Please help me with organising my laundry

[Jemster]

Hi
I've just had the most almighty row with dh as he's complaining he had no clean vests. He also doesn't like the laundry bin being in our bedroom as it's always overflowing.
I have been doing two loads of washing per day to try and keep on top if things but he says that clearly isn't enough!! He seems obsessed with washing and we seem to generate so much of it I'm sure it can't be normal.
I have no laundry routine, I just stick two loads on a day but by the next morning the bin is full again!
He has really upset me as I try my best to keep on top of things but he's made me feel like I'm doing a rubbish job.
I can't think this is normal to have do much washing every day. We are family of four, me, him, ds 5 and dd 11 months. Most of the washing is babies and dh's. i hardly have any clothes that fit me so don't create much washing.
Please help me if you have any advice. Thanks

[PestoFrostissimos]

If you are doing 2 loads a day I'd suggest your DH buys himself some more vests, as it sounds like you are on top of the laundry. He needs to sort out his clothing needs!

[PestoFrostissimos]

I usually do a dark or a lights wash every day, coupled with a further wash of either towels or sheets. Obviously if we have other sports going on, then I'll do an extra wash for muddy stuff or swimmers etc.

However, I do think it helps if everyone has the right number of things, just in case you can't wash one day - say you're away for a night or something.

[dreamingbohemian]

I don't think it's normal to have to do 2 loads a day, every day, for a family your size -- why does he generate so much laundry???

I don't think you need a routine, it's not rocket science. What you need is to reduce the amount of laundry needed.

If he won't do that, then he doesn't get to sulk if he has to wait a few days for something to be cleaned.

Does he do any housework at all? Because he sounds like someone who thinks the house fairies do all the work.

[2madboys]

Two loads a day seems like a lot - there are four of us but the Dss are 12 and 9. I do the following, mostly one a day.
Whites
Light Colours
Dark
Towels (two loads)
Bedding
I put swimming kits on a 15 minute quick wash on swimming days and sometimes do an extra whites wash as we have loads of white school shirts and I wear a lot of white tops, especially in summer. Laundry basket is rarely overflowing, but the boys have one each in their room so it's not all in ours. I also put the washing to come on in the early hours of the morning so I can get it in the dryer while it's still on Economy 7.

[Shesparkles]

We're a family of 4, albeit the children are older , but that means they generate a LOT of sports and dance kit and towels, we're not slovenly by any means but certainly don't create enough washing for 2 loads a day every day.
What's going isn't your washing basket to make it overflow in such a short space of time? Or is it very very small?

[Iwantmybed]

My system if its any help. I have 3 laundry baskets in our room. Lights, dark and whites. Whichever is fullest gets washed that day. I probably do a load 5 out of 7 days. 2 adults, a 5 yr old and a baby. No sorting of dirty clothes. For you I'd definitely buy more vests for him.

[nannyof3]

Get him to do his own washing!!!

[duchesse]

Here's an idea: He can do the washing. Then he'll be sure to always have vests as he'll have processed them. Or he could just go a buy a few more vests to account for the washing time. They're not very expensive.

With two young children you will have a lot of washing but I have to say that 2x day seems a lot. We have a 7kg machne, and there are 5/6 of us, sometimes 7 when we have an au pair but we have never run the machine more than 1x day. Now that the children are 17, 15 and 3 we run it maybe 2x a week.

However when we had a standard sized machine, and three very young children, two of us, my MIL and an au pair, we had to do 2-3 loads a day. A lot of it was washable nappies and bedding (incontinent children) though.

[SlatternismyMiddlename]

We are a similar sized and aged family and I would do about 6 loads a week. I agree with other posters, if your turnaround time isn't as quick as you like, buy a few more vests (or whatever the clothing items is that you seem short on).

As also said above if my DH had a complaint about the washing I would tell him if he is that bothered do it himself - see how long that lasts.

[RobotHamster]

Why the fuck can't he do his own laundry?

[ChocolateCoins]

That is a lot of washing! Go on a laundry strike and get him to do it himself! I would struggle to find two loads of washing a day although we do only have one DC.

Do you wash towels after ever use? Maybe wash them every few days instead, that might reduce your laundry a bit. Does he not have a lot of vests? Surely he only wears one a day so he should be able to go a few days with out running out of clean ones.

[RobotHamster]

Sorry - that wasn't helpful.

Our routine is that I deal with the laundry some of the time, and if DP has a few loads of his own stuff (he generates loads and stashed it around the house) then he just washes it!

We do a load of clothes a day, roughly, as well as towels and sheets as needed. 2 a day is loads, so if the problem is that your DP is generating loads of laundry then perhaps you can point him in the direction of the washing machine.

[ChocolateCoins]

What exactly are you washing every day? Is it just clothes?

[Pannacotta]

Why not get him his own laundry basket and he can be in charge of his own washing, think he has a bloody cheek, esp given you are doing 2 loads a day already!

[forgottoremember]

We are a family of 5 (DC 5, 3, 10 months). I wash on Sunday evenings and Mondays - enough loads to get through everything (4-6, depending on sheets/towels). I got fed up of having laundry everywhere all week, and would rather concentrate the pain! It's a bit of a nightmare for that one day (we don't have a dryer, so stuff is everywhere), but it's worth it for the calm that falls on Tuesday evening, once it's all dry and put away.
2 loads a day for 4 of you is insane! Lower your standards a bit? Clean the grubby bit of a child's jumper and use it again the next day, rather than washing the whole thing?

[MortifiedAdams]

he wears vests?

Anyways.....I do a load as soon as the basket fills - we have one and dd has one. No sorting colours for me, never seems to run thank god. At the moment both basket are empty so I know Ive got no laundry to do for a couple of days.

Get him to do his own.

[IrnBruTheNoo]

I read that as 'please help me with orgasming'!

[IrnBruTheNoo]

Ask him to not wear vests, as it's generating too much laundry each day!

[Rikalaily]

Firstly, why doesn't he stick a load of washing on himself when he notices he's running low on something? He's wearing them and obviously dossing barely worn stuff in the basket if you have that much in there, so why doesn't he wash some of it himself and then he won't run out.

Two loads a day should keep your washing basket pretty much empty, I do 2-3 a day for a family of 6 and as long as I do at least 2 loads a day the basket is more or less empty the 3rd load is usually towels/bedding or something.

I had endless washing to do when I used to put clean uniforms and PJ's on the kids every day, now uniform gets reworn if it isn't dirty (paint/food/mud etc) and pj's are worn for a couple of nights.

[TheCatInTheHairnet]

If I was you, I'd tell him to do his own laundry. And tell him it's his own fault for being a pussy and wearing vests!!

[MortifiedAdams]

Are you One Of Those People that washes towels after one use?

[Jemster]

Thanks for all the replies. He would be happy to do his own washing but he just does it so often that he basically hogs the machine!
A couple of months ago I bought a pop up laundry bin for ds's room to encourage him to put his stuff in there. As DH gets dressed in there too he started using the pop up bin for his stuff too, result overflowing onto floor, not what I had intended. When it got full he would wash his and ds's stuff but never include mine from the bin in our room. He's fanatical about washing so I hardly got a look in as he was always doing their stuff.
I'm sure a lot of the problem is he puts everything in there even if not dirty! I've asked him not to do this but he still does. I think he is a bit obsessed with washing, weird!!
Anyway apart from him most of it is babies as she is at a very messy eating stage and gets through lots of clothes, even with a bib on.
I think I will make a note of the next few loads and see what is actually in there as normally I don't have time to check it all and just bung it in.

[DewDr0p]

There are 5 of us and I do have a routine:

Mon - clothes, separated into darks/colours/whites (usually 1 load each)
Tue - towels
Wed - bedding
Thu - delicates
Fri - school uniform/swimming kits

When the dcs were small I used to do more clothes washes on Thurs (obv instead of uniform wash on Fri)

It sounds to me like you need to discuss with your dh why he feels the need to put non-dirty stuff in the wash

[Mintyy]

Make him completely in charge of his own washing. Delegate the job to him entirely.

There must be times of the day when you can stick a wash on for you and the dc? There is no way he can generate more than one load per day on his own.

[Mintyy]

We are a family of 4 and do 6 - 8 largish loads per week. And we are all perfectly nice clean people.