It is important for a teen who is going to be attending college or moving into their own apartment to know how to do their own laundry. Laundry is a standard chore that should be learned as a part of a teen becoming independent.
Show your teen how to do the laundry using the steps below for two weeks, then allow them to do it themselves while you check for the next two weeks. If your teen has shown that they can handle the responsibility of completing their laundry during this time, then you can allow them to have the chore on their own.
Difficulty: Average
Time Required: 1 month
Here's How:
- Use an index card to write out each step. This will help your teen remember what to do with their laundry week to week and form good habits. Allow your teen to take notes on the back of the card if they wish.
- Get their laundry ready. Turn out the pockets of the pieces of laundry, checking for items that shouldn't go through the wash. Separate dark clothes from light and white clothes.
- Read the labels! Have your teen read the labels for washing instructions and explain what dry cleaning is, use this resource as a reference: Learn About the Process of Commercial Dry Cleaning.
- Read the label of the laundry detergent with your teen. Answer any questions they have about the amount and type of detergent. Look for special tips online on your detergent's website.
- Show your teen how to adjust the water level in the washer. Loads for just one person tend to be small, so your teen should know how to adjust the water to match how big or small their load is. Explain to your teen the different wash cycles on your washer using your washer's manual. Start the load.
- When a load of laundry is finished in the washer, show your teen how to load your dryer and set it to dry their load. Explain the other settings on the dryer as well.
- After the load is dry, immediately get it ready to be put away and put each item where it belongs. If it is left to sit in a laundry basket, it may never make it back your teen's drawers or closet. It helps to use hangers for items that hang. Also, fold and sort items with like items so they can be put away together.
