Laundry
Laundry is not one chore, it is five: sort, wash, hang, fold and put away. Saying deal with the laundry means different things depending on where in the chain you are. The visual support below splits each link apart.
Laundry
A washing machine with a basket of colourful clothes, a folded pile and a white t-shirt on a line.
Laundry
A washing machine with a red top in the drum, detergent on top and a basket of clothes beside.
♂Laundry
A person puts folded clothes on top of a washing machine while holding a basket of laundry.
Washing machine and basket
A washing machine full of clothes, detergent bottles on top, a laundry basket beside it and clothes drying above.
♀Laundry
A person holds a green basket of clothes beside a washing machine, with a full clothes line above.
♀Woman folding laundry
A woman holds a stack of folded clothes next to a washing machine, with a full laundry basket at her feet and a t-shirt and trousers on the washing line.
⚲Hanging laundry
A child hangs a white T-shirt on a line above a laundry tub.
About this visual support
Sorting laundry is not the same job as washing it. Hanging it is not the same as folding it. When an adult says we are doing the laundry now, the child may hear any of five entirely different tasks, each with its own threshold: standing at the machine and pressing the right button, or carrying a dry pile from the sofa to the wardrobe.
Visual support makes the difference visible. When every link in the chain gets its own card, the child can see where you are right now – just sorting, just hanging – and stops feeling that the job never ends. Half the laundry becomes a whole task, not a failure.
A tip for households where folding is always the bit that stalls: turn folding into its own short session with its own cards, ideally on a rug in front of the television. Once it is a standalone step, it stops being the ever-postponed end of a long chain. Families who want to run the full chain visually can use Routined with a 14-day free trial.
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