My not-so-secret confession: I adore doing laundry. It’s one of my favorite chores. Even though I enjoy laundry, I am always looking for ways to simplify.
I do laundry once a week (typically on the weekend). I do 2 loads weekly and 3 loads every other week. The two weekly loads are for mine and my husband’s clothes, and the second is for our daughter. The third bi-weekly load is towels and sheets. This is what I use for our nontoxic, waste free detergent.
Minimizing our wardrobes has drastically changed our laundry, in a really positive way. We reduced our wardrobe in 2 ways: By size and by color. We own what we actually wear and we only wear a few basic colors: Gray, blue and black for my husband and I, and pinks and neutrals for our daughter.
By minimizing our wardrobes it cuts out the sorting step of laundry and allows me to wash everything together.
How I reduced my wardrobe:
- Pull everything out. Empty the drawers, bins, closet and shelves.
- Create a giveaway, sell and donate area
- Start by removing all the COLORS (and/patterns) of clothing you don’t wear. (Don’t get emotionally attached here. It’s ok to donate something a dear friend gifted you. The article is just clothe held together with thread and finding a new home for it doesn’t make your friendship fall apart. These are the kinds of conversations I have to have with myself 😉
- Separate what you will keep and what will go into one of those 3 piles (give, sell, donate)
- Tackle your not-keep pile and separate into giveaway, sell and donate piles.
- Take inventory of what clothes you are keeping. Are there any “holes” in your capsule wardrobe? If so, this is where I shop secondhand first (check Mercari, ThredUP, Facebook marketplace, and local thrift and consignment stores) If I can’t find what I need second hand, I shop organic and ethically made.
- Re-organize what you are keeping by hanging, folding or rolling…However it’s easiest for you to access AND put laundry away when it’s washed and dried.
The end result of a minimalistic capsule wardrobe will look look different for you than it does for me, but whether you love or loathe laundry, minimizing what you own simplifies what you have to take care of.
The Nontoxic Journal 