Laundry, Laundry, Laundry!

A while back I posted on Facebook that every laundry day I contemplate becoming a minimalist.  When you have six people in one house dirtying clothes daily....laundry piles up pretty quickly.  What have I done to maintain peace, order, and cleanliness in our home? As with anything when you have small children in the home, it is a work in progress; but the following are the steps I have taken:

Step 1.)  I downsized everyone's wardrobe.  I am a HUGE fan of goodwill and consignment shopping.  One thing I have discovered about my self is that I have a habit of justifying buying more because I am "saving" so much money by shopping second hand.  Well, I have learned that children grow very quickly!  The item of clothing that is SO ADORABLE will not be as adorable when it is found in the closet  and has never been worn, or only worn once this season. If it is hard to match with anything else I have; or has an incredibly short season for wear...let someone else have it.
To keep myself on track, I printed out the Minimalist Mom's wardrobe list for her children .  I modified it to fit our situation. I went through everyone's wardrobe and removed the unnecessary clothing. I then donated anything worth wearing (If I wouldn't spend money on it, then it belongs in the trash) to Goodwill.  This left our closets and drawers looking and feeling so much more manageable.

Step 2.)  I downsize again at the end of the season .  I get rid of clothes not worth handing down and pack the rest away for the next year/child.

Step 3.)  I repeat this mantra with the children....I have to do this quite frequently with one child in particular..."If It's something I already wore, it doesn't go back in my drawer."  Once a month I check all the children's closets and drawers for things that are unclean or have been shoved back into the corner or dropped behind.  Also, I check for things that they never wear. I have learned to ask them why they don't wear the said item.  My son told me that he didn't like a pair of pants that I bought him because they looked like girl pants.  I thought they were "so adorable"; but I donated them anyway because I wanted to encourage him in noticing the difference between the genders.

Look who I found hiding in the closet.💕

Step 4.)  Last, but not least, I do 2 loads of laundry about 3 to 4 days a week. Usually I start Monday morning just before breakfast.  The kids help me sort the clothes, then I put them in the wash.  My two oldest girls help with putting them in the dryer and getting them out of the dryer.  Everyone except my husband, even little Rayanna (age 2), puts their own clothes away.  If they are too young to fold their own clothes, then they don't get folded.  This has saved my sanity!!! The clothes are dumped on the couch and then I call everyone in to sort the laundry and get their own things.  This process is SO much more efficient for us than me trying to be superwoman and do it all.

I hope this helps someone!

Now on to some pics of the life of the Beckles...

The Beckles
Resurrection Sunday 2018

Week 36ish

Brayden's funeral ceremony at the graveside

Us wearing purple for Trisomy 18 awareness day

Our 2 furry family members

Tablet time

Cassidy's free time activity

Aaliyah's free time activity

The chickens in our side yard

Those of you who know us, know that I was expecting a little one. He was due to arrive April the 8th.  He passed away on March 7th, 2018 due to  Trisomy 18.  I promise to write about this at a later date; but am not comfortable sharing about that at this time.  Thank you for your prayers. Have a wonderful Spring!!!

Until Next Time,