Day 4

Can you believe that it has taken me 9 months to work out what to write for Day Four? Yes, it can be so hard to recall after so many years what was the 'next step' that you took on your road to success so many years before. I was actually only reminded of it because of the arrival of our fourth child recently. Yes, our house is in reasonable order - except for our laundry!

So let's focus in on this. There are six steps to completing the laundry:

• soaking/pre-treatment
• washing,
• hanging/drying,
• folding,
• ironing (if needed), and
• packing away.

Often, our laundry gets stuck in limbo either waiting to be washed or between one of these steps. Where does yours get stuck? Starting today, between getting up and making breakfast, I want you to put a wash load on. Your goal is to see it through to being put away on the same day (weather permitting). If necessary, make your goal two or three loads as is required for the needs of your household.

Add each step to your daily tasks and time it to fit in as many wash loads as you need to do each day. Be sure to look at efficiency also. For example, once you have emptied the washing machine into a laundry basket you can immediately put another load on, if required. Also, it is easy to take a load of washing off the line at the same time that you are to hang the next load. The quicker you get your laundry under control the quicker you can focus on other things. Getting it packed away as quickly as possible stops your laundry becoming part of your household clutter too. Have you de-cluttered today yet too?

Remember, today you are being asked to:

• make your bed,
• prepare yourself from head to heel,
• put on a wash load,
• de-clutter with the rule of 64,
• progress your load of laundry to the point of being packed away,
• clean your kitchen sink, and
• wipe down your counter tops.

Oh, and before I forget, if you need any help with soaking and pre-treatment as well as working out what to use in the washign machine then please check out our section on laundry cleaning solutions for plenty of hints and tips!

So, at the end of today let me know - how's the laundry?