As a “youth pastor family,” we’re always pretty busy during the summer. For the past month, our schedule has been filled with daily canvassing, Bible Adventure Week at our church, teen missions trip, and camp. Now, we’re home again. And boy, does it feel good!
A funny thing happens when you’re gone for the majority of a month:
Laundry builds.
Grows into a mountain.
Starts stinking.
Family members run out of clothes.
Things get awkward.
And so within an hour of returning home, I had already stuffed a load of laundry into the washer. {& I was super close to running out of soap, which is how this came about…} Seeing that the next day was Sunday, I didn’t get any laundry done at all. So by Monday afternoon, I had a pretty nice mountain of clothes to fold.
But you know what? I don’t mind folding laundry.
In fact, I kinda like it.
And so I decided to write about it. Because not everyone enjoys laundry like I do. So here’s how you can enjoy it – just as much as yours truly:
- Listen to music.
Turning on music is one of the easiest ways to adjust your mood. Worship music {like the song I mentioned here} is a great thing to listen & sing to while doing laundry. Not only does it help pass the time of folding, it also leaves you in a better spirit than you were before. Clean heart + clean, folded laundry = double win. - Talk on the phone.
I don’t like just talking on the phone. If I’m talking on the phone, I like to be doing something else at the same time. Obviously, vacuuming is out of the question. {“Hello?! What did you say?!?!?”} So, a lot of times when I fold clothes, I’ll call up a friend or family member I haven’t talked with in a while. It’s a great way to keep in touch while also getting things clean on the homefront. - Listen to an audio book.
This is one of my faborite things to do while folding laundry, doing dishes, cooking, etc. You can check your local library and get some for free. Or, you can snag a couple of options online. (for you and/or your kids! Yesterday, my kids and I listened to this one while folding laundry.)
- Work through a sermon series.
Specifically, I recommend this sermon by my favorite preacher. The whole Romans 8 series is gold; that one is just the last message in the series. - Think.
Sometimes, my laundry folding time coincides with my kids’ naptime. And many times, I’m just glad to enjoy a bit of peace and quiet – either to think through something specific, pray about something that’s burdening me, or even just give my brain a time-out. {I know, I know…we never really stop thinking. But as long as I’m not thinking about anything detrimental, there are periods where I enjoy letting my mind wander. Be shocked.} - Watch a movie.
Yeah. I know this isn’t a productive tip. But for times when I have a mountain of laundry, I find fabulously wonderful enjoyment in watching part of a movie while folding laundry. Who knows? You might spend so long folding that your clothes look neater and better folded than ever! Won’t your husband be impressed! {ahem.} We just got this movie from the library and are greatly enjoying it. One of my faves!
So, those are 6 ways to make laundry fun. I use one of them every single time and truly enjoy folding laundry because of them. Not like I’m offering to do yours or anything.
On second thought, maybe I should put myself up for hire for folding other people’s laundry? I see craigslist posting in my future…
How do you make folding laundry more enjoyable? Please share! I’m all ears for more ideas!
Comments
15 responses to “6 Ways to Make Laundry Fun”
I do these too! The other thing I have done is let Camon help me by giving me clothes to fold. The interaction with him keeps it fun. He gives them so fast I can’t keep up 🙂
Folding’s not too bad–it’s putting away the folded clothes that’s the hardest part for me 🙂
Great tip! And I totally commiserate with you on putting away folded clothes. Misery loves company, no? 😉
One thing that I love about laundry is the occasional clothesline. I love the fresh smell, all the different sizes of clothes, and the bright colors. It’s all about strategic placement.
But I have to say that I haven’t been intentional about time while folding clothes. I’ve used it as mental veg time. But today I finally remembered to listen to the Coffee Break series while working on laundry. Hurray! Very much enjoying. Thanks!
Glad you enjoyed it!
And as far as the clothesline…it conjures up mental images of unmentionable clothing items floating in the breeze. This proves that I have never used a clothesline. 😉
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These are great tips. I do most of these. 🙂 In fact, the only draw back of my do-a-load-a-day goal is that ten minutes of folding is not enough time to listen to a book/watch a movie/talk on the phone. 🙂 Tuesday used to be my laundry day and I’d fold six plus loads of laundry while talking to my mom on the phone or watching tv shows/movie. Of course, the benefit of doing a load a day is that I can’t get too far behind. Otherwise, heaven forbid something come up on Tuesday, or we’d be clothes-less and have a mountain of laundry for next Tuesday.
I recently started using a laundry line (at the beginning of summer) and for me, that makes laundry more fun! Sometimes it’s a pain if I have to go somewhere, or rain clouds start gathering and I have to take it down and toss it in the dryer. But for the most part, I enjoy it!
Blessings,
Nicole
Nice article. I’ll have to share this with my wife as she hates doing laundry. Or maybe I need to help her while using some of your tips! I like your first tip about listening to worship music…it helps us remember Col 3:23 – “Work willingly at whatever you do as though you are working for the Lord rather than for people”.
Thanks for sharing!
Chad
http://www.MakingFinancesSimple.com
I love this post! Since laundry is neverending in my house, we may as well find ways to enjoy it! I have 4 kids, 3 boys and a little princess and my hubby is in construction. I read a post awhile ago about “serving God through laundry”. Taking care of your family by giving them clean clothes is one way to serve God. I put a load on at night and put it in the dryer before bed. The next morning, I drink my coffee, fold laundry and pray for a good day! Its a nice way to wake up, ease into the day and feel like I accomplished something already.
that’s awesome, Melinda! what a great tip!
I vote for helping her and using the tips. 😉 I am, of course, a woman. lol!
That’s great, Nicole! And I know it gives your clothes such a fresh, outdoors smell while saving you $$! Double win!
teehee! can’t have a clothes-less family, for sure. 😉 thanks for sharing, Anna!
This is dumb.
Thanks for making life easier with fun tips on doing laundry, I am 11 years old and my chore is to fold laundry and you helped me have fun while doing my chore.