What is your laundry "system"? Why do you prefer it?

[kbutton]

I can't get through all the replies, but the Why for my once-per-week, family of four, is that if I get into a rhythm of loading, unloading, folding, etc., I get more done. If I do one load, I forget it's there. My laundry day is not a set day...it's whenever I plan to be home most of they day, and we have enough to make it worthwhile. I sometimes do a load on an off day if we go through extra towels (say, the toilet overflows, and we have a lot of rags from cleanup), or we need something specific washed. When I did cloth diapers, I had to do those every other day, but they were easy-peasy. I like to arrange all my chores by task as often as I can (not that I always have this luxury). It's more efficient than switching from cleaning mode to sorting mode to cooking mode, etc.

[ashfern]

I don't sort clothes. With the girls getting hand-me-downs it's the easiest way for other people to help me with laundry. Each person has their own day for laundry. The older two are almost 100% independent for their own laundry and help me with the rest. The baby is in cloth diapers so those get washed every other day. Sheets & towels get washed when there is a load big enough. I do at least one load per day but usually 2-3 loads get done.

[lavender's green]

We're a family of four and on average we do a load daily.  I used to do a few loads twice a week because I didn't mind having a big pile of laundry to fold (I find it somewhat relaxing!), plus I didn't have to wipe out the rubber gasket of my front-loader after every single load.

 

However, now I have a new baby!  So I do mind having a giant pile of laundry to fold; I find smaller amounts much more manageable when everyone wants Mommy right now.  I also use washable breastpads for nursing, and I need to do laundry most days if I want a continual supply of them (they weren't cheap, so I feel bad about using disposables half the time!).

 

I used to do everyone's laundry all together, but I got really sick of sorting it all.  I have a big sorting hamper in the master closet for the adult clothes, so my laundry and DH's gets done together whenever one of those is full.  I do each kid's clothes on their own and use dye-catcher sheets rather than sort by color.

[RanchGirl]

We have 4 people, I guessed that was medium?  and voted every day.  Here is my system, which I love.

 

I have three of these canvas hampers in my closet, and one in each kids room:

http://www.amazon.com/Rubbermaid-4D06-Configurations-23-Inch-Foldable/dp/B000JF8LSY/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1383593439&sr=8-1&keywords=rubbermaid+canvas+hamper

 

Every morning when I get up, on my way downstairs I check these and if one is at least half full, I empty it into a plastic laundry basket and bring it downstairs and start a load to wash.  If none of them is at least half full, I will either pull the sheets of one person's bed or have the kids bring down their hampers, whatever needs to be done.  So every morning first thing I start at least one load.  I check back into the laundry room throughout the day habitually, like when I leave and return from walking the dog, before and after lunch, etc., to "reboot."  By the end of the day, everything brought downstairs gets washed.  I have one small round basket in the laundry room for cleaning cloths which gets washed when it's full.  My boys play baseball evenings and weekends so their stuff goes right into the washer when they get home.

 

I have a hanging rod in the laundry room where I hang dry all shirts (except dh's t-shirts) and anything polyester (track pants, etc.)  I have a "flip fold" that I use to fold all the shirts that I hang dry.  I keep the top of the dryer clear and that is where I fold everything and keep baskets of clean clothes until they go upstairs that evening.

 

The kids help three ways:

(1) my youngest loves to flipfold so if I have more than a few shirts to fold, i put them on the coffee table and he folds them up.

(2) cleaning cloths and socks get washed/bleached together and the kids are in charge of folding/putting them away

(3) I put the baskets of clean clothes on the stairs, they put them away before going to bed.

 

I have tried teaching them to wash but I am too particular, so they know the basics but don't do it regularly.  which is fine with me, I'd rather they cleaned the bathroom and do the dishes because I don't really mind the laundry.

 

For me, the keys are (1) to have the sorting done automatically by doing it upstairs when the clothes are put in the hampers, (2) starting a load each morning, and (3) folding the clothes immediately when they are dry.

 

[MissKNG]

Four person family and I chose "other". I wash 5-6 times a week and that is because we have a portable washer so it takes more time and loads to wash our stuff. I typically do two loads a day in the portable washer in the morning.

[Scarlett]

I forgot to mention my third method of laundry. If I've ignored it for over a week and we're buried. I try to have a Laundry Day. It's fun for me because Laundry Day is code for Do Nothing But Laundry and Watch Movies. I might cook something that requires long simmering, but I like to cook so I find these days enjoyable and feel like I'm getting away with something.

 

 

Yes, I have had a few of these. :)

[Farrar]

My laundry system is...  "That's your job, honey." ;)

 

Dh works nights and he often does laundry when he's working from home.  I wake up and all the laundry is piled in the living room waiting to be folded.  About 1x a week.

[JudoMom]

Well, this post reminded me that I have laundry to do, so does that tell you anything?

I suppose I average 2X/week.  With 7, I should do it daily, though.

[Barb_]

Daily. I hate pooling family members into loads because so many people wear the same size (4-5 if us, depending on who is home), so everyone does his or her own. Whoever hasn't done laundry in roughly a week has either a load of darks or a load of lights. If there's a day when no one can seem to put a load together, I'll wash a loaf of towels or sheets. Laundry is to be washed, dried, folded, and put away all in the same day. I can't stand laundry pileup.

[Rubix]

We are a family of 4, one more on the way.  We tend to wash and dry daily, or almost daily.  However, stuff doesn't get folded until I have time for it.  I've been in a good routine before where I run the washer at bedtime, transfer it to dryer in am and clothes are piled in through the day, then washed at bedtime again.  Sheets, special clothes that can't be ran together would be separated for the weekend or whenever I had free time.  I would then fold and put away the daily load sometime during the day.  I got off that schedule and have about 6 loads that need folding right now...

 

[Susan in TN]

We are "almost every day", large family. We do laundry by bedroom:

Monday - master bedroom/bathroom (towels)

Tuesday - finish up from Monday if necessary (we are gone most of the day)

Wednesday - boys' room/bathroom

Thursday - dd15 (and 4yo) bedroom/girls' bathroom

Friday - dd10 (and dd7) bedroom

Saturday - any leftover / misc. laundry (everything must be done and put away before Saturday TV or games)

 

In general, the residents of the bedroom are responsible for their own laundry, although I will help on occasion and / or put clothes in the dryer/2nd load in if I'm down there anyway.

[OK Family]

We are a family of 5. I can't stand folding and putting away laundry. Doing it daily (in my mind) means I just fold and put away one load. Each morning when I wake up, I gather a load Of either towels, sheets, colored, whites, husbands work clothes ( I have designated wash days) wash, dry, fold and put right away. This helps me avoid keeping loads in the dryer for days. I have to be militant about it, or it won't get done.

[AmandaVT]

I am the laziest laundry washer ever. Our washer/dryer are on the second floor and at the end of the day, clothes go right into the washer, same with towels, dish towels, etc. I wash when it's full enough. :-) I don't sort (except for sweaters that need to go on the hand wash cycle) and I do a load most days. Sheets get done once a week, as do bath mats. They each get their own load. 

[MrsMommy]

I've been thinking about this all evening (as I've been playing catch-up on laundry because I didn't do it yesterday). A normal week for us is about 10-12 loads of laundry, but some weeks there are a few more. I'm not sure that I'd even have time to do a whole week's worth of laundry in one day, and even if I did, I can guarantee that I would not be a happy person by day's end! I'd much rather do a load or two every day than have it all pile up. I did use to do laundry once a week, back when we were a family of five and in an apartment. Since I had to go to the laundromat (a place I truly hated...a combination laundromat and bar), I figured I'd take advantage of the option of washing multiple loads at the same time. We had more clothes per person back then, so it worked, but we don't have enough clothes for me to wash only once a week anymore.

[Alice]

Family of 5 (I said that was medium). 

 

We mostly do it twice a week. Sometimes there is a third day of just sheets. 

 

“System†sounds too organized for what we do. I’d say it’s more that we do it when it needs to be done. Roughly that’s twice a week, unless we’re in baseball season and need stuff washed more often for the next game or in swim season when there are four thousand towels to do daily. 

 

Mostly dh starts the laundry either at night or early in the morning. One of us finishes it the next day or later in the day. The boys can flip from washer to dryer and oldest can now start the washer so sometimes I’ll have them do it. I dump the baskets on my bed, put all the boys’ clothes back in the laundry basket and they fold their own and put away. I do purposefully dump it all on my bed, that way I have to deal with it before bedtime. Although, it’s often dh doing the folding and putting away instead of me. 

 

The only “scheduled†day we have is Friday when we change all the sheets so do the bedding. We do towels with those loads also. 

[Deb in NZ]

Family of 4-5 (depending if dd is home on shore leave).  We do 1-2 load daily.  Our weekly plan ideally looks like this:

 

Monday--clothes + towels

Tuesday--clothes + ds#1's sheets (air towels)

Wednesday--clothes + ds#2's sheets (air towels)

Thursday--clothes + dh/my sheets (air towels)

Friday--clothes + towels

Saturday--clothes + dd's sheets,if she's been home (air towels)

Sunday--clothes (air towels)

 

I like to start a load as soon as I get up & hang it out on the line after breakfast.  If I'm working, I wash as soon as I get home & hang it out when it's done washing.  I take down & fold yesterday's  laundry as I hang today's.  We have 2 towels each & ds#2 has 3 sets of shorts/polos/socks for his school uniform.   Add in tradesman clothing for ds#1 & dh as well as hockey &/or sailing clothing daily for ds#2, haven't been able to get away with doing laundry twice a week since dd was 1yo  :laugh: .  We have a small dryer, but it is only used to finish off a few items during very wet weather or if someone is ill & I need bedding washed & dry to use again ASAP.  I may use the dryer a dozen times a year on a busy year.  

 

I usually wash all clothes together.  If we have a new item of clothing that looks likey to run, I wash it separately the first couple times with salt added to the wash to set the color.  After that everything goes in together.  In the winter I may do a wool wash once a month for our wool items.

 

 

[Artichoke]

When we had all six at home, I liked to do things like jeans and towels at night and then fold the next morning.  Dh would wash and dry his work clothes in the evenings during those years, and I would iron when they came out while he played with the kiddos.  It worked well for us.

Edited June 13, 2017 by Artichoke

[Ripley]

I outsource.  I drop off dirties and pick up cleans twice a week, sometimes three times (e.g., sports season).

 

I joke about the outsourcing bit.  My ex-husband lives with my parents, and he usually washes the kids' clothes with his own.  We line dry everything, and then my mom does everyone's ironing while she watches her daytime tv. This all started when I was working F/T outside the home because I did a lot of traveling for work and would always fall behind on laundry. When I retired earlier this year, I kept waiting for Mom or ex-DH to let me not the jig was up but so far ... nothing ... and I'm not gonna be the one to bring it up first! This system totally works for me!  LOL

 

I do (my home's) linens every other day: bedsheets, napkins, placemats, washrags, and towels. I wash (my and mom's) hosiery and lingerie by hand weekly.

[Tutor]

We are a family of 6. The extent of our sorting is a large, 3-section basket in the laundry closet where I toss reds, whites, and delicates/ dry cleaning. Everything else gets tossed in the washer at night when everyone gets ready for bed and washed on cold the following morning. Each day gets a second load of either towels, sheets, delicates, or reds (followed immediately by bleached whites - we had a problem with random red stains on clothing and this seems to have taken care of the problem). After Saturday fencing practice, I wash and hang everyone's uniforms.

[LisaKinVA]

Due to our current circumstances (teeny washers, limited hanging space, limited dryer use), we wash every day.  We are a family of 7...large end of medium, small end of large ;)  Towels for the family require 2 loads, if I'm washing sheets, I have to run the washer all day long (I think I'm going to invest in a 2nd set of sheets for everyone... because that's got to be easier than washing bedding for 7 people in one day!)

[Word Nerd]

My laundry system is... "That's your job, honey." ;)

 

Dh works nights and he often does laundry when he's working from home. I wake up and all the laundry is piled in the living room waiting to be folded. About 1x a week.

But the most time-consuming part of doing laundry is the folding, not the actual washing and drying.

[skeeterbug]

I haven't read through the responses...

 

There are six of us. I want my kids to be responsible for their own laundry eventually, so they each are assigned a day. DS9 can do his start to finish, just needs reminding at each step to start it, hang it, fold it, put it away. (Otherwise he'd get it in the washer and it would sit there for days!) DS6 needs help hanging and folding, DD4 needs help throughout. I keep a hamper near the washer for them to drop their whites into, everything else gets washed together, I do the whites later in the week. They do their sheets fortnightly right after their regular load of clothes.

 

S: Towels

M: DS9

T: DS6

W: DD4

Th: Mine/DH/Baby

F: Whites

Sat: Catch-up or none(!)

 

We hang our laundry, which means I can't do it only once a week because I wouldn't be able to get it all done and dry in a day. I also only have one electrical outlet in my laundry, so even when I want to use my dryer I can't run both the washer and dryer at the same time so it takes twice as long. I used to be a twice-a-weeker, but too often the amount of laundry needing done exceeded what I could get done in two days (because of the drying factor). I was constantly trying to catch up, stay on top of the laundry. Ugh. Now if I get off schedule I can easily catch up because it's only one load that I'm behind.

 

This is a new schedule for us, it's just become part of our routine. Even though I'm dealing with laundry everyday, I no longer feel like I'm a slave to laundry. Instead I feel on top of it, like it's always under control. It's working so well that I'm thinking of starting a cleaning schedule also- bathroom one day, bedroom the next, etc.

[Deee]

Ok, I'll be the one - I really like doing the washing! We are a family of three, sometimes 4. I wash every day. We have a 6kg front loader and I line dry ( we live in Australia, the weather is good and line drying is the norm). I HATE using the dryer. It sucks electricity and makes the clothes all soft and squishy. Everyone puts their dirty stuff in the laundry basket or a basket in the bathroom, I do a quick scout through the house for extras, then put on a dark load first thing almost every day. The washing machine takes 45mins. I hang the clothes out on the line during a spare 5mins, they flap around till I bring them in (afternoon usually, but about an hour after hanging them out on some of our blistering summer days). I fold them when I bring them in, or if I'm too busy, later in front of the TV. Everyone gets a pile of their stuff put on their bed and I put away the household linen. I stockpile the ironing and do it in batches. I do whites with the sheets (2 loads a week) or sometimes on their own if I have enough. I never run the machine unless its full. Australians do tend to wash themselves and their clothes a lot. It's hot and sweaty here in summer. It's very unusual for an Aussie to wear the same clothes two days in a row, with the exception of men's work trousers and occasionally jeans.

 

For me, this is the easiest way to keep up. If I am working, I put a load on the night before. I've used this system for 20 years, even when I worked full time with long commutes. It's the same system my mum has always used and I never stop to question it. I get jumpy if there is dirty washing hanging around.

D

[G5052]

Laundry is put in the laundry room every day.  I do DH and I, the teens bring there own usually.

 

When I have at least a 3/4 load, I wash.  I wash whites 2-3 times a week.  We have gi's and white undershirts for martial arts, so that is the bulk of the whites.

 

On Fridays I wash two of the four sets of sheets and all of the towels.

 

People generally put away their own clothes.

 

Generally I do around 6 loads a week, so about once a day, usually in the morning.

[Farrar]

But the most time-consuming part of doing laundry is the folding, not the actual washing and drying.

 

Well, he often folds too.  But I don't mind folding.  I can do it while I watch TV or while I'm watching the kids do lessons.  It's the carrying it back and forth to the back of the unfinished part of the basement and the having to remember to trade loads that I can't stand.

[Guest]

 

 

 Now, if Dh offers to 'help' then it usually takes up 2 days b/c he cannot seem to grasp the importance of stopping anything you are doing to go and switch over the wash, and it will end up stalled for several hours (which drives me batty, btw, along with the fact that he gives half my stuff to the kids and I spend the week wondering what happened to this shirt or that pair of socks.   :glare: )

 

I gotta laugh, because this has happened here before, too. When I was on bedrest, dh was (supposedly) doing laundry, to spare me carrying baskets. Only I.WENT.NUTS! I would be squirming on the couch, thinking, "I know there is a load that is dry now, wrinkling all to heck while dh is in outer space!"  :laugh:

[Guest]

I have been blessed with having no laundry room.  Laundry is in the kitchen.  So, we never have piles of laundry because it simply cannot stay in the kitchen.  

 

We do about a load a day from start to finish -- washer to drawers/closets.  

 

I love having no laundry room. 

I think this is a fascinating insight on less is more.  I'm happy to have a laundry room, but I can definitely see the benefit you're speaking of! 

[Mango]

XX large family, wash daily. 

 

Because by the end of the day there's 40 (at minimum) clothing items, 7 towels, the inevitable wet bedding from one, and kitchen towels, 

 

It adds up fast. 

 

[SweetMissMagnolia]

not that I really LIKE it LOL but I tend to do at least some sort of washing every day-if not I get piled up like MT Everest.....and that's mainly for 1 kid and 2 adults and sometimes a grandpa LOL.....I swear dh changes clothes more than a teenage girl! And ds is always out of underwear LOL.....oh and this includes beddings/towels.

[JennyD]

Family of five, including three remarkably grubby little children.  I wash daily, usually in the morning, and mostly alternating darks and lights.  On the weekend I wash all sheets and towels.  I fold as I take it out of the dryer and then put it away -- sometimes with a child's help -- later.  

 

Our washer/dryer is at the foot of the stairs to the second floor and everyone except me generally strips at the bottom of the stairs before heading up for bathtime and then throws his dirty clothes into the basket near the washer, thereby obviating much need for the hampers upstairs.  

 

I spent my whole adult life years living in apartments and only moved into a house with my own washing machine two years ago, so I still find the whole concept of being just being able to wash clothes at will wonderfully novel.  

[lea_lpz]

Family of five. Try to complete a load a day so I don't end up dedicating a day a week to laundry. We go through about 7 loads a week so if I do one a day we're good.....

[Audrey]

My laundry system is that my dh does laundry.  I prefer it because it's not me doing laundry.  I highly recommend this system.

[DarlaS]

Medium sized family. I decided we are medium since there are only six of us, and this is a homeschooling forum. ;-)

 

Everyone (more or less) does their own. I don't micromanage and they appear to be wearing clean clothes at any given time.

 

I occasionally go on a "Where ARE all the towels?!" rampage and do a couple loads of those (after pulling them out of various hampers) or oversee the washing of bedding etc.

[J-rap]

Oh, I was supposed to have had a system?  :)  Ours was a family of 7, and when my husband ran out of either socks or underwear, we gathered all the laundry and washed everything.  Then we'd throw the giant mound of clean laundry in the middle of the living room floor, and the kids and I would sort and fold.  Sometimes we'd turn on a movie while we did that.

 

Once my kids became teens they did their own laundry when needed, but they'd gather up other laundry around the house (towels, sheets, other people's clothes) so that they'd have a full load.

[KathyBC]

This is a good point! It's also why we can't do several loads a day. We line dry/hang to dry many of our clothes and only have so much room to do so conveniently.

This. Also, if you're on a septic system, it's much kinder to your system to run loads daily rather than running many loads on one day.

[Mom2TheTeam]

We don't have a system. 

 

We have 8 people, 6 of whom are 8 and under including 2 3.5 year olds and a 12 month old.  Two of my little people go through several outfits a day...it's frustrating!  And 3 of the other can rarely rewear anything, even jeans.  They are just young and they get things on themselves.  We also use rags instead of paper towels.  We just generate a lot of laundry.

 

I do laundry as the hamper gets full, which is at least one load a day. 

 

I struggle to keep up with laundry.  It is usually not folded.  I spent all of Saturday with my MIL helping me get my laundry caught up.  We were not here yesterday.  Still, today, my couch has tons of clean clothes on it waiting to be folded and my hamper is full again.  *sigh*  (Yes, I should be doing that instead of this.  ;))

 

 

We throw our clothes directly into the washer so when it's full I turn it on :)

 

I do this too.  I keep the washer open and throw stuff straight in.  But, there is almost always a full hamper too. 

[walkermamaof4]

the best thing that ever happened to our laundry system was to read Raising Olives blogpost about their system. Because of something I read there I think I started this: gave each kid a hamper and do each kid's clothes separately. This means I never have to stare at the labels to see what size it is and whose it is. My older two now do their own laundry when they need it. I do dh's and mine when the bin of lights or bin of darks is full. And I do the youngest child's with ours. Middle son's gets done when his bin is full. I also stopped buying the boys light colored clothing. Everything they own is dark except for white tees they wear under church shirts. So much easier to not have to sort theirs into lights and darks and they don't stain the darks so easily.

[Orthodox6]

Medium-sized family (six people still living at home).

 

Whatever gets washed is laundered when human labor is available, aligned with time being available.  He or she who gets to the equipment first, wins. 

 

DH is permanently banned from touching DD's or my clothes.  I could dress a mouse in wool sweaters of mine that he "helpfully" washed in hot water, then put through the dryer. 

 

When an emergency clean-up event roars through the house (think tsunami), dirty clothing is bagged into garbage bags and tossed into the garage.  Unfortunately, this sometimes can result in new garments being purchased because DH has "lost" the bags "somewhere in the garage". 

 

 

[Amethyst]

We are a family of six. I do laundry daily. I have it down to a pretty good system now. Each of the four bedrooms has its own hamper. Laundry is collected every day and taken to the laundry room where I have a big hamper with 3 bags - one for whites, lights, and darks. Every day is assigned certain types of wash. For instance, Monday is pajama day so all pi's are washed; this means all 3 types are done. Tues - sheets; Wed - darks & lights; Thurs - whites; Fri- darks & towels; etc. I've honed this so that no one is ever out of underwear or socks. Darks get done a lot more because we seem to have a lot of jeans. I have a list hanging in the laundry room so that anyone can look and see what kind of wash should be done that day. 

 

In the afternoon, all the clean clothes get dumped on my bed. They have to be folded and put away that day if I expect to go to bed. 

[Scarlett]

My laundry system is that my dh does laundry. I prefer it because it's not me doing laundry. I highly recommend this system.

 

I liked your post because it made me smile but in reality I prefer to do the laundry. It is one chore I love.

[Scarlett]

We don't have a system.

 

We have 8 people, 6 of whom are 8 and under including 2 3.5 year olds and a 12 month old. Two of my little people go through several outfits a day...it's frustrating! And 3 of the other can rarely rewear anything, even jeans. They are just young and they get things on themselves. We also use rags instead of paper towels. We just generate a lot of laundry.

 

I do laundry as the hamper gets full, which is at least one load a day.

 

I struggle to keep up with laundry. It is usually not folded. I spent all of Saturday with my MIL helping me get my laundry caught up. We were not here yesterday. Still, today, my couch has tons of clean clothes on it waiting to be folded and my hamper is full again. *sigh* (Yes, I should be doing that instead of this. ;))

 

 

 

I do this too. I keep the washer open and throw stuff straight in. But, there is almost always a full hamper too.

But, but what about sorting!

[mrbmom77]

I'm on mobile, so I can't see the ages of your children. I taught mine to do their own laundry when they were 9 and 11. Only 3 of us here.

Mon - DS does his

Tues - whichever kid has bathroom duty does towels

Thursday - DD does hers

Friday - I do mine

We all do our own bedding as needed, also. Everyone gets colored socks, underwear, and sheets, so no whites to bleach.

I love it because I only do my own and remind the kids as needed.

[mrbmom77]

I'm on mobile, so I can't see the ages of your children. I taught mine to do their own laundry when they were 9 and 11. Only 3 of us here.

Mon - DS does his

Tues - whichever kid has bathroom duty does towels

Thursday - DD does hers

Friday - I do mine

We all do our own bedding as needed, also. Everyone gets colored socks, underwear, and sheets, so no whites to bleach.

I love it because I only do my own and remind the kids as needed.