my laundry system

People often ask me how I 'do it' with four children.  Funnily enough, I have also asked this question of other mums, usually when I see them doing things well that I struggle with.  I am generally a fairly organised person [one has to be with a larger family] but it doesn't always come naturally.  I think it is learned, or perhaps something I have chosen to do to cope better.

One of the things I have always struggled with is washing.  Not the turning on of the washing machine, that's easy.  But actually washing clothes, getting them dry, folding them and putting them away every time I wash.  I don't know what it is, but I just struggle to get every part of the process complete.  I always seem to have clean unfolded clothes in a basket [or three] hiding somewhere, dry washing hanging on a line inside or out for days on end, ironing in a basket not ironed etc. etc.

I have been working on trying to improve this reality for many years.  While my current system is not perfect, IF I actually follow it I am able to keep more on top of the ridiculous volume of washing that a family of 6 seems to produce.

Basically my system is made up of two parts:
1) I do at least one load of washing every day no matter what [sometimes I have Sundays off]
2) I wash only one or two people's clothes in a wash [makes it easier to sort and fold]

I usually end up needing to do two loads a day, more if I miss a day.  I also tend to put two people of very different sized clothes in together, so it is very easy to work out whose socks/singlets are whose.

I also try to fold straight off the washing line, because otherwise I never seem to get back to the folding!!

Do you have a laundry system that works for you?  I'd be interested to know how you tackle this issue.

menu planning

I have been menu planning for years.  It is one of the many ways I cope with my crazy schedule.  I like to plan at least a week at a time, but I prefer a fortnight, or even a month.  That way I can make my grocery list and I'll have everything I need in the house for each meal I've planned.  When I'm busy I just recycle my grocery list and menu plan from fortnight to fortnight or month to month.

Recently I was finding that having to refer to a handwritten list, or a note on the computer, was becoming a problem.  I kept forgetting to check it early enough in the day to defrost meat etc. so now I am using Google calendar for my menu plan.

Now I have added an additional calendar that is purely for menus.  So each morning when I look at my calendar I can simultaneously look at what is planned for dinner.  I am loving this.

Do you menu plan?  What tools do you use to help you?

Gift wrapping storage - genius!!

Look what's hanging in my wardrobe today.

Can you guess what I have made myself?

It's a hanging gift wrap storage/organiser.  I have had the pattern sitting in my stash for years [bought for another project included in the pattern].  I noticed the photo while staring at the back of the pattern envelope and realised it would solve my gift wrap storage dilemmas.

As well as the long pockets on the outside for long rolls of paper it has plenty of room inside the zip to store gift bags of every shape and size.

Then on the other side are loads of pockets of various sizes that hold pens, tape, scissors, cards, ribbons and anything else one may need for gift wrapping. 

Before I filled this today my gift wrapping stuff took up twice this amount of space and was always getting damaged/lost.  I am so excited to finally have it all organised and IN THE ONE PLACE.

It is constructed from canvas as I had some lying on my shelf asking to be used.  You could use any heavy duty fabric for this project.  It's just a suit bag with external pockets.  Brilliant.  I wish I could say I had come up with this idea myself.