put in the wash.  Then the kids help each other to put the clothing that’s set to wash into the washer and close the lid.  The remaining piles of laundry will be set aside until it’s time to wash those loads.  If the surface of the washer and dryer is dirty or dusty, this is a time where we also get a rag and wipe them down.  They will then be ready to head upstairs to wash up and eat breakfast.  They will attend to the laundry with me again when the first load stops washing.

When the first load is done washing, they’ll help each other load it into the dryer.  They clean the lint trap and then I will then ask them what to set the dryer to.  I usually appoint one of them to set the dryer, place a dryer sheet in the dryer (if using), close the door, and start the dryer once it’s fully loaded.  We will then put the next load into the wash repeating the steps above and get to our other chores as we wait for the clothes to finish drying.

Once the clothes are dry, the kids will help each other bring it to the couch and help me fold them.  We have three clean hampers we designate to put away laundry (one for each child’s room).  As we fold the clothes, I teach them how to properly fold each item and  put them in the designated hampers so they are easier to put away.  We then place the hampers in the correct bedrooms and put them away together in their drawers.  It truly is that easy and painless to keep on top of laundry!

When we work together, laundry hardly takes any time at all and it’s a much more enjoyable experience.  This method makes me assured that they are learning life skills they’ll need when they are older and that they will be fully capable of doing their laundry when they are on their own.  It’s also a joy to see our family pull together as a team to accomplish a task and to see the older kids help out the younger kids!

You can keep up with me and the other bloggers sharing their experience with Arm & Hammer products in the Switch & Save Challenge at www.switchsavechallenge.com.

Deal Alert: Visit the ARM & HAMMER savings center for savings up to $14.00.

Arm & Hammer Switch & Save Challenge $25 Visa Gift Card Giveaway:

(required entry):  A lucky Blessings Abound Mommy reader will win a $25 Visa Gift Card!  All you have to do in order to be qualified for a chance to win is to leave a comment about your laundry routine!

10 Extra Entries:

Blog about this Blessing with a link back to this giveaway post!

3 Extra Entries:

• Subscribe to my blog. Current subscribers count too!
• Sign up for the BAM (Blessings Abound Mommy) Newsletter.
• Follow via GFC/RSS Feed
• Post my button on your blog or site. (update with the new code to reflect new design if you already have it please)

1 Extra Entry Each (to be earned after required entry has been fulfilled):

• Like this post on Facebook.
• Enter any other giveaway on Blessings Abound Mommy and leave a comment with which other giveaway you entered.
• Follow me on Twitter at @akblessings.
• Can be done 10 times for 1 entry each time:  Leave a comment on a non-giveaway related post and leave a comment that you did so for each one you commented on.
• Can be done twice daily, there must be 3 hours between tweets.  Tweet: #Win $25 Visa Gift Card #Giveaway @akblessings Ends 7/18 http://bit.ly/mn085y

Winner(s) will be chosen via Random Drawing. Winner(s) who I am unable to contact and who doesn’t claim their prize within 48 hours of being sent their winning email notification and me posting the winner of the prize in the winner’s section will forfeit their prize and prize will be held in a live contest following failure to claim. Please follow directions or you will be disqualified! This Blessing is open to bloggers and nonbloggers alike. You have from now until July 18th at 11:59 PM (Alaska time) to comment and be entered for a chance to win. I will randomly pick winner(s) and announce it here on my blog shortly after July 19th. Blessing open to USA only!

*This is a sponsored post for Church & Dwight Co., Inc, the maker of ARM & HAMMER branded products, who is compensating me to try different products. Save $1.00 on any 2 ARM & HAMMER Laundry Detergents. And be sure and head over to The Switch & Save Challenge for the chance to win $25,000.