How to teach your kid to sort laundry, match socks and put clothes away

Laundry is the chore that never ends, which makes it the perfect chore to share. Long before a child is tall enough to reach into the washer, they can sort, match, fold and put away. And those jobs teach skills that go well beyond clothes: sorting by category, matching pairs and finishing a job all the way.

The CDC's parenting tips for ages 6 to 8 suggest household tasks as a way to build responsibility, and the American Academy of Pediatrics notes that kids can take on more as they grow. Laundry grows with them, from sorting at 6 to running the whole load at 10.

First, the one safety rule: pods are grown-up only

The American Academy of Pediatrics warns that single-load liquid laundry detergent packets ("pods") are highly concentrated and can cause serious harm if they get in a child's mouth or eyes. They're brightly colored and can look like candy.

The AAP's advice:

• If children 6 or younger live in or visit your home, consider traditional detergent instead of pods.
• Keep pods in their original container, closed, and out of sight and reach. A high, locked cabinet is best.
• Don't take a pod out until you're ready to put it in the washer.
• If a pod gets in a child's mouth or eye, call Poison Help at 1-800-222-1222.

So the sorting and folding jobs below are for kids. Detergent stays with the grown-up for now.

Job 1: Sort laundry by color

1. Set out two or three baskets: whites and lights, darks, and maybe towels.
2. Hold up each piece and ask: light or dark? Kids are good at this.
3. Check the pockets before anything goes in a basket. Tissues, crayons and coins all cause trouble in the wash.
4. When in doubt, ask a grown-up. A striped shirt or a new red sweater is a judgment call.

Why sort? New, dark or bright clothes can bleed color in the wash and turn the whites pink. That's a great "why" to explain, and kids remember it.

Bonus for older kids: check a care label. The Federal Trade Commission requires clothing makers to attach care instructions, so almost every piece of clothing has a label that tells you how to wash it. Point out the tiny washtub symbol, and save the full lesson for running the washer.

Job 2: Match socks

The sock basket is a memory game in disguise.

1. Dump clean socks on a bed or the floor.
2. Find pairs by color, size and pattern.
3. Fold or roll each pair together.
4. Lonely socks go in a "single sock" bag. They often find their partners next week.

Make it a race, or sort by family member first: "Find all of Dad's socks."

Job 3: Fold

Start with the easy shapes and work up.

Towel fold: in half, then in half again. Done.

T-shirt fold for kids: lay it flat face-down, fold each side in so the sleeves meet in the middle, then fold the bottom up to the top. It doesn't need to look like a store display.

Job 4: Put away your own clothes

This is where laundry actually ends, and it's the step that's most often skipped.

• Label the drawers with pictures: shirts, pants, pajamas, socks and underwear.
• Keep it reachable. Things they wear every day go in low drawers.
• Done means drawers shut. Nothing left on top of the dresser or in the basket.

The mastery test: one whole load

When your child can sort, match, fold and put away, give them a full clean load to finish: fold everything and put each piece where it belongs, for the whole family. That's a real contribution, and the whole household will notice.

Make it a quest

In Family Quests, this is the Laundry Sorter skill. Practice quests are sort laundry by color, match socks and put away your own folded clothes, and the mastery quest is sort, fold and put away one whole load. Start free.

Next: teach your kid to do their own laundry, or go back to keeping their room tidy.