Over the years, I have recorded loads of laundry hacks, and my full laundry routine on Instagram stories. It's extremely unconventional (as you'll see in a minute!) so I wasn't sure if it would be of interest to anyone. Well, Freebs, it basically broke the internet and left you begging for more! #GoFigure.
I certainly am no laundry physicist and have no degree in Laundryism, but I do have eight kids which amounts to an INSANE amount of laundry each week. We buy inexpensive clothes that I don't want to look inexpensive, so over the years, I have become a bit of a laundry expert (albeit, self-proclaimed).
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Today, I'm giving you a tour of my laundry room. I'm sharing my laundry hacks, tips, tricks, and, of course, my (unconventional – but it will change your life, I promise!) laundry routine.
If you didn't know, I have quite the library of videos on YouTube, so be sure to subscribe, turn on the bell notification, and check out my channel for more goodness like this! Ok enough blabbing, let's air out the dirty laundry!
Check out the video online or click and watch below:
Aren't those tips great?! And for the older (but still full of information!) video that goes into more detail on how I sort our laundry…
Check out the video online HERE, or click and watch below:
I know, I know, it's mind blowing! Here's a quick recap of my laundry hacks that are sure to change the way you do laundry!
LAUNDRY HACK #1: CHOOSE A LAUNDRY DAY
The first thing you need to do is choose a laundry day. Choose any day of the week that works best where you'll have time to go through the house to gather, sort, and start washing your laundry.
You don't necessarily have to only do laundry on this day, but you do all of the prep work for it so then you only have to focus on moving clothes through the washer and dryer. Monday is my laundry day, but yours could very well be Saturday. The day doesn't matter as long as you have the time to work on your laundry!
GATHERING THE LAUNDRY
We have an old school laundry chute in our house. I'm not really sure if this is a blessing or a curse! All of our kids throw their dirty clothes and towels down the chute throughout the week.
The nice side to it? All of the clothes are in the same spot. The not-so-nice side to it? All of the clothes are in the same spot. It's just a teensy bit daunting to see all of those clothes piled up, waiting for me!
LAUNDRY HACK #2: SORTING THE LAUNDRY
Take the time to sort your laundry so all of your clothes, towels, uniforms, whatever, get cleaned the way they should. Sorting your laundry will keep everything looking nicer for longer and will keep you from having to go buy new clothes because your old ones got all raggedy-looking! Turn the clothes right-side-out and zip them up. This will help them to get cleaner and take up less space.
Use my unconventional tips for sorting and be amazed at how your clothes will hold up longer. You can even sort your clothes throughout the week so you don't have as much time spent doing it all at once. I just choose to take the 30 minutes and do it all on my laundry day. But to each their own!
SORT BY TEXTURE, NOT COLOR
Yes, you read that right! This is the greatest hack of all laundry hacks. I know you've probably always heard to sort by color (which has been passed down from generation to generation). But you're not using your grandma's washing machine! Technology is amazing, giving us much more advanced washers and dryers. The colors will be fine as long as you wash them the way I'm telling you! 😉
In order to get your clothes as clean as possible – and to last as long as possible – you need to be more concerned with separating them by texture. I'm lucky enough to have some awesome pull-out cabinet sorters.
Before I had those, I simply had several tall hampers lined up in my laundry room. They took up some floor and wall space, but the functionality was worth the tight spaces. You could also opt for this 4-basket sorter or this door hamper.
HOW I SORT MY LAUNDRY
Regardless of how you do it, make sure you sort that laundry! Here's how I sort our laundry:
- Heavy Kids Clothes – This includes heavy materials, such as thick pants, fleece pajamas, sweatshirts, and denim. I will also throw in lightweight play clothes that aren't heavily soiled and don't need a lot of TLC.
- Light Kids Clothes – Here's where I'll put lighter weight shirts, leggings, school clothes, underwear, and any soiled play clothes that need a little extra lovin'.
- Delicate Kids Clothes – This is for items that really don't need a heavy wash, but need to be cleaned. I include fancier clothes that need to be washed on gentle, leotards, athletic gear, and swimsuits.
- White Kids Clothes – This is the one and only thing that I sort by color! If it's mostly (or pure) white, keep them together away from everything else. This is how you'll keep your whites whiter! And don't worry, that tip is coming up in just a few!
- Adult Clothes – Separated into heavy, light, whites, and delicate. With the exception of a few really nice clothes, we don't send anything to the cleaners. We just wash them on the hand wash cycle and I've never had a problem!
- Towels and Washcloths – Towels, cleaning rags, and bibs tend to get stinky after a while. What's the best laundry hack to combat this? Vinegar! Put a cup of it in the load just like you would your detergent. It will help to clean the fibers and strip them of any of the buildup on them that causes the stank. This and washing in hot water will get them clean and smelling fresh every time!
LAUNDRY HACK #3: USE STAIN REMOVER
We fully believe in hand-me-downs in our house. However, the only way to make the clothes last from kid to kid is by sticking to this laundry hack and using stain remover! As I'm sorting through the laundry, I'll keep my handy dandy bottle next to me and spray as I go. The only downfall to doing this is that you can't let it dry on the clothes.
If the clothes are all the same texture, then throw them straight into the wash so you don't forget to do those first. If it's varying textures, or you're sorting during the week and not washing right then, make sure you rinse it off once you've let it sit so it doesn't ruin your clothes.
I'll also use Clorox 2 in the washing machine if I've got a really dirty load of clothes. It's totally worth it when it helps to get rid of the stains and keeps my clothes nice and bright!
LAUNDRY HACK #4: USE NAME BRAND LAUNDRY DETERGENT
If you know me, you know I prefer store brands to name brands nine times out of ten. In the case of laundry… I'm the opposite! With the exception of dryer sheets (they are one in the same, just go with the scent you like), it's worth the money to get name brand.
I've tried everything on the market, and I see a noticeable difference when I use Tide versus store brands, even Kirkland! I really like to use Tide pods when I wash my clothes. Yes, I know they're expensive, so I'll stock up on them at Costco when they're on sale. They help regulate how much soap I use at a time, so it really saves me money since it keeps me from using too much soap.
While I love the pods, I do still keep a bottle of normal liquid Tide on hand for presoaking really dirty clothes. The pods are great, but they don't work for presoaking. I also keep a store brand on-hand. I use them for loads like towels, sheets, and other items that don't need the expensive stuff.
You also need to keep in mind that if your washer is a HE (High Efficiency) performance washer, you MUST use HE detergent! That isn't a marketing gimmick. It will truly mess up your machine if you don't use HE. Turn this into one of your laundry hacks so you don't have to go buy a new washing machine!
LAUNDRY HACK #5: WASH IN COLD WATER
With the exception of towels and whites, I wash everything in cold water! Warm or hot water will set stains, so I always play it safe and wash them in cold. This will also help keep your colors from running (if you have an older machine and are worried about that). It also helps you save money because it's not using hot water that had to go through the hot water heater.
LAUNDRY HACK #6: HOW TO KEEP WHITES BRIGHT
We have a ton of white clothes in our house between socks and school uniforms, along with any other mainly white clothes we wear. I get asked how I keep my whites so white all of the time, so you're about to get some great white laundry hacks!
- Wash whites only with other whites.
- Wash in the hottest water possible.
- Use a quality liquid detergent (as I mentioned above).
- Wash with a scoop of Oxiclean powder.
- Use a healthy portion of bleach (fill to the max fill line). I definitely prefer Clorox bleach. For whatever reason, the store brands just don't get my clothes as white!
- Wash on a presoak cycle (hence the liquid detergent).
- Be amazed at how white your whites come out every time!
LAUNDRY HACK #7: A FEW SOCK HACKS
Let's all take a moment of silence for all of the lost socks in the world! Okay, so are you ready for some great laundry hacks that will help out with all of your sock dilemmas?!
ONLY BUY WHITE SOCKS
The way we combat having to pair all. of. the. socks. is by only buying white socks! I'll grab a giant package from Costco or Amazon. My boys get the tall socks and my girls get the ankle socks. I may buy some with grey toes and heels, but the main thing is that the ankles have to be plain white!
There's no more matching pairs of socks this way, hallelujah! We throw all of the boys' socks into one basket and all of the girls' socks into another and they go to town. My kids are close enough in age that the older boys can share socks and the girls can all share socks without having to worry about having different sizes to sort through.
(We do have a basket of black socks for church, but they're all the same, so we still don't have to match them!)
SAFETY PIN SOCK PAIRS TOGETHER
If colored socks are a must-have in your house, but you're still tired of always matching them, don't worry! This laundry hack is going to save your sanity. Leave a small safety pin attached to the side of a sock and train your family to pin them together before throwing them in the dirty clothes. You'll never have to worry about sorting and matching socks again!
CHECK THE LINING OF THE WASHER FOR LOST SOCKS
My last sock laundry hack is one that you may or may not already be doing. I have a front loading washer and I've found lots of socks stuck in the lining of the drum of my washer!
There's no telling how long those puppies have been hiding in there, so make sure you check it regularly, especially after you wash socks.
LAUNDRY HACK #8: PRINT A COPY OF YOUR LAUNDRY SYSTEM
I'm not kidding when I say that I'm extremely particular about how we do our laundry! With how many people we have in our family, we have to keep our clothes nice so they'll last as long as possible. Occasionally, someone else will do the laundry when I'm not here.
Instead of having them guess how we do it, I've printed a copy of my system and have it hanging in my laundry room. I have a column for clothing, soap, washer setting, water temperature, soil level, if it needs to be presoaked, and how to dry them. This really assists anyone who is helping out with laundry!
We even created a laundry cheat sheet for YOU!! Keep in mind that your washer and dryer may be different from mine. This is my personal cheat sheet, and it may not work the same for your machines. Hopefully, it will give you an idea of how I organize my laundry system so you can adapt it for yourself. We even included a blank version so you can build a system and cheat sheet specific to you!
I hope you love this laundry cheat sheet we put together for you!
LAUNDRY HACK #9: DRYER HACKS
It's no secret that you can shrink your clothes in the dryer if you're not careful. To combat this, only dry your clothes on low heat. If you're still concerned about shrinking or messing up your clothes, you can also air dry them.
A basic clothes drying rack works great for this if you have the floor space. You can also use the wall mounted clothes drying racks that fold back onto the wall when they're not in use. This is also a great way to save on your electricity bill!
DRYER SHEETS
Oh man, have I got the hack of all laundry hacks for you with this one! Dryer sheets are great for helping to cut down on static in clothes. But did you know that a full dryer sheet is way more than you need? Rip your dryer sheets in half, that's all that you need and it'll stretch them twice as long!
If you're not big on the waste of dryer sheets, try out some of these options instead:
- Make your own reusable ones! Pinterest is a great resource for ideas.
- Use reusable dryer balls.
- Make your own reusable dryer ball (the size of a baseball) out of aluminum foil.
LAUNDRY HACK #10: WRINKLES
As you'll see in a minute, I don't fold the clothes straight out of the dryer. The only exception is for church clothes, or mine and Bubba's clothes (and I try to fold those right away). So, how do I keep our clothes wrinkle-free if I don't fold and put them away ASAP?
I dry everything on the wrinkle-free setting. It works!! Of course, the kids' clothes won't be perfectly non-wrinkled, but it doesn't bother me much. If they are super wrinkly, that's where a quick 30 seconds with the steamer comes in handy. (No, I don't iron our clothes because the steamer is so much quicker and works just as well!)
LAUNDRY HACK #11: CREATE A LAUNDRY BASKET SYSTEM
I don't know about you, but putting away the clothes after they come out of the dryer is the absolute worst part of laundry for me! Creating a laundry basket system was a game changer for our family. Each person has their own laundry basket, which is labeled with their name and the size of clothes they wear.
My younger kids are able to help take the clothes out of the dryer and put them into the appropriate baskets. Once the laundry is done, the kids are in charge of getting the baskets up to their rooms. They have to fold and put their clothes away as part of their chores.
LAUNDRY HACK #12: CREATE A DOT SYSTEM
Do you struggle with knowing which clothes belong to which kid? Maybe they're really close in age, or the sizing is weird and not what they normally wear. Boy, have I got a laundry hack that's going to save your sanity! Start using the dot system. I explained this in my back to school organization post, but I'll give you a quick summary!
Assign a dot to each of your kids. Since ours our split down the middle, we do ours by gender. Our oldest girl has one dot, our second oldest has two, and our third has three. The same goes for our boys. Use a Sharpie and mark their clothes. You can do it on the tags or on the thickest part of the hem where it won't show through on the other side.
My kids all know whose dots are whose, so this helps them to easily be able to sort the clothes into the correct baskets once they come out of the dryer. It's been such a life-saver for us and has taken the guessing out of who the clothes belong to.
LAUNDRY HACK #13: TEACH YOUR KIDS TO DO LAUNDRY
This is my last and greatest of the laundry hacks. Parents, teach your kids to do laundry! The burden of laundry doesn't have to only fall on you and your husbands' shoulders! When our kids turn eight, they start doing the laundry. Thanks to the handy printed copy of my laundry system, they're able to remember how to wash and dry the appropriate way.
Our kids also help to sort the clean clothes at the age of three or four, thanks to the dot and basket systems. Share the load (literally) and teach your kids these life skills that they'll need later in life! When they go off to college and get married, they'll have the skills to become a laundry master just like you.
Hopefully these ideas have given you some motivation and new ideas for tackling your own laundry monster. Do you have any laundry hacks that you swear by? Share with us in the comments!
So there you have it!
P.S. Daily Mail loved my laundry hacks so much, they wrote a whole article about it! Check it out!
Want to be more productive in your life, but need some help? Check out Productivity Boot Camp! It's a fun online video program that I created to help you be your most productive self, possible.
Get more done in your day so that you can free up your time to do more things that you actually want to do! Use the code FCFBLOG for 10% off at checkout.
Need more hacks to be productive around your house?
- Come see which products I use to clean my house that are safe for kids to use, too!
- Deep clean your house by doing one task per day!
- Have friends coming over and don't have time to deep clean? Speed clean your house in less than 30 minutes!
Go tackle that laundry!
Do you use bleach on your garments too every week? Fellow LDS Momma!
Love all your tips and tricks in the video!
I do, but many people use Oxyclean instead. So maybe try a scoop of that to your Whites instead?
The label says not to bleach or use fabric softeners on garments. Bleach turns them gray! I’ve also been told at the distribution center to only wash them on cold! Good luck mama!
Lots of people say that garments are actually colored that white white color and that bleaching them will actually take the white out and make them a dingy gray color. Don’t have any experience myself, just thought I’d let you know what I’ve heard ?
Biz is my favorite on garments!
What do you do when on whites it says do not bleach? I’ve noticed this a lot on white sheets and other things. I used to use bleach on my whites, but I think it was yellowing them. Thanks! I love your site.
I bleach them anyway, ha! But many people use Oxyclean instead so try adding a scoop of that to your whites!
How much fabric softener do you use?
Not much, and I rarely use it!
K I’ve got nine kids, I often wait to long in between so that my mountains are huges. How often do you do laundry in a week?
I sort every Monday and try to do 2 loads per day, and it keeps it moving all week. The mountain is big again by Monday but at least everyone has clothes in the meantime! Bless you and your 9 kids!
The sun is powerful! Even if i dry a stained shirt i lay it in the sun and the sun bleaches it out! I learned this trick with cloth diapers. Works wonders.
Totally makes more sense to do textures ? you’re the best Jordan
This is the craziest thing I have even seen!
I’m gonna give it a try. Gonna start a load right now?.
Just a heads up, my husband is a plumber ( has been doing it for many years) and he says that the pods can cause washer and plumbing issues over time and does not recommend using them even though they are very convenient. He has been on too many calls lately and this has been the cause of pretty much each one. Just wanted to share to hopefully prevent an issue for others.
Oh wow that’s so good to know! Thanks for the info!
Great Idea, one problem. Should only be one weeks of clothing per kid. Easyer and way less clothing to with. I did this with my four kids. Each kid wash there own clothing since 6yr old, one load every week. And they put it away too.
Thoroughly enjoyed watching video. Wish I had a lovely big Laundry room like this. I was always told, you had to wash with hot water, to kill germs and get rid of bad odour.. We don’t have Dawn over here, we have Fairy liquid, although they are made by the same people, the company told me here in England, because of the EU laws, there are ingredients in the Dawn, that are not allowed in this country . How stupid. The sooner are out of the EU the better. Loved your idea getting all the same socks. I have three sons and a daughter and we are always losing socks. I do use bleach in my wash sometimes, as we have two naughty Dachshunds and 21 year old tortoise shell cat and sometimes they tinkle on the clothes, so I have to do a bleach and disinfectant rinse first, or that cat and dog pee, still smells even after washing. That will teach us to always pick the dirty washing up and put in laundry basket. Have a lovely week.
what model is your washer and dryer , if don’t mind me asking ?:D
I know my laundry skills could use some work, so I’m going to try out some of these tips! (I sort my clothes into darks, lights, and reds AND wash everything on hot AND use store brand detergent!) Based on your recommendation I will give Tide a try! I have two little boys who always put their clothes through the ringer and I feel like I never catch up on the dreaded laundry mountain. I do have two questions for you – how do you get your kids to put away their own laundry and how old do they start doing this? (I’m in total awe over here!)
Hello Jordan-
I’m in love with your laundry system. I was wondering if you could tell me where you purchased your cabinet pull out laundry hampers? I am having trouble finding them. Thanks for your input.
They were already with the house when we moved in so I have no clue where they got them! I even asked the previous owners and they couldn’t remember, sadly. Sorry!
I was wondering the same thing. It look simple enough to build on our own, but I’m really good at getting into “simple” wood projects that end up lasting WAY to long! I just found your site and I’m loving it! I’m laughing at all of your jokes and learning soooo much! I have 5 children 10 and under. I just printed the clipboard system and laminate today! Cant wait to use it! My 10 year old is excited to make his own play/work/learn plan on Sunday. Do you know of anywhere that sells cheap cheap planners from years past that nobody wants?
Hugs from North Carolina!
You could look at resale shops for old planners. Or stores like Ross or TJMaxx usually have them for cheaper. You could also just have him use a notebook if you can’t find any planners! Good luck! 🙂
Wow!! I’m in awe but shocked at the same time. I’m going to try to implement some of this in my house and see how it goes. In fact, I’m running to the basement right now to throw in a load of towels on HOT with VINEGAR!! I’m not sure about not folding but I’m definitely going to look into getting a streamer. Also, I’m a Tide snob as well, but am afraid of bleach.
Thanks Jordan. I love all your tips!
I used to live by tide and all then was allergic for a while. but when i had kids i just didn’t find anything better. we used dreft and free and clears and that worked for a while. but i got tired of having to buy 4 different detergents. i went back to tide and all and found that i was over using them. your tips on amounts makes so much since I wont have to double rinse anymore. and since moving to a bigger apartment here in Manhattan NY I use a public washer so you just saved me a fortune in laundry costs. Thanks very informative and helpful fun cheerful video.
I find Tide is so much better with cloth diapers! Just recently realized this and it has changed my cloth diaper wash routine so much. I also use as little water as possible because i’ve learned too much water and your clothing/diapers/etc. just swirls around. They need to rub up against each other to get that good clean! I battle hard water though and it involves some stripping of the diapers with bleach on occasion (YES bleach GASP) and a water conditioner like borax but I make it work. So worth the savings with cloth!! And I SO AGREE with what you said about how you don’t purchase fancy clothing hence why you want to take care of your clothing. I am so that same! We share laundry with our upstairs neighbors and I cringe when I see them just throw everything in the wash together-like towels, every article of clothing, wash rags…..yeah nope. My husband used to ask me why I was so particular with my laundry routine, hanging things to dry etc.-he gets it now. Better care-longer lasting clothing.
Love your tips!
Hello, Jordan!
A huuuge Helloooo! from Romania!
First, please escusse me for my English. I am not planning to write a 3 words comment, so you might find some nice mistakes.
Second, thank you!
Third, thank you!
Fourth, thank you!
Fifth, thank you! … since I have 5 kids 🙂 age 8 down to 8 months 😛
Sixth, thank you! … since my husband heard me for the first time in our marriage talking about budgeting! And there are more good things now to come in our marriage 😛
Seven, a million times thank you!… since you’ve changed my life! It might sound funny and crazy, but I am a mom of 5 and when I say changed, I mean changed!
You’ve just changed my last 6 days (I think)… for life time.
I mean, I think (and I hope) I would never be able to be the same I was before I met you. You’ve entered my life as simple as watching your “How I do my laundry. Unconventional” video …and conquered me video by video. You divided and shattered all my doubts, all my fears that you might not be a nice, devoted, natural, sincere, normal, funny, so simple and so special mom and wife… and meanwhile a human being. But you are! That’s all! I am done! That’s all I needed!
And I am so sure meeting you wasn’t even a second by chance, even if your video was simply suggested by you tube according to my interest in cleaning and organizing like a pro …lately 😛 There is something more. Like something unexpectedly good that pops into your life and twist it.
And I wanted you to know that your work means something special for me. And to thank you in a way I that matters for you, to tell you that It is not about laundry, meals, groceries, budget, napping …and at the same time it is. But it is especially about the way you see through all this things the joy of living, the beauty of the day, those simple things that really matters. It is about the power of being yourself and the courage and hard work of making your life a once time life + sharing all this nice things with others. Thanks A lot!
Well this woke me up like a mom’s song in the morning (I don’t know how it really is… I’ve only seen this in movies), up from a dream, not that bad, but not so good, where i was trying so hard to survive all the tasks of the day, all the tasks of the week … all the unplanned events just to get to one point to be happy next to my kids and my husband. Always so close… but still not fully there. Something was missing. But just now I figured out that it was me. I was missing. It wasn’t there anymore. There was a mom, a wife… but not me.
I know it takes far away… but I need to tell you how much our story as a family resemble with yours: we had married quite young 23 me, 26 my husband (and we regret know that we haven’t done it at least 1 year earlier), we are christian-orthodox, all 5 kids came in to our life like popcorn flowers 🙂 and we are still planing to have kids as long as God will give us more, we are now living in 2 bedrooms apartment which we just got it trough bank, we are happy since it is our first apartment (we were renting all these years, since we were moving from country to country and so on) but we are sad at the same time since, of course we dream a house ( we actually bought some land and have a construction plan, but we are out of money, 20000 Euros debt and even not sure if we want to build it there anymore) so sounds familiar 😛 ?
Beside this we just had our super bad year regarding marriage. It was like all our problems deeply hidden and ignored somehow popped-up at once, we had super miserable times this summer, and it ended the same way: setting priorities in my life, tanks to my husband who started this so difficult to start discussion about intimate life and even bought me some books from USA. 🙂 “Proper feeding and care of your husband “sound familiar to me 😛 The book I really impacted me was “For women only ” – Shaunti Feldhahn 🙂 You might know it. So I know exactly what you and Bubba are talking about 🙂
After one night watching your videos I sad to my husband: WOW!!! I found a mom and she is a mom of 5 in 6 years!!! she is so-so like me… but with the difference she is so optimistic. She is so like me I used to be before having kids and becoming some kind of forced serious mom. And I remember now, that all my fellows wrote me at the and of the high-school and college that they hope I’ll stay the same forever: that ” big smile”girl. I am still keeping that smile inside me, but somehow I fear to put it in the sun, my old deep inside smile. I feel like having 5 kids means something dangerously serious, a ton of responsibility (for each child apart), like a disaster came into my life and I’m still want to smile like a full, and I am so irresponsible since I want more kids – this is what I feel when people are looking at me in general.
BUT the fact that I found your videos, and then your blog and so on… has reset me to the one I used to be, which makes a so nice, smooth and natural difference in my life. That little drop that causes all the water to pour out the glass 🙂
And I’ll try to always remember your core message: Fun Cheap or Free – witch for me sound like this right now: it is so cheap to have fun, and live the life you wish for, just free yourself from waiting for something to happen, it’s happening!
Well my 3rd kid, just happened to come next to me. By -bye!
Wish you all 7 all the best from here!
Adina 🙂
Wow you are the sweetest! Thank you for such a nice comment!! XO
Love the tips and tricks you suggested here. I have a minimalist system of doing my laundry – minimal time ;). Too lazy to sort everyday, so I assign a day in the week for one kind of laundry – whites for Mondays, colors for Thursdays, Saturdays for linen.
I love all your other vlogs too!
This probably won’t work with 5 kids…but at my house, we hang-dry. We just have a rack in our spare room, and we a load every 2 days or so. It saves a ton of money on the dryer costs, as well as reduces wear and tear on it.
We use it only for sheets/blankets, or for times when we get back from a camping trip or something.
Sorry if you have been asked before…have you tried persil? I came from a long list of tide lovers. Tried persil and never went back. Don’t even need to use shout. On really bad stains I pour straight persil and everything comes out. Give it a try… also, I have a question about something I watched on YouTube. How can I ask a question about that? I am not really on Facebook or anything else social media. Thanks..
Laundry is seriously the most miserable thing for me. I have started to implement this system (far from perfectly) and it is helping my mountains of laundry become more like hills! ?
Opened my eye to a whole new way of doing laundry! Thanks!
This is a game changer!
Love this! Thanks for the great ideas!
Thanks. A need the laundry tips. Although it’s my kids who need them more. Two are now old enough to do their own laundry. Hooray!!!
I love everything in this video! I am buying a steamer and doing my laundry like this from now on.
I have 3 kids so there are 5 of us total and it can take me hours to fold all the laundry. It’s my least favorite chore. I love your method of having a basket for each kid and having them fold their own laundry. This would make my life so much easier! I’m definitely adding that to my laundry routine.
I am all about any hack but this one imparticular I have really been able to use and man has it saved so much time and piles and piles of laundry.
BIG FAN of your laundry hacks!! I don’t have kids yet but I plan to use these tricks when I do!! Thank you for taking the time to share all your details!
This is definitely something I want to try!
?I have 5 kids to and I want your laundry room!! This is great information!
Love all the tips and tricks! I think I need to try sorting this way and see how I like it! You are AWESOME!
I’ve literally never thought about sorting clothes by weight. Such a smart idea!!
I’ve started following your method of separating by texture and washing kids clothes and adult clothes separately and I can tell my children’s clothes are getting cleaner! Love this.
Any tips to help with laundry ??
I’m not going to lie, I told my husband I discovered a new product, “Shout” to help me do laundry. Apparently, he already knew about it. Not sure why I missed out on they laundry lessons– but this video makes me feel confident.
I understand your soft clothes/heavy clothes sorting, and employ that, too. I do it mostly so the athletic wear doesn’t get snagged by buttons and zippers, and never considered the heavy clothes soaking up the detergent. Hmm. I still have enough loads that I sort by colors, too. Ugh.
yessss!love these tips!
I’m always needing help with laundry! Love these tips!
Not sure why I didn’t think about having my kids sort their laundry, or at least put their own away, haha, but it has been a game changer for me. 🙂 Thank you so much!!
I have watched this several times and i have started doing my laundry this way and it has made a huge difference of how i do it now and how clean my clothes come out!
These are the best laundry tips. I love the texture idea.
I’ve started using some of these tips and they really have helped!! Thank you!
I have started washing my kids clothes separate and i don’t know if it’s power of suggestion or what but I really feel like there’s a difference! Now i just need to buy that genius wall mount dryer!
I love tide pods, too! I really think in the end I end up spending less on detergent!
This is the first post of yours I ever saw! Love it!
Totally loved this video! It’s going to be a game changer for me!
With 7 kids, including twin toddlers, I need ALLLLL the laundry help I can get ??♀️
I have started sorting by texture and I’ve noticed a big difference in how clean our clothes come out!
I am always drawn to your posts because you are soooo honest! You don’t hold back on saying things and I love your silliness! Always on the lookout for your next post…..?
I love this post. It is the first of yours I read and watched on You Tube and I have been hooked ever since. I just wish we had more space for a laundry room in our small English house ? I watch all of your videos and they have transformed how I do things in my home. Thanks so much ?
I will be adopting this laundry routine! Seriously, I loved the video! And I love finding simple ways of teaching our kids responsibility! Thank you!
I am definitely going to follow these tips! Even with just two people my laundry seems never ending! And my whites never seem to get white enough! ?
I totally started trying this method!! Thanks!
This laundry video is one of my favorites!
I need this and I’m getting a steamer
This is the first video I watched of your and it has been a life saver. Right now it’s just my husband and I, but I’m ready for when I’m having to do laundry all the time. The best tip was how you sort clothes and it makes a lot of sense. So happy my friend shared the video.
Great Idea. I now sort by texture
Separating my “heavy” cloths has made a HUGE difference for my laundry challenges! My cloths are drying in less time and all the way through… plus I feel like I’m doing less laundry! …Probably because I’m not rewashing things so much ??♀️
Awesome tips! Laundry made easier!
I love learning new tips on how to be a better homemaker. You can never learn enough!
I recently switched up my laundry and it has made a huge difference. I think you might do this as well. I sort my dirty laundry by person. That way it makes it so much easier to wash, dry and put away. Plus I’m not washing my giant 14 yr old son’s jeans with my daughter’s cute little sequins tops. The only exception is everyone’s white socks and underwear. That is separate load that gets hot water.
This was one of the first videos I watched and I was totally intrigued after. I’ve started to wash clothes this way and find I don’t have as many loads. It’s been nice!
I’ve started sorting my laundry your way and will never go back! Awesome tips! ?
I hate doing washing, actually I just hate putting it away lol I’m going to put this into practice asap!
Completely revolutionized how I do laundry. Changed over to your system of washing by texture instead of just colors and my laundry smells better looks better and I’m just so thankful! Also I’m super jealous of your laundry room it looks incredible
This is how I found you!
What is your favorite liquid detergent?
Great advice! For so long I turned clothes inside out. Thinking I preserved the color, not thinking that all the stains weren’t getting washed away.
I need to get a sorter basket. So helpful!
How would you do your laundry with just two people? My fiancé and I aren’t planning on having kids soon so I don’t know if I want to do all these separate loads for the two of us.
I tried sorting by texture but my loads were just too small. I only have two kids and they surprisingly don’t go through as many clothes as I would expect. Would you stretch for another week or just throw it all together?
This post saved me a lot of trouble with my laundry routine it was also the very first video I watched on your YouTube channel thanks for the help with my #1 enemy
This literally blew my mind. I would have never thought of seperatong clothes based of fabric type but when you think about it, it makes way more sense than just separating lights and darks!
Thanks for the great tips! I was all for using whatever detergent was cheapest but tried out Tide after reading this and it does make a big difference in how clean our clothes are. Love that you are teaching your kids to get involved as much as possible too.
Ah oh my goodness I vomit get over the perfect way you have created to make your kids independent with the laundry! I cannot wait to try something like this. Thank you for the great ideas
Your laundry routine makes so much sense. I have noticed my clothes so much cleaner, then when I separated by color!!!
I need a laundry room stat!!
Laundry is my love/hate chore. I hate that I have to do it, and I hate putting it away. But at the same time I love organizing everything and systematizing for max efficiency! I’ve started implementing some of your steps and it has worked well. One thing I think about when washing and drying is zippers on clothes. I make sure they are always zipped and try to wash those items together or with pants. I feel like leaving them open while washing contributes to the wear and tear. I hate thinking about those open zippers grating on all the other clothes… so I feel you in the laundry particularities! Thanks for sharing!
Love this peak inside your laundry routine! Mine is close-ish. My kids are 7,5,4 & 2. I wash and dry, but (NEW IN THE LAST 2 MONTHS WAHOOOOOO!!!!) that’s it!!! They sort into their individual baskets, and they put it away! ?????? YES!!! Folding optional! Goodbye piles of clean laundry waiting to be foled and put away.
Interesting.
I love this post, it shows that laundry can be done easily with a large family. i always find that I feel like I have a never ending laundry pile.
This was super helpful! Is there Australian brands you can recommend for the laundry powder etc?
Thanks for the great tips! I’ve always ripped my dryer sheets in half, makes a box last so much longer too!
I don’t fold at all. I work full-time and just don’t have the time. So we just throw all of our clothes in labeled baskets that we have on shelves in our laundry room. That means we have to iron everything- I’m thinking I should invest in a steamer.
Oh my goodness!! I have been using this laundry system for two months now and it is a serious game changer! Thank you!
I absolutely dread doing laundry!! Luckily, now that 3 of my 5 children are old enough to do their own! It’s their responsibility if they want clean clothes. They’re 14, 13, & 12. Definitely old enough! ?
This is the post that got me hooked!
I love this! Thank you for being so real and honest! Let’s face it, laundry is forever!
Jordan, I love this and I love following along with all of your tips and tricks!!! You motivate me to be and do so much better! Thanks!!!
When I learned to do laundry I was taught to wash lot in warm water. When I saw that you rarely use warm it was like a “DUH!” moment for me. We’ve had a lot less stains sticking around since I switched! ??
This is the YouTube video that led me to you, and I will be forever grateful! I have started washing my clothes separate from the kids, and heavy, dirty stuff separate from light stuff, and I can already tell the difference. My clothes are getting cleaner, they’re drying better, and my kids’ clothes seem to be lasting longer. Thank you so much!
This video was the first one of yours that I watched and then I watched like 12! Made my laundry so much easier!
What amazing ideas for laundry!! I need to start implementing some of these!!
I LOVE this post! I have already watched your YouTube video about this. Didn’t know there was this awesome blog post as well!! Thanks!
This is intriguing to me… only question- how do you bleach? Never been successful with it. And do you bleach your garments? I’ve heard they are died white so bleaching doesn’t work???
I love this! What a great idea on sorting! Starting that today!
So many good tips!
I loved this video and all the tips. Thanks for sharing!
Love all your laundry tips!!
You have changed the way I sort my laundry, thank you!
Loved this videos it has changed my laundry routine. Especially the sorting, I think my clothes look better! PS I’m a tide snob too!
Such a great idea to sort by texture! Thank you!
Unconventional perhaps but a total game changer!!!! ? lol you’re amazing!
Love all of your laundry hacks especially getting the kids involved!
Oh my gosh this is amazing!! I can’t wait to try it. Now I want to organize my laundry room!!
Thank you for sharing your methods! I don’t have a large family, but I love learning from those who are willing to share their systems!
I totally watched this as I was getting ready to do laundry. Did make me nervous the first time because I’m so use to separating by color but I have to admit I’m a fan. I really like this technique and started using it! Thanks Jordan it’s helping a lot!!
Started using this technique and love it!! Thanks Jordan!!
Love all your laundry tips and tricks. I had no idea I should separate by texture!!!!! Thanks for sharing your knowledge.
You literally didn’t leave any information out. I love that! I’m trying this next week!
This blog post here was literally what started it all for me. I fell into the “hole” and watched every other video I could for the night. I know exactly how I want to manage my finances when I graduate! Thank you!!!!
Love these ideas! I get so overwhelmed just thinking about starting laundry. I think it’s because it’s in the cold garage and I can stand folding small little Ricky ticky things! I will DEF be ripping laundry sheets, good idea!
I dunno why I never thought of sorting clothes like this..but it totally makes sense! I’m still a little worried about clothes bleeding but I think it’s only because it’s been engrained in me since the begging of my exsistens! So here’s to taking a leap of faith and trying new things!!
Interesting! Not gonna lie….this kind of shakes my world. Haha lights with darks…..what!?
Sort heavy textures from light textures! It’s a great idea.
I don’t know why I have never thought about dividing by textures! Brilliant! Were finishing our basement which is where the laundry room is located and I can’t wait to have an actual laundry room and start getting a good laundry routine going
I have began sorting like you do and I can tell a difference!!! Thanks for the tip
I’ll have to try the Presoak for whites. I hate laundry!
Love your laundry organization! Thanks for sharing!
I love this! I basically did this but implemented the cold wash and I was SHOCKED that my dirty things still came out clean! I’ve always thought warm warm warm.
I adore this method. My husband is still getting the hang of it to help me out. But I’ve noticed a huge difference in stain removal and the quality of the clothing. Especially ours. I’d toss my church skirts in with his work pants that are denser than dense ??♀️
This laundry post is brilliant. I love your basket idea. This is on my honey do list for sure.
Loved seeing your ideas! It’s cool just to see how other people do these kinds of things!
I needed this! I have always felt pretty good about laundry but having more tips helps for sure! I especially love getting your children more involved…a motto of mine is, “work smarter not harder!” Thanks
Such great tips . Thanks
So many good tips!
I’m totally fascinated by this laundry method. I always want in cold water and too dryer sheets in half, but I’d never seen this sorting method before.
This has changed my laundry routine entirely! Thanks for the help!
Love the tips!!
100k giveaway!
You are my hero! I feel sorry for my mom not learning this years ago. Laundry was her arch nemesis with 7 kids and a laundry room less than half the size of yours.
Thanks for your great tips and hacks! I have definitely changed the way I sort laundry and Will hopefully add some years to my thinner more delicate clothing!
Thank you for sharing your laundry hacks! This has helped me as I have added more kids and helped save kids cloths longer instead of ruining them by washing them all together. ?
Love these tips!! I started separating our laundry by textures and it’s made a big difference!!
So I have started doing laundry this way! This is a WONDERFUL system. I save so much time really, and it is so much nicer for small kids clothes.
Laundry is my biggest headache. I just want to burn all the clothes.
Oh my. I want a laundry room like this someday!! ??
Wall-mount drying rack is brilliant… except I only dry like 10% of my clothes so I feel like I’d run out of space too quickly! 🙁
Ahh laundry is the worst. Thanks for the tips!
I love this!
Textures instead of colors! I’ll have to try it!
This is so helpful. I’ve been doing laundry wrong since forever!
Laundry is my arch nemesis! Thank you for the tips to making laundry a little easier! The texture idea makes a lot of sense!
Love this post! I’ve noticed a HUGE difference since I starting sorting by texture!! Thanks for the tips! ?
I do some of the same things you do when it comes to laundry and you have me a few tips to try to try.
I started following you right around the time you posted this laundry post. It is what solidified my love for everything you share and it changed my laundry routine a ton. Thanks for sharing your tips and tricks!
My favorite post ever! I hate laundry and always have a “laundry situation” which is usually piles of clean clothes that just need to be put away. I started doing this system and has helped a ton. Thanks!!
This is so interesting! I never thought about sorting by texture. I’m definitely going to try this.
I do my laundry by person. If their basket is full it gets thrown in the wash and washed in cold so we don’t have to sort colours
I have 5 kids too and our laundry is never ending!! Thanks for this post. I changed up my laundry products and am doing my wash a little bit different!! ??
Laundry makes me want to rip my hair out, and I only have 2 kids. You’re a rockstar ??
I’m going to have to try the texture trick, I already only use cold water, but anything to avoid having to go shopping for new clothes. Such a struggle, either never the right size or horrendous styles that couldn’t be made modest or professional without starting over from the fabric bolt…
Good tips! I have always just thrown laundry in without sorting, sounds like I better start sorting.
We don’t have kids yet so laundry is pretty easy but that was some great tips !
Love your Blog! So many helpful tips! Hoping to win a program for the Budget Boot Camp
I was so excited to read/watch this post. I separate my laundry into 6 different piles. Everyone thinks I’m crazy. Happy to know I’m not the only one “crazy” about laundry.
That steamer looks amazing!
These are great ideas….and I loooove that laundry room!
Thanks for sharing! I’ve been trying your method and I love it so far!
I love the idea of sorting by texture/weight instead of by color! It makes so much sense.
I’ve been washing on warm, not cold..which might explain all my set in stains!
Such a great system! im excited to try it out!!
I LOVE your laundry room! Thanks for all the helpful tips, I now wash with mostly cold water and someday if we have room I think I will build a shelf like yours for laundry baskets. So genius!
I KNEW I wasn’t the only one who washed with just cold water! I definitely was making the mistake of washing my cottons with my towels. Oops. Loved this! Even with just the hubby and I , this makes laundry so much easier – and cleaner! We only have a small washer so we have to get the most out of it that we can.
I long for a larger laundry room! However, I did gleam some nuggets of wisdom for the future!
I never thought of doing laundry by textures but since watching this video I wash all clothes on cold and sort by texture 🙂
I love the idea of ripping the dryer sheets in half. Genius!
I have changed my entire laundry routine wih theses simple tips!
Thank you for sharing these tips! I’ve been using half a dryer sheet and ii works great!!
This is so great! But what do you do when your kids aren’t old enough to fold. We are teaching our 3 year old but have a 20 month and newborn
This has helped me sort smarter, thank you!
You are hilarious! I just found you and watched a bunch of your YouTube videos.
I have tried several steamers over the years and you said you loved yours so much so I decided to give it a try…I’m just gonna go with I’m doing it wrong…not a replacement for an iron by any means. What am I doing wrong? Can you help??
I’m wondering about bedding. Do you wash those on cold too? And use a ride pod or other soap like you do with your towels?
Do you or does anyone have a cheaper hand held steamer that works to recommend??
Have you tried Persil? I haven’t tried it yet, but the ladies/scientists over at laundry love and science swear by it for washing clothes. If you haven’t discovered that group of their website, I highly recommend it. They teach you how to strip your clothes, something I had never heard of before that group and as someone who has to thrift shop I will never wear used clothes that haven’t been stripped yet again. OMG! Google laundry stripping pictures before and after and you’ll understand.
Found you on YouTube!
Oh, a few more things I’d add as a mom of four:
Buy all of your girl kids white socks and your boys black socks in the same size if possible. Just keep a basket of socks in the laundry room. If you have room, and your kids wear school uniforms, have a box of girl shirts, girl bottoms, boy shirts, and boy bottoms. If they’re in different sizes, then put a divider in the boxes and label it or give each size different boxes. I was lucky in that I had one girl only 16 months older than my twin girls, so they pretty much shared it all for a while.
Also, wool dryer balls are awesome and an infrequent and inexpensive expense. I don’t use fabric softener or dryer sheets for the most part. I do occasionally use a dryer sheet to put in stinky shoes or to wipe out a pan with stuck-on food (this seriously works; just add water to the pan and scrub a bit with the dryer sheet and it’s magic).
Awesome! Love your laundry room!!! How do you get the littles to fold and put away without it being more work for you? ?
How do you get the littles to fold and put away without causing more work for you?
I like your system mine is similar except the light and heavy. The other thing I would mention is that I do stock and undies separate or with the towels. They should really be done with HOT water due to bacteria content.
Great suggestion!
Watched your video on laundry. Bought a bottle of Tide , Clorox2, Shout you suggested. My husband bought a store brand of the Clorox2. Haven’t opened it yet so I can return it if I needed to.
When do you use the Clorox 2 for colors? Do you use it with all the other loads besides whites?
Do you use regular Clorox bleach for ALL whites, including regular white clothes? Wasn’t sure since I’m afraid my clothes would shrink with using hot water.
Thanks for your help with this.
I don’t use it on every load, mainly my kids’ clothes that get washed a lot and need a little extra TLC.
Hi, which steamer do you use,Thanks!!
Hi Carmen! I use THIS one. And it looks like it’s on a lightening deal that ends in less than 2 hours!
What about the coulourful towels? Should I wash them with the heavy textures in cold water or separate them and wash with hot water?
I loved the video, thanks in advance.
Colors won’t bleed in cold water like they will in hot water. So washing them in cold water should work just fine! If you’re worried about the bleeding on your white towels, then separate them and still wash in cold water to save energy.
Hi Jordan
What temperature do you wash towels and whites on? Xx
Cold! It is more energy efficient and still gets them nice and clean! 🙂
Great post, Jordan. I’ve been trying your laundry separation tips this week, and though I was a bit worried about the not sorting by colors and washing everything other than towels, blankets, and whites in cold water and not warm!
I’m so glad I listen to your tips and took the chance! Not only have things come out cleaner, but I’ve also noticed the dry times are shorter on the loads that were separated by texture!
Thank you much for the tips, blessings,
Erika
That’s so great to hear! It sounds strange, but it works out so much better 🙂
Great tips, just wanted to add I just cleaned the lint trap behind my dryer so important and so easy to forget, I can always tell if my clothes are damp after a dryer load, just added this to my monthly list to do
That’s a great tip, thanks for sharing!
I absolutely LOVE this article, it is so full of all kinds of useful information! Could you please share your laundry system cheat sheet? Even if it’s just a picture, I’d love to see it! Thank you so much for all your help and time!
Yay, so glad that it’s so helpful to you! The cheat sheet is really old and may cause some confusion because a lot of it is based on specific washer settings. If you’re wanting to make your own, just make sure that you break yours down into these following sections: clothing type (including whites), bedding/towels, soap type, washer setting, water temp and soil level. You could also put any other specifics that you may use when washing or drying your clothes, such as presoak (if your washer has that), fabric softener (if you use that), what dryer setting you use on specific clothes, and if there’s a wrinkle shield setting that you use. Hope that helps! 🙂
Hi! Would you be willing to share (or create a generic version of) your laundry cheat sheet?
Thanks SO much for EVERYTHING!
Thanks for the reminder, the picture has been added to the post! You’ll just probably want to create your own based off of your washer and dryer features since not all are created equal 😉
Do you prefer doing laundry during the day or evening?
Just whenever there’s time for it! It usually happens during the day, but sometimes it has to wait until the evening.
I solved my sock-dilemma like you, but with a little tweak when they turned adolescent: I gave my boys a bunch of similar socks in one colour. My oldest got Grey and the youngest got Black. The colourful socks are mine, and the socks with ‘boring motives’ are my husbands. So I can easily divide the socks and they may combine them themselves. And lonely socks are gathered in a basket, and once in a while are sorted out.
Oh, that’s a great idea!!!
Love all your good advice! What is wrinkle shield? Our 5 kids are grown and gone so it’s just the 2 of us. I’d love to follow your advice for washing whites in hot water to get them snow white, but most of our white clothes have washing instructions that say to use lukewarm or cold water. Do you wash your garments in hot water? I am afraid of ruining delicate white clothes. Thanks.
Honestly, be sure to wash everything at your own risk! But for garments, socks, and sturdy shirts (like school shirts) I wash them in the hottest water I can find! For delicate whites like sweaters and tights I will do cooler water. And wrinkle shield is a setting on my dryer, but not all dryers have it.
You offer some good tips. I have always done one load of wash or more each day. Otherwise, I would be overwhelmed. This has worked for me for the past 40+years.
Whites washed in Tide with Clorox worked the best. I did it that way for a long time. However now none of us buy white clothing. I used to be a big Tide fan but no longer find it better than many other brands.
I love when others share their tips and ideas. Than you!
I found a solution to clothes that have been dried with stains! – I gotta tell yah Jordan, when it comes to accidentally drying a stained article of clothing in the dryer, I am the WORST. I dont know if its just my distraction from having three children under 7 fighting and needing me constantly, OR my poor mom brain… BUUUTTTT it happens. It just does – but because I am just THAT hard headed, I have found a solution!
all you do is take that stain, rub dish washing liquid into it, let it sit over night, wash the next day. Then the next day, take out of washer and this time do the same thing, but top it off with a stain spray. Keep doing this and then after the third or fourth time let air dry, and check to see if its come out or not. At that point consider washing one more time, or calling it a day.
This gets the dried on stains out about 90% of the time for me! Of course you run the risk lightening that spot ONLY IF its not very color fast BUT you were gonna chuck it anyways so whatever! just give it a go!
(this works WONDERS for oil stains that have been dried!)
Oh wow, this is awesome! Thanks so much for sharing this! 🙂
TIP 1: Don’t want to pay for the name brand detergent, then just use the Gain/Snuggle dryer sheets (half sheet – per Jordan!) for a great smell!
TIP 2: For a fresh smell at home or in the car, put dryer sheets in the vents while running the heat.
TIP 3: Best stain remover hands down – Amway Legacy of Clean Prewash Spray (MIL recommended)
TIP 4: Only buy white bath towels.
TIP 5: As you sort or fold, pray for the child/person for whom you are folding. You can integrate this into your morning prayer routine and fold laundry 🙂
Jordan, you’re an inspiration. I love that you love your family and embrace the work.
Thanks for all the advice Jordan! I need all the help I can get with 5 kiddos under 10 😉
So many great tips! Love, Kate
P.S. I was raised on Tide but now I’m a “Gain” girl through and through!
These are AMAZING tips! Thank you for sharing!!
I am in need of a good washer and dryer
May I ask what’s your washer and dryer’s brand?
Any recommendations are welcome too.
Thanks !
Curious question…
I switched years ago from the name-brand detergents because they all had colors and dyes which were detrimental to my fabric diapers. I later found one of the eco based detergents that is mail order and re-uses the jugs. It has changed my life. I was able to try it during it’s third year in business, to the point that they changed their name in year five. Regardless, I use it for laundry, dishes, soap, cleaning sprays, etc and it is fantastic. I wanted to recommend it over Tide because I grew up allergic to it, having gotten a rash all over my body, where my clothes were in contact with my skin. (My dad had a similar reaction previously, so my mom had been washing his clothes in a different detergent.)
In case you have an interest, it is now called Truly Free and I love it. Their oxygen cleaner, similar to oxygen bleach, in combination with their enzyme stain treatment, has gotten out stains that have gone through the dryer. I was able to save one of my daughter’s favorite dresses because of this.
Thought I would share. And like you, I do not get anything from telling you about this, they do not know who I am other than as a customer. You do you…but I would highly recommend that you try them. I would send you one other gift bundles if I could….
Great video. I did a lot of those hacks…cold water because it also saves money – warm/hot water costs more, washing jeans with other jeans, adult clothes separate from kids’ clothes, etc. I am thrilled to know that I am not alone, as I don’t sort by color either. AND the same color socks I bought into a few years ago, while puting the safety pins on them is something that I did for years for my own socks. Saved sooooooo much time.
Best wishes and happy holidays to you and your family.