Laundry is one of my least favorite household chores, and I must admit I tend to let it pile up. My husband will come home after a week of being on the road driving for a trucking company, and he’ll ask for a specific shirt. Nine times out of ten I must admit it’s still in the hamper. Not so long ago he asked if I had washed whites, and unfortunately for him, and for myself, I hadn’t. He ended up wearing tighty whities that were really much tighter than he would have preferred, and I vowed never again to let the laundry go unwashed for days on end.
Lately I’ve been looking for ways to motivate myself to wash clothes, and luckily I’ve taken my own advice. My hampers are empty, and most of my laundry is folded and put away. If you find it difficult to motivate yourself to do laundry, give these tips a try. Your piles of laundry will be much smaller as a result!
Motivate with Scents
The scent of freshly washed fabrics can be invigorating, and the detergent you choose can make the difference between getting up and washing the laundry or letting it pile up in a corner. If you’re finding it difficult to keep up with the ever-increasing pile, try something new. Sometimes a fresh new scent is all it takes to motivate the senses to complete the task. New products almost always motivate me to get the job done.
Try a New Softener
The fabric softener you choose is just as important as the detergent, especially when trying to motivate yourself to do laundry. No matter how great the detergent smells, if the fabric softener doesn’t smell equally as good, the clothes won’t turn out as nice as you’d like. Various scents of fabric softener and detergent aren’t always good combinations. If your detergent smells like flowers and the softener smells like strong stale perfume, the clothes and linens could very well end up smelling like a funeral parlor.
If you’re trying to motivate yourself with scents, choose scents that work well together. Rain-scented detergent and flower-scented fabric softener are a perfect combination. What could be better than a fresh bed of softly scented flowers touched by drops of rain? Choose matching scents and your clothing and other fabrics will turn out fresh and pleasant smelling every time. This might just be all you need to motivate your mind and give you the incentive you need to put a dent in that ever-increasing pile of laundry.
Motivate with a Distraction
I personally don’t like washing clothes, and although I love fresh and clean smelling fabrics, all of the detergents and softeners known to man won’t motivate me for long. Instead of concentrating on chores I don’t like, I motivate myself by creating distractions. Before I know it I’m done with the work, and it’s far less painful than if I concentrated on what I was doing. If you can walk and chew gum at the same time, you can do the wash and distract yourself with enjoyable activities. Laundry doesn’t take a great deal of concentration, and you can definitely motivate yourself by paying less attention.
Pick up the phone and call a friend while working on the wash, or turn on the television. Before you know it the laundry will be done, and you’ll have watched your favorite shows or caught up with a buddy you haven’t spoken to for awhile. Most of the time when I’m on the phone I’m working on something, and I’ve gone so far as to thank my friends for the help. Distractions are wonderful ways to motivate the body to do what the mind tries to put off, and they’re a good way to trick yourself into doing the laundry.
If the laundry is exclusively your job, getting chewed out by your husband for dirty undies is also a wonderful motivation. It worked for me. If you have a very special man in your life who appreciates clean underwear, call him up and ask him how he’d feel if you didn’t wash clothes for a week or two. Chances are he won’t want to wear those undies that should have been turned into rags a few sizes ago. The high intonation in his voice will be enough to motivate you to get it done.
Motivate by Setting Goals
Sometimes it’s necessary to just get off the couch or get away from the computer and do the job, and I’ve had to force myself on many occasions to work on washing clothes and other fabrics I really didn’t want to deal with. It’s easy to watch television or talk to a friend when loading the washer or dryer or when folding clothes, but clothes won’t put themselves away. They might however walk off by themselves if they’re allowed to remain dirty for too long. One could only hope.
Set laundry goals for yourself, and make it a point to meet those goals by a certain time. This is a great way to motivate the mind and the body to do the laundry, and you’ll have all of the clothing and other items you want or need. You’ll never have to go without socks, and your happy hubby will never have to wear the tighty whities in the back of the drawer!
