Jun. 30, 2007 - Power sorting
I have found a way to tame the laundry monster!
With five kids, we do about 2-3 loads a day with an extra 2-3 loads on the weekends. I am always struggling to keep up with the 15+ loads. Well for the first time this week the kids and I have played a game called "power sort". Other families might call this sorting the laundry! 
I gather all the kids who can walk and they sit, in a semicircle,with their assigned baskets. ( In our home everyone has a color and the linens have ther own basket.)
So I sit in front of Mt Saint Laundry and say get ready to catch. I proceed to throw the pieces of laundry to the right person and call out the name of the piece. For instance our newborn has quite a few pieces that belong to her so I will yell, Rachel as loud as I can an they have to catch the piece fast. I usually get through all 5 loads in about 2 minutes. The toddler runs around and tosses things during all this. 
Then I have the kids run the baskets to the right room. Their adrenaline is pumping at this point so they run fast. Then we power fold the kitchen linens and towels. They love racing to get it done first. It is amazing how fast they can help when I call it a game and give it a strong sounding name.
