Laundry. The never ending at-home chore that we all despise. Lost socks, shredded tissues, and a forgotten load you have to rewash…oof. And it seems like laundry doubles during the summer because kids are home, everyone is spending more time outside, and family vacations are taking place.

You’re never going to love this chore, and if you do you’re a beautiful unicorn, so here are six tips for taking some of the pain out of doing laundry:

ASSIGN CLEANING DAYS FOR LAUNDRY

• For example: Monday (sheets), Tuesday (towels), Wednesday (lights), Thursday, (darks), Friday (delicates)
• If you have a large family, assign a day of the week for each person.
• Take the thinking out of it and set weekly reminders on your phone.

GET THE FAMILY INVOLVED

• Depending how old your kids are, they can help out with laundry from an early age (sorting items by color, folding small items like washcloths, matching up socks, putting away laundry, etc.)

MARK STAINS WITH CLOTHESPINS

• No one wants to spend precious minutes searching for a stain that someone swears is there, and there’s nothing more frustrating than finding out about a stain after the item has been laundered and dried. Use clothespins to mark the stain on a shirt. This makes everyone in the family accountable, not just the person doing the laundry.

USE MESH BAGS FOR SOCKS AND UNDERWEAR

• How many of you think there is a monster that eats random socks? Use mesh bags to keep all of the socks together. If you have a large family, designate one bag for each person for socks and underwear (makes sorting WAY faster).

DON’T WASTE TIME FOLDING CERTAIN THINGS

• Coming from a professional organizer, this may be a surprise, but for most of us, time is more important than having a pretty drawer.
• Do whatever you want with socks and underwear. Way easier to roll together or toss into a drawer than to fold into little squares Marie Kondo-style.

SET UP A SERVICE OR HIRE OUT

• There is no shame in hiring a service or individual to help out with laundry. If you’re local, Omaha Fashion Cleaners offers a fantastic laundry service and if you are a member of any Mom Facebook group, people are paying individuals per laundry load.