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Funneling is logistics like a giant company moving goods from one place to another then to customer. The more you know about where laundry is and in what stage it is at easier it will be to do it. Why have appliance companies not come up with washer that magically turns into a dryer when wash is done and dries clothes without having to switch load. I would have paid a thousand dollars for that one. Back to chore at hand, logistics or funneling your laundry to machines.
I wrestled with this concept in two ways, one was even days of week would be assigned to two people and odd to two others leaving Saturday and Sunday a free for all where it was open laundry time with machines. I also toyed with getting two washers and dryers. Then I came up with funneling technique.
First categories, category one is clothes that need to be worn for work or school, they are highest priority wash. This category of laundry is immediately upgraded to closest staging area of laundry funnel.
Second category is underwear and socks and towels. This category is second highest priority. Third category is play clothes and odds and ends like dishtowels and bed sheets etc. This should cover all your laundry but feel free to change items to different categories that more suit your family’s needs. There is a fourth category that should me avoided and that is the, “I just got to have these jeans washed right away”, category.
A family using this system should not have fourth category if you are working system faithfully. Now stage laundry baskets at inconspicuous places leading from bedrooms and bathrooms around house. This may sound odd but compared with what it looks like now give it a try. The final laundry basket is at or in laundry area. This is known as “Current Load” basket.
To start funneling system you need to empty your washer and dryer so install one-hundred hanger process first and when washer is empty push final load through dryer. Now you’re clear for new process.
Backfill laundry baskets with categories way set forth and take each person in household and explain to them process. Tell them that only towels and socks and underwear can be put into baskets in bathroom and that their clothes from category one need to be put into baskets closer to laundry. Never allow baskets to overflow, when they are full move them to next station. Meanwhile there is a load of category one washing and that load is pushed through dryer and hung on hangers.
The hung clothes are hung by sorted rooms that they will need to go to and your mantra for first month will be, “Take your clothes with you”. By way do not take time to turn clothes that are inside out right side out just hang them that way. This will teach your family to right side out clothes when they take them off and speed up chore immensely. Same with socks, be aggressive they will learn. Learning to be a polite laundry creator is what is important; you’re not a bad laundry doer if people you are doing for are not good at giving product to you.
After a while what you will discover is that people will bring their favorite clothes in category one to closest basket to laundry area. Those who don’t will miss out on next load. If you focus on category one clothes that incorporates hundred hangers concept you will find that category one will be done with minimal effort.
Category two is most time consuming because except for underwear no one really owns these items. Remember sock basket concept. Try to get underwear right into drawers and to do this try rolling underwear. This is how they do it in army. It takes up less space and is easier to keep drawer neat.
So here are some tips to remember: 1.Get hangers. 2.Select good locations for your baskets. 3.No clean clothes in baskets. 4.Hang everything that can be hung. 5.Install a bar that can both hold empty hangers and ready hung clothes in laundry area. 6.Don’t right side out clothes (this will eventually fix itself). 7.Don’t wash a load bigger than what will dry in 45 minutes (this may take a little practice and will save money in long run). 8.Only use bleach on whites that don’t cost a lot to replace. 9.If your laundry area is downstairs only let category one laundry reach laundry area basket when not doing laundry and use washer as a basket to build a load. 10.Tell your kids that if they don’t follow process they will not get their wash done. This is good for them and you are not a bad parent no matter what they say.
We want to hear from you so feel free to write us with your questions and comments; I would love to hear how you improved your laundry problems.
Paul Griffitts writes for Believer.com and welcomes email at paul@believer.com. Paul has been a Bibical researcher and teacher for 30 years. http:www.believer.com