Taming the Laundry Monster...I hope

              

Our Laundry Room rarely looks this neat

One of our biggest household challenges has been laundry and getting it taken care of efficiently.  Princess Artiste (14) was stuck doing most of the actual running of the machines, but was often falling behind the in-flow.  We have 4 holding baskets, 1 each for light colors, dark colors, reds, and towels.  The the sorting was not being done as well as I'd hoped, and overflow, especially sheets and blankets, just ended up on the floor in a heap, followed by total chaos in a laundry room of minimal size for a family this large.  The worst was the folding problem.  NO one wants to fold that much laundry.  (It was the #1 request I asked if there were any chores the kids would like taken off their list.) The kids shared the folding by having particular days assigned to each, but there were constant fights about when exactly a load was complete, so whose responsibility it was.  --And baskets full of unfolded laundry were mysteriously turning up in closets, etc... As in, "If it's not in the hall where Mom can see it, maybe I won't have to fold it."

Clean laundry, sometimes 3 times this
much, ends up waiting in the hall.
I HATE that.

              
I suddenly realized that I now have only one child too young to run laundry equipment.  EUREKA!  New idea and new plan:  Each person, from age 11 and up, is responsible for their own laundry.  They will each be assigned a day, and will be expected to make sure their own clothes and bedding are washed, dried, folded, and out of the way by the next day.  I warned about not running the machines too full, or running half-loads...We'll see how this works.  Maybe if they don't want to fold so much, they won't be as inclined to throw things in the wash they just don't want to hang up...