other X, and child three knows he is XXX. You can keep going with each child you have as long as you need to (if you don't run out of tag). This makes it really easy for any child to sort the laundry into the correct baskets.

Killing the sock monster! One way to put him out of his misery is to buy all the same kind of socks. Set a standard sock that you wear for every day and they will be easy to match. Here is something else I did that worked great. I got a small basket for each child and labeled on the outside of the basket: X, XX, and XXX. With each child's socks I use

I stood outside one evening talking to a dear homeschool friend confessing my weakness with great shame knowing the mountain that waited for me at home. She smiled and calmly explained how she was like me at one time and that she doesn't have that problem any more. I stood there stunned knowing that she had 8 children and I couldn't keep up with my three. She then told me she would share some tricks of the grade with me. A sparkle of hope came to my eye and I began to look forward to attacking that mountain.

Here are a few pearls of wisdom I have picked up when it comes to laundry that have helped me. I had too many clothes. My friend's key to conquering chaos was to limit her kids to one weeks worth of play clothes. Let your children pick out their favorite clothes for every day wear. Seven shirts, seven pair of shorts or pants (I separated the seasons), seven pair of underwear, etc. Of course you will have your "going out" clothes. Those clothes are kept in another part of the closet or even in another closet altogether so they don't choose to go digging for dinosaurs in their nice dockers without you noticing. I even began going through my closet and limiting my clothes too. It has been so liberating to let a lot of these clothes go and we have been able to bless others who appreciate the new clothes. Putting the laundry away.

When it comes to putting away those everyday clothes...that is a task that the kids are capable of doing. Get them each a laundry basket and when a load is dry, have them pull out their clothes and put them away. Even my youngest could do this when he was three. He knew which clothes were his and it didn't matter if the clothes didn't get folded...they end up getting wrinkled anyway when they rummage through the drawers to get their clothes to wear.

Label clothes. When you have children where hand-me-downs are involved, her is a great tip. I have three boys so at some point they each may get to wear the same shirt at some point in time. To help them and you keep track of whose items are whose, mark the tag with an X. The oldest child gets the items that have a single X on the tag. When it gets handed down to the next child simply add a second X. The second child will be able to identify their items with the XX. When it gets passed down again, simply add another X, and child three knows he is XXX. You can keep going with each child you have as long as you need to (if you don't run out of tag). This makes it really easy for any child to sort the laundry into the correct baskets.

Killing the sock monster! One way to put him out of his misery is to buy all the same kind of socks. Set a standard sock that you wear for every day and they will be easy to match. Here is something else I did that worked great. I got a small basket for each child and labeled on the outside of the basket: X, XX, and XXX. With each child's socks I used

aundry that have helped me. I had too many clothes. My friend's key to conquering chaos was to limit her kids to one weeks worth of play clothes. Let your children pick out their favorite clothes for every day wear. Seven shirts, seven pair of shorts or pants (I separated the seasons), seven pair of underwear, etc. Of course you will have your "going out" clothes. Those clothes are kept in another part of the closet or even in another closet altogether so they don't choose to go digging for dinosaurs in their nice dockers without you noticing. I even began going through my closet and limiting my clothes too. It has been so liberating to let a lot of these clothes go and we have been able to bless others who appreciate the new clothes. Putting the laundry away.

When it comes to putting away those everyday clothes...that is a task that the kids are capable of doing. Get them each a laundry basket and when a load is dry, have them pull out their clothes and put them away. Even my youngest could do this when he was three. He knew which clothes were his and it didn't matter if the clothes didn't get folded...they end up getting wrinkled anyway when they rummage through the drawers to get their clothes to wear.

Label clothes. When you have children where hand-me-downs are involved, her is a great tip. I have three boys so at some point they each may get to wear the same shirt at some point in time. To help them and you keep track of whose items are whose, mark the tag with an X. The oldest child gets the items that have a single X on the tag. When it gets handed down to the next child simply add a second X. The second child will be able to identify their items with the XX. When it gets passed down again, simply add another X, and child three knows he is XXX. You can keep going with each child you have as long as you need to (if you don't run out of tag). This makes it really easy for any child to sort the laundry into the correct baskets.

Killing the sock monster! One way to put him out of his misery is to buy all the same kind of socks. Set a standard sock that you wear for every day and they will be easy to match. Here is something else I did that worked great. I got a small basket for each child and labeled on the outside of the basket: X, XX, and XXX. With each child's socks I use

et and limiting my clothes too. It has been so liberating to let a lot of these clothes go and we have been able to bless others who appreciate the new clothes. Putting the laundry away.

When it comes to putting away those everyday clothes...that is a task that the kids are capable of doing. Get them each a laundry basket and when a load is dry, have them pull out their clothes and put them away. Even my youngest could do this when he was three. He knew which clothes were his and it didn't matter if the clothes didn't get folded...they end up getting wrinkled anyway when they rummage through the drawers to get their clothes to wear.

Label clothes. When you have children where hand-me-downs are involved, her is a great tip. I have three boys so at some point they each may get to wear the same shirt at some point in time. To help them and you keep track of whose items are whose, mark the tag with an X. The oldest child gets the items that have a single X on the tag. When it gets handed down to the next child simply add a second X. The second child will be able to identify their items with the XX. When it gets passed down again, simply add another X, and child three knows he is XXX. You can keep going with each child you have as long as you need to (if you don't run out of tag). This makes it really easy for any child to sort the laundry into the correct baskets.

Killing the sock monster! One way to put him out of his misery is to buy all the same kind of socks. Set a standard sock that you wear for every day and they will be easy to match. Here is something else I did that worked great. I got a small basket for each child and labeled on the outside of the basket: X, XX, and XXX. With each child's socks I use

hey rummage through the drawers to get their clothes to wear.

Label clothes. When you have children where hand-me-downs are involved, her is a great tip. I have three boys so at some point they each may get to wear the same shirt at some point in time. To help them and you keep track of whose items are whose, mark the tag with an X. The oldest child gets the items that have a single X on the tag. When it gets handed down to the next child simply add a second X. The second child will be able to identify their items with the XX. When it gets passed down again, simply add another X, and child three knows he is XXX. You can keep going with each child you have as long as you need to (if you don't run out of tag). This makes it really easy for any child to sort the laundry into the correct baskets.

Killing the sock monster! One way to put him out of his misery is to buy all the same kind of socks. Set a standard sock that you wear for every day and they will be easy to match. Here is something else I did that worked great. I got a small basket for each child and labeled on the outside of the basket: X, XX, and XXX. With each child's socks I use

other X, and child three knows he is XXX. You can keep going with each child you have as long as you need to (if you don't run out of tag). This makes it really easy for any child to sort the laundry into the correct baskets.

Killing the sock monster! One way to put him out of his misery is to buy all the same kind of socks. Set a standard sock that you wear for every day and they will be easy to match. Here is something else I did that worked great. I got a small basket for each child and labeled on the outside of the basket: X, XX, and XXX. With each child's socks I used a permanent marker and marked the respective X's on the bottoms of the sock. When I pull out the whites, it is so easy to place the single socks into their respective baskets right there in the laundry room. When the kids yell out "Mom, I can't find any socks," I send them into the laundry room to their baskets. They create pairs, fold them together and refill their sock drawers. This was a great way to introduce my youngest child to sort laundry when he was really little. He was in charge of the socks! He could match the sock with it's basket. If only they kept up their love for sorting and putting away laundry as they got older.

I still have a long way to go before I am June Cleaver, but every little bit helps. If you have some alundry tricks of the trade, please shoot me an e-mail so I can attach it to this and share it with other readers with your compliments.

In closing, let me challenge you to something a little different. One day I looked at my laundry chore through a different set of eyes. Instead of focusing on how much I detest doing the laundry, I chose to change my attitude and celebrate it. I changed my attitude by attaching an action to this unfavorable chore. I began to pray and thank God for the children who fill these clothes, for the blessings He gives us daily, for the boy's good health that they could go outside and play so hard, for the grass that stains their clothes and cushions their falls. I pray for my husband as I iron his shirts and for the job He has provided for my husband, that he will be a light in his office and that God will be with him and give him wisdom when he encounters problems. That God will hold him fast and help him to be a man of integrity in a work word where he may be tempted to compromise his principals. And thank God for blessing me with my best friend... Once you begin, you will find that you won't be able to stop and before you know it...your laundry job that you usually dread is over and you are restored and refreshed. You may even go looking for more laundry to do!