Teach Your Children to Do Laundry

Parents start out doing everything for their kids and it's easy to forget that at some point those children have to learn how to do it all themselves. If they're ever going to be responsible adults, kids need to learn how to do laundry. It's even better if they learn it young and can practice and help while they're at home - long before they really have to do it for themselves.

Steps

 * 1) Sort into different piles: Whites, dark colors, reds, bright colors,etc.
 * 2)  Different colors and types of laundry are separated and washed in different water temperatures.
 * 3)  Choose load size and temperature.
 * 4)  Wash white clothing on WARM or HOT/COLD. REGULAR/NORMAL.
 * 5)  Always wash dark colors on COLD/COLD because dark colors bleed in warmer water.
 * 6)  The first time a piece of clothing is washed, it needs washed by itself because the dye in the new clothing may fade onto other clothing.
 * 7)  Pour detergent in the running water before adding clothes.
 * 8) *Check pockets for forgotten items, ESPECIALLY GUM!!
 * 9) *Turn printed or beaded shirts inside out to prevent unnecessary wear on the printing and to protect the beads or glitter.
 * 10) Never overload the washer! Clothes won't clean well if they don't have space to agitate.
 * 11) Check and clean out the lint catcher before adding damp laundry to the dryer. Remove the laundry a few pieces at a time, shake them out to remove all washer-induced twisting, and place them in the dryer.

Tips

 * Pin socks together with large safety pins. Teach all family members when they take off their socks they should pair them, and pin them together, and throw them into the laundry basket.  You will save a ton of time because you will not have to pair up socks and you will rarely lose any socks.  Keep the socks safety pinned together in their sock drawer.  Unpin socks to put them on and put the pin in a safe place so it can be used at night.

Things You'll Need

 * A few laundry baskets that will hold approximately one wash load's-worth of laundry
 * Scoops, cups, or individual packets (zipper bags) that your child can easily manipulate to add laundry products
 * Detergent, bleach, dryer sheets, and whatever else you use to clean laundry
 * A washer and dryer
 * A line or clothesline, pegs
 * An iron

Related Tips and Steps

 * How to Dry Laundry Without a Machine
 * How to Do Laundry
 * How to Be Patient when Doing Homework With Your Young Child
 * How to Remove Coloring Washed in to Clothes
 * How to Avoid Losing Socks in the Washing Machine
 * How to Dry Laundry Without a Machine
 * How to Clean the Inside of a Washing Machine
 * How to Make Baking Fun for Kids