How to Teach Children to Put Away Their Laundry

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Laundry can take on a life of it's own when it's dirty and when it's clean and folded. That crucial step of getting it into the right drawer or on the hanger can be the most difficult step to accomplish. Have your children help out so that they can learn responsibility and minimize the clutter.

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Instructions

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Things You’ll Need:

Index cards
Pen
Folded laundry
Pictures

Step1

Organize the folded laundry. Don't provide a hodge-podge to the child, it's too confusing. Place like items together for easier putting away.

Step2

Place within easy reach. Children aren't tall, they need to be able to reach the laundry pile. Put it on a low table or on the floor in front of the closet or chest of drawers.

Step3

Label the drawers. For readers, clearly write the item that is placed in the drawer on a piece of paper and tape it to the drawer. For non-readers, write the name of the item and draw a picture (or cut one out from a magazine) on a piece of paper and place the label on the drawer.

Step4

Supervise their efforts. Don't criticize if they get it wrong, gently check in with them to see if those socks really look like the other objects in the drawer. If the child is happy with the result, leave it. It's not critical that everything is perfect. Good enough is just fine.

Step5

Encourage participation. Make up a silly song that goes along with the laundry putting away process. Incorporate fun dancing into the chore. Your children will find it fun and playful as the laundry magically gets stored away.