The simplest solution.

The laundry. The laundry is absolutely astounding when you're washing for nine people.

I have been at my wit's end with a laundry pile that often reaches three feet high, baskets of clean laundry that I can't navigate and clothes that never get put away.

Until now.

I belong to a Catholic Large Family board on facebook and the question of laundry comes up constantly. Several people mentioned that every family member has their own basket and loads are only done when that basket is full. I liked that idea, but my people are small and they often run out of clothes in their closet before the load in the basket is big enough to run, what with their clothes being small. So I worked it out and decided to do this:

6ft table, eight baskets:

Andrew/laura
Household linens
Kitchen and dining
Lucy
Molly
Claire
Boys
Nina/Lilly

Under the table are two large baskets. Dirty clothes go there. When I have enough to run a load (like I ever have to wait), I wash and dry the load and sort into the baskets. Because I went with small, handled baskets, the girls can carry their clothes to their drawers and put them away without a problem.

The kitchen and dining basket is a HUGE lifesaver, because rooting through loads of laundry to find dish towels and napkins is enough to make a woman batty.

I am happy to report that the 3 ft pile hasn't been seen in over a week. It's pretty much a flawless system, and I'm running three loads a day without breaking a sweat.

I have arrived.