Teaching Your Preschooler Laundry: Practical Chores For Young Kids

I was recently talking with other moms about chores around the house. We realized our upbringing had a big impact on our domestic abilities. We all vowed that our sons would learn how to do laundry and other household chores at an early age so as future husbands they could be independent and helpful! We’ll see how that turns out in a few years 😉

After our discussion we decided it was time to teach our preschooler laundry. She is 3.5 years old so she definitely needs some assistance, but she is at a good age to help. At this point she still thinks it’s awesome to help mommy around the house! So here is how practical ways to involve your preschooler in household chores.

Practical Ways Preschoolers Can Help With Laundry

Sorting the Colors: First, model the behavior and show your child how you sort the laundry. Whether it’s light colors and dark colors or a pile of black clothes and a separate pile of white clothes your preschooler can definitely help in this step!

Loading the Washing Machine: We have a front loading washing machine so our daughter can easily move the clothes from the basket into the washer. When it’s time to move the clean clothes to the dryer she helps as well.

Pushing Start: When my preschooler helps with laundry I talk her through the steps she can’t do herself. I show her how I measure the liquid and sometimes she likes to pour it into the machine. She also loves pushing the start button and watching the water come down.

Hanging Up Clothes: We have a second lower bar in our daughter’s closet that is just her height. It’s perfect because she can hang up the clothes herself. She LOVES this part of the process.

Teaching your preschooler laundry isn’t hard. It just takes time. When I actually take the time and involve our preschooler in the process I’m amazed at how much she can help! Sometimes it seems easier to just do it myself, but I’m hoping by taking the time to show her the process it help later on. Then when she is old enough to do everything herself she will already know all the steps.

Final Laundry Tip: Cleansing our closet has also transformed the chore of laundry! We recently had a health concern where we had to wash every piece of clothing we owned. I couldn’t believe how many pieces of clothing we had. So I decided it was time to get rid of things and keep only the staples and clothing we can wear season after season.

Cleansing your closet: It reduces the amount of laundry each week and helps with decision making!

When it’s time to get dressed my daughter has a much easier time choosing clothing when there is less to choose from! When we decided to get rid of some items Izzy helped with the process. She put away some of her winter clothes and hung up some of her spring clothing. I didn’t realize how much “clutter” bothered me until it was gone. Now for the spring weather!