The Laundry Monster
I read an article the other day promoting a business that provides local moms-for-hire to college kids who need extra care. The local mom meets you at your dorm and might give you a hug, bring you soup, do your laundry, help you with assignments or make your bed.
This idea of a mom figure available to you while you are entering adulthood is sweet…at first glance. The idea that parents are not instead empowering teenagers to enter adulthood prepared with the tools needed to face the world on their own is devastating (more about this in our college prep blog post). With that in mind, The Lifestyle AR is stepping up to arm all high school students who are getting ready to enter the real world with tools for adulthood.
Today, we begin with one important adult task that can immediately be learned…laundry!
Our lesson starts with this: Laundry is a fuzzy, ugly monster and it MUST be tamed. Dramatic? I think not. There is a TikTok term being thrown around that is spot on: the “floordrobe”. This is when your entire wardrobe lives on your floor. And, no lie, the “floordrobe” will grow tentacles and sneak into every crevice of your room collecting spiders and discarded gummy bears until you realize you are neck deep in leggings and H&M holiday sale items you completely forgot you owned. It will run your life and completely overwhelm you unless you implement structures to tame the beast.
My biggest tip is simply to start doing your own laundry today.
Here are a few more tips when you are ready to take the plunge and tame the laundry beast:
Stop the current system. Whoever the laundry-doer is in your home, pull them aside and say this “Please stop doing my laundry!” These five words will set the monster loose and you will have no choice but to figure out a system or else be cursed with smelly clothes and a “floordrobe” ruining your life. When the laundry-doer stops, you will be faced with a mountain of clothes that need washing.
Create a personalized laundry system. To do this, you need to understand how much laundry you have to do. Everyone has a different level of need here. If you are more active or wear the same clothes repeatedly, you will need to do more frequent loads. Some people can go two weeks before running out of clothes. They could probably use a declutter session and also may only need to do laundry once a week. Whatever system is best, at this early stage, it will be a test-and-adjust phase until you figure out a good rhythm. Here are a few ideas from other bloggers: Incremental Mama, ThoughtCo., Dependable Cleaners.
Schedule it. Like any habit, it will be hard to remember to do at first. The best tool to help with this is to schedule it and write it down. Post it on your wall, write “put load in washer” on your planner, and do not go to bed until it is started and finished.
Have grace. You will not succeed at first. Laundry is not a fun task, therefore you will most likely find anything remotely more entertaining to do to avoid laundry. The more you realize you are doing this, the easier it will be to fight the urge. Set small goals for yourself and work up. Set a schedule, set reminders, and have your adult at home help remind you to get your laundry done. And when you feel you are struggling, tell yourself it is okay because you are learning a new system. Try your best and have grace.
Build in rewards. If you find you are getting hungry every time you do laundry, it is most likely your body demanding a dopamine hit of sugar to battle the mundane task you know you are supposed to be doing - laundry. For my neurodiverse readers or those battling depression or PTSD, this is a common issue with boring tasks. If this is the case, make the desire the reward. For example, if you do an entire load of laundry tonight, you get to have a bowl of ice cream after. To save on calories, maybe the reward is to watch trash TV while you work. Add an element of fun to spice up the boring task.
Most importantly, you must stop the person doing the laundry and start doing it yourself. It is a practice that takes a lot of effort upfront but will become second nature soon. Doing your own laundry is the first step in taking on adult responsibilities. It can start as early as elementary school, but should really be mastered by your senior year of high school. There are many other responsibilities to focus on during your senior year, so I recommend doing laundry during your sophomore year of high school. Tame the beast!
If you are interested in a partner to help walk you through the life skills needed to prepare you for college or adulthood, please reach out to us at info@thelifestylear.com. We are here to set you up for success by the time you graduate high school!
-Your Lifestyle Architects
