Mask Washing Habits

My kids started school recently and, though we were already used to wearing masks while out and about, the mask usage has increased significantly! With more mask-wearing comes more mask-washing and mask-storing. And this now means we have to develop a HABIT and STORAGE.

For my family, the HABIT is basically this: “When we get home, throw your mask in the washing machine before you do anything at all.” Our washing machine is in the back of the house, right where we enter. It’s also where we store shoes, hats, coats, and other landing zone items. So, really we are just stacking the mask-in-the-washing-machine habit with the existing habit of putting shoes up. (More on habit stacking here.) Once we are all home for the day, I run the load of masks along with whatever load of laundry needed to be washed anyhow, with the exception of white laundry.

Once the masks come out of the dryer, they now need STORAGE. In our case, I found a basket I wasn’t using, labelled it “Clean Masks” and set it on top of the dryer. This is really easy and, just as important, it’s very clear. I have told everyone in my family that to reduce mask chaos, don’t save a mask somewhere that was “barely worn” so that you can wear it again. What if someone else thinks it’s clean? What if you forget where you set it and it gets lost in the shuffle, making our mask inventory down by one? Not to mention, what if Mom loses her mind because masks are yet ANOTHER piece of clutter at home?! We can avoid all this by washing each mask at the end of the day and putting clean ones in a common area.

— Tara