Lollypop Laundry

Dear Awesome Woman,

Want a simple and easy laundry solution that’s very rewarding for children as well as easy on busy moms?

I give each of my children their own laundry container (the upright mesh ones take up the least space) designated for their dirty clothes.  When it’s halfway filled, they bring it to the laundry room where it gets washed alone (small cycle), dried and then dumped back in their laundry container, which contains a healthy lollipop.  When they put their clothes away, they discover the lolly at the bottom of the bin.

Voila! Happy children, happy mommy! The children are excited to do this task because they love the special treat hidden among their clothes. The mommy is happy because the clothes are put away without her doing it and without an argument because the reward makes the task fun. There is also no mix up of clothes because the clothes are washed and dried separately.

This works great for me because with having a bunch of boys in a row, all the dark pants and socks and also the white undershirts and underwear look so similar that checking each label for size took too long.  I was fine with washing dark and lights together in warm and throwing in the stain remover doohicky.

Some of my children like to fold their clothes, while some just place them unfolded in the proper drawers – I’m not particular. I do separate out the white shirts from the individual bins and wash those together with bleach because hanging them to dry is a way of easy sorting in and of itself.

This system is a fun and lighthearted way to do laundry and is very adaptable to each household and children’s individual personalities.

Many of my children are grown now and can do their own laundry without the candy reward, but they still have fond memories of lollypop laundry.