Organize your family's laundry cycles with these helpful tips

No matter how unorganized your laundry room is, establishing routines will help you master the mess and keep things under control.

Being proactive and enlisting the help of everyone in a household will help you keep your laundry room spic and span.

If your laundry room is in need of a cleanup, have everyone pitch in to get the room back in order. Any clothes should be washed, dried and put away. Organize and restock any laundry supplies such as detergent and fabric softener. If there are any detergent spills, clean them up.

Cleaning up the laundry room also means cleaning the machines. Check the dryer vent and clean it out if necessary. You can usually clear out the debris using a hand-held vacuum cleaner. If you are not familiar with cleaning out the vent, it's best to hire a professional to avoid damaging the dryer. To clean the washing machine, run the machine on the highest setting at the hottest water setting with a cup of vinegar or bleach. Open the lid and add a cup of baking soda and let it sit for an hour, then close the lid and let the cycle finish.

Laundry baskets, baskets (or hangers) for ironing and adequate supplies are all part of an efficient laundry delivery system. Designate collection spots (for example, hampers in every bedroom and two hampers in the bathroom, one for coloured clothes and one for white clothes) and protocols for keeping ahead of the dirty laundry. Establish an ironing schedule and make sure that all members of the household remain aware of it.

Schedules will help keep your laundry room orderly. All household members should put their torn clothes, dirty clothes and clothes for dry cleaning in the appropriate baskets on a day-to-day basis. If your household has many dry cleaning needs, assign one person to take care of whatever needs to go to the dry cleaners. Set a schedule for gathering and washing the laundry; these tasks may need to be done daily, every other day or three times a week—the schedule will depend on your household's needs.

Along with setting a schedule, make a chart that assigns a task for each member and rotate the responsibilities every week to avoid repetition. Assign one person to look over the laundry supplies each week and buy any that may be running low.