The “Get The Laundry Done” Board

Laundry. Laundry is kind of a dirty word at our house, and I don’t mean because laundry is dirty, I mean because I really don’t enjoy doing it. This summer, one of my goals has been to really teach my boys how to do chores properly. One of the chores on my list was laundry. My boys ages are: almost 11, 9, almost 8, and 4. I figured that the older two or maybe three are capable of doing laundry themselves, start to finish. I’ll still have to help the four year old, and that’s okay with me. The first week that I used this system was AWESOME!! Seriously, it was laundry freedom for me. I didn’t have to wash it, dry it, or put it away! Putting it away seems to be the hardest/least liked part for me, so I was excited that I didn’t have to worry about it. Well, I’ve learned in the last couple of weeks, that it will just depend on who is assigned to do laundry for their chore each week, whether or not it gets done just right.

All of this started because I decided to make some printables of how to do the different chores around the house. How to clean the living room, kitchen, bathroom, bedroom, and laundry. Once I got those cards all made I realized that if my boys were really going to learn how to do the laundry, that I needed to make some instructions for the washer and dryer so that I didn’t have to go to the laundry room with them every time a load of laundry needed to be done. If these washer and dryer instructions apply to your machines and you would like them, you can print them here. The printables from The Happy Scraps are for personal use only.

 

Once I had the washer and dryer instructions done, I realized that I needed instructions for each different type of clothes. (Is this story starting to feel like “If you give a Mouse a Cookie” to anyone else? We could call it “If you teach a boy how to do Laundry…”) Anyway, I made some little cards for the different clothes, so between the washer instructions and these cards, they are good to go! If you would like to download these laundry cards and make a flip chart like mine, you can find the file here and here. Please remember that the printables from The Happy Scraps are for personal use only. Also, this is just how I do my laundry, it may be different than how you do your laundry. 😉

A couple of years ago when I made my DIY Shaped Clipboard & Laundry Schedule, I didn’t have a place to put it. Since I had made all these printables and I still had the Clipboard, I needed a place to put all of it. I decided to make a board for all of it to go on. I did remake the the schedule, if you would like to print it out, you can find it here. Remember that the printables from The Happy Scraps are for personal use only.

After I had all of the printables printed out, I used a Xyron to laminate each one to make them more durable and to last longer. For the board, I used a piece of 1/4″ thick mdf. I set out the printables and things I wanted on it so I knew how big of a board I needed. I measured and cut it. Then I painted it. I was just going to leave it plain, but what is the fun of a plain board. I decided to paint stripes. To hang the DIY Shaped Clipboard, I used a knob that I had on hand. I just drilled a hole and and put the bolt thru the back of the board and screwed the knob on.

I knew I wanted some kind of hook for the little flip chart. I looked at Hobby Lobby and couldn’t find anything, so I headed to Lowe’s. I found this hook, it was a little larger than I was wanting, but it works. I did have to buy some shorter screws for the hook, because the ones that came with it were a little bit long for my 1/4″ thick board.

For the very last final touch, I decided to cut some vinyl and put it at the top. I just used my Cricut to design and cut it.  I love what it adds!

So, after all the work that went into this board, I really love it. It did turn into a lot bigger project that I originally thought it would, but I LOVE it! In the beginning, I just thought I would tape the washer and dryer instructions to the washer and dryer. That would work, but I really do love the whole board all together.

If you are ready to teach your kids how to do laundry, print these out and try it, or make up some of your own printables that apply to your own laundry/machines. I’m telling you, you won’t regret it! It has been so nice to have help with the laundry here at our house.