Dear Friends,

Do you put your laundry away as you fold it or hang it up? We have talked about the five steps of doing laundry – sort, wash, dry, fold/hang, and put away. Many of you get hung up (pun intended) on the last two steps.

By folding or hanging each load as it is dried, you will start to feel more in control of your laundry. Your home will start looking better and less cluttered if you also complete the fifth step by putting it away. Putting your laundry away each time you do a load will allow you to use the space you have for clothes, and it will allow you to not live out of laundry baskets.

Each week, I talk to ladies who struggle with laundry. Last week, I wrote about laundry again, and I received comments and emails about laundry. One thing that keeps you from putting all of your laundry away is the fact that your closets and drawers are already stuffed full. It takes effort and time to stuff in more clothes.

Today, I want you to put away all of your laundry. If you struggle with having enough room, you can spend a few minutes decluttering clothes. Tomorrow, you can do a little more. On Thursday, you can declutter a little more. By the end of the week, I want you to be able to put all of your laundry away easily.

With fewer clothes, you will start to feel more peace in your home. Your bedrooms will not be filled with clothes on the surfaces or hanging on furniture. Some of you have limited storage for clothes. Be creative on storing off-season clothing. I can fit both cool weather and warm weather clothes in my closet. I don’t store my off-season clothes anywhere else.

Children tend to have a lot of clothes. In many cases, they have more clothes than they actually wear. Having a large family means that I have passed clothes down the line, especially since I have 5 boys. Each season change, I spend time with each boy. We would toss worn out clothes. We would make a pile of clothing that was too small. We would pack up clothes that still might fit in a year’s time. I would label the plastic bins with a name and size.

After we went through the decluttering process, I would pull out the plastic bin that I thought would have clothes that fit them. We would go through it and pull out only what they thought they would wear. If there were still clothes left that they did not want, I would put these clothes in a box to be donated.

As my youngest outgrew clothes, I gave these away. I did not hold onto them. Each child has one special baby outfit, monogrammed blanket, and a pair of shoes. Other than that, I have not kept clothes for sentimental reasons. I chose to bless others with the clothes we do not need.

As we are entering warmer weather, purge clothes deeply. You do not have to keep everything you have been given. You do not have to keep everything you have purchased.

Your Home Blessing for today is to dust and vacuum.

Your Zone Mission for today is to put away all of your laundry.

My menu plan for Tuesday is grilled chicken and salad.

Have a blessed day!