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Week 03 · Laundry, Start to Finish

Monday

Sort by color
// Sort, read the tag, wash with a grown-up, fold, put away
⏱ about 15 min

Monday: Sort by color

Chris the Coyote drags a giant basket to the den. "Bennie, your laundry mountain has arrived!"

Bennie the Bear rolls up his sleeves. "A mountain is just a lot of small piles stacked up." He dumps the basket and starts tossing. "Whites here. Darks there. Bright colors in the middle."

Chris tilts his head. "Why not wash it all together?" Bennie holds up a red sock and a white shirt. "Because red likes to share. The shirt would turn pink."

Bennie sorts laundry into three baskets while a grown up bear loads the washing machine.

Why we sort

Laundry starts before the washer. It starts with sorting. Sorting means putting clothes into piles that can be washed together.

Dark colors can bleed onto light colors in the wash. A red sock can turn a white shirt pink. Sorting by color keeps that from happening.

Three piles handle most laundry: whites, darks and colors.

PileWhat goes inExample
WhitesWhite and very light thingsWhite socks, undershirts, light sheets
DarksBlack, navy, dark gray, dark brownJeans, dark hoodies, black socks
ColorsBright and medium colorsRed shirts, green shorts, blue tees
WHICH PILE?
  • Read the question.
  • Tap your answer.
Where does a red tee shirt go?
Where do dark blue jeans go?
Why not wash a red sock with white shirts?
A light gray tee shirt. Which pile is safest?

Check the pockets

Before a thing goes in a pile, check its pockets. A tissue in a pocket turns into a hundred white flakes.

Pull pockets out and look. Set anything you find on a tray for your grown-up. Then turn pockets back in.

Also check for zippers. Zip them closed so they do not snag other clothes.

  1. Pick up one piece of clothing.
  2. Check every pocket. Set anything you find on a tray.
  3. Zip any zippers closed.
  4. Decide: whites, darks or colors.
  5. Toss it on the right pile.
SORT ONE SHIRT. PUT THE STEPS IN ORDER.
  • ?Pick it up.
  • ?Zip the zippers.
  • ?Toss it on the pile.
  • ?Decide the pile.
  • ?Check the pockets.
WHY THIS EXERCISEPockets and zippers come before the pile so nothing surprising goes in the wash.
How many color piles does Bennie make?
What might a red sock do to a white shirt in the wash?
What do you check before tossing clothes on a pile?
StatementTrue or false?
Dark colors can bleed onto light colors in the wash.?
Jeans go in the whites pile.?
You should check pockets before washing.?
Washing everything together is the safest way.?
WHY THIS EXERCISEThree piles and a pocket check keep clothes looking the way they should.
What did Chris call Bennie's basket of laundry?
WHY THIS EXERCISEA big pile is only a lot of small piles. Sorting makes it small.
Try it
Ask your grown-up for one basket of dirty laundry.
Sort it into whites, darks and colors on the floor.
Check every pocket. Put anything you find on a tray.
Safety first
Sort dirty laundry on a clean floor or table, not the bed.
Wash your hands when you finish sorting.
If you find anything sharp or strange in a pocket, do not touch it. Tell your grown-up.

Three piles, every pocket checked. Tomorrow Bennie shows you how to read a care tag and sort by fabric too.