Ronda Batchelor, a mum of six who is a full time housewife, says she’s always looking for cheap ways to make the most of her home. She shares her tips on keeping on top of laundry with such a large family - and making sure her house looks clean at the same time.
Stack machines
If you can, get your machines stacked on top of one another, so you’re not using valuable floor space for a washer and dryer.
Sorting bins
Deep sorting bins that separate light from dark, cottons from delicates are a great way to make sure all the washing is ready to go when you want to put a load on. Encourage children that are old enough to separate their own dirty washing into these bins.
Drawers for each child
Ronda has six drawers installed inside a cupboard, one for each of her children. When clothes are washed and dried, she folds them and puts them in the drawers, and then the kids take them back to their rooms and return the empty drawer to the laundry.
Air dry delicates
Ronda created three ‘drying drawers’ from some cheap mesh set in a frame, attached to a drawer. These allow her to air dry delicate items while hiding them away tidily. The drawers are connected to a fan that runs for an hour, drying the clothes without shrinking them.
Hang in the laundry room
If you’ve got kids, you’ll probably appreciate that they’re not likely to hang up their own clothes. So Ronda has installed a rail in her laundry room with hangers, so that she can hang their clothes before giving them to her kids.
Fold down ironing board
For anyone who is a little bit OCD like us, you hate it when ironing boards get left out by the partner/kids/yourself, cluttering up the room. Ronda has got round this by installing a fold out ironing board that tucks away neatly in a cupboard, so it can be kept nicely out of the way when not needed.
Sliding door
For ease when carrying baskets of laundry, Ronda has installed a sliding door on the laundry room.