How to make laundry day easier

We tried, but we're sorry: We can't make laundry day go away. But we do think it can be much less painful than you might be making it. We have 5 amazing tips that will help you make this boring chore, funnier and easier. 

- Schedule by laundry type. Here's another option for breaking your laundry chores into smaller tasks. Schedule loads of laundry -- by type -- throughout the week. You might want to wash sheets on Monday so you can freshen bedrooms. Then do the towels on Tuesday, darks on Wednesday, and so on. 

- Laundry and multitasking. Laundry is often accomplished while doing other household chores or watching television. Time for a commercial? Then take five minutes to sort laundry into white, light, and dark loads. Ready to do a load of clothes? Plan for 25-35 minutes per wash load -- enough time to unload the dishwasher and sweep the kitchen floor. Allow 30-50 minutes per dryer load -- enough time to remake the beds with fresh linens. Waiting for something baking in the oven? Take five to 10 minutes to fold or hang laundry. 

- Keep it light. Since this is a hard working room of your home, be sure to have ample light and ventilation. This way, you won’t feel so closed in while you are doing your tasks and you’ll breathe better with no mold and mildew present.

- Use color-coding to get kids involved. There's something about assigning family members a color that just helps get the job done, no matter the chore. You can assign your kids a colored bin and place their clean clothes inside. 

- Delegate laundry chores. Delegate chores to children based on their ages. Most preschoolers can put away clothes that have been washed, dried, and folded. Grade-schoolers can fold and put away their own clean clothes. Middle-school and high-school kids can handle all the responsibilities related to their own laundry.