to ask how much washing you do?

[Junosmum]

Just that really. There's 2 of us. OH has a shirt every day, bedding and towels once a week, my work stuff every 2/ 3 wears, plus underwear and tea towels etc and OHs out of work clothes - t shirts every 1/2 wears, trousers once a week or more frequently if dirty.

But this seems to add up to a washload per day (or 3 in the week, 3 on a weekend if I don't do it regularly. And I don't understand why, we have big machine. Surely 2 people shouldn't create so much washing?!

[SummerNights1986]

It completely depends on what machine size you have and what you class as a 'big machine' IMO.

I thought our wm was big before...a 6kg.

We recently got a new one which is 11kg and, fuck me, it's huge. I can pretty much fit a weeks worth of clothes in at once (for us all, 2 adults and 2 dc). It's big enough to wash a king size duvet.

I probably do...3 washes a week, including bedding, towels etc.

[BreeVDKamp]

Me, DH and DS. Every other day I do a nappy wash, and then on the days in between I tend to do a wash, but maybe not if I'm having a busy day. So probably averages out at 5 washes a week, 2 of those being nappy washes.
I don't really have a system, I just collect teatowels, Muslins, towels, flannels etc until I have enough to do a full hot wash, and wash clothes whenever the wash baskets are full

[BreeVDKamp]

*3 of those being nappy washes

[ElsaAintAsColdAsMe]

I do 3/4 loads a day, there are me and 5 dc here though.

One wash a day for what you and your oh use seems like a lot.

[BreeVDKamp]

Oh wow an 11kg machine!! Dreamy. Ours is 7kg.

[formerbabe]

Family of four....at least 3 loads a day! It's hideous...I have no idea why I have so much!

[NickyEds]

Shit loads. Seriously. It's on at least once a day but probably more like 10-12 times a week. It's me, dp, ds (23 months) and dd (17 weeks). Dp just has a normal amount but me and the kids seem to go through heaps. I've seen on mn posts where people only do 3 or 4 loads a week and I think their washing machines must be huge!

[Kbear]

Me and DH and two teenagers - probably 6/7 loads a week including towels and bedding.

[KatieLatie]

Three of us (DH, me, 5 year old DS):

• two loads of towels (won't fit in one load).
  
• three loads of bedding (two loads of white bedding - ours, again, wont fit in one load - and one loads of DS's coloured bedding).
  
• two loads of coloured clothing
  
• one load of light coloured clothing
  
• one load of whites
  
• one load of school uniform (the white shorts go in with the whites).
  
• one load of denim
  
• normally one/two loads of sports wear.
  

Ouch, that is lots!

New washer and dryer arriving Tuesday: bigger loads, might be able to cut down on number of loads.

[BrandNewAndImproved]

I do a load a day in the week and 2/3/4 on a weekend.

2 dc and me, we all have a uniform that needs to be washed (mine daily) don't wash towels everyday but they are colour coded and we all have our own towels. They get chucked in with dark loads on an adhoc basis but not used more then 2/3 days on a row. Bedding gets washed weekly.

[poocatcherchampion]

About 4 a week. 5 of us inc 1 in nappies
I do 3 on a Monday and a nappies/babygros on a thurs

[Artandco]

Family of 4 here. We do about 4/5 a week tops.

2 with bedding and towels
1 dark wash
1 light wash
1 wool ( only in winter really)

How do people have time to do 12 loads of washing a week??? Or 3 loads a day?!! That's 20+ a week for a family of 4! That's madness

We rewear things like jeans/ jumpers if not dirty.

[Toadsrevisited]

Me, DH and DS1. In a week-
One load DH work shirts
One towels
Two bedding
Four clothes
Four nappies

So one or two loads a day.

[BrandNewAndImproved]

Oh I forgot the rugby tops, football strips, basketball outfits and taekwondko suits that need washing after every use!

[MrsMilkyMoo]

2 adults and 1 toddler and we do at least one wash a day, usually two.

[misscph1973]

You could wash your bedding and towels every fortnight rather than weekly, the trouble is remembering if you did it the previous week or not. I think that would reduce your washing enough for you to notice. If you want to save energy, wash at lower temperatures. I wash most things at 30, I just do tea towels and cloths at 60. I find that my beddings doesn't get as worn (I don't have much, so it gets used a lot).

[iwannadancewithsomebody]

According to DH, too much!

Probably every other day unless it's a nice day and I splurge and do all the bedding, towels and bath mats.

We are family of 4

[chocomochi]

DH, two DDs and me. Usually 2-4 loads a week for clothes and 2 loads at the weekends for towels and bedding. We do have a 8kg machine though.

[formerbabe]

How do people have time to do 12 loads of washing a week??? Or 3 loads a day?!! That's 20+ a week for a family of 4! That's madness

I manage it as I'm a sahm and dc in school!! I iron all of it too...no wonder I have hardly any free time!

[TheFear]

Baffled I am at the number of washes..
There are 4 of us (2 adults, 2 DC).
Generally I do one white, one dark wash during the week - mainly uniforms for the kids, towels, t towels.
Then at the weekend I generally do maybe 3 washes, 1 dark, 1 white, 1 other (sheets, delicates). I don't change the sheets every week. Probably once a fortnight.
So that's what - 5 washes in a week for 4 people. I think that's reasonable.
Only time i would do more is if someone wets the bed, pukes etc.

[Whatabout]

Four of us, one is potty training and one of us is a newborn with reflux. One load a day and then maybe an extra for bedding and towels at weekends. Sometimes I do more when ds2 returns 7ozs all over me at 4am. Mainly tear soaked nighties ;-)

I don't separate my washing aside from the newborn's, bedding and towels. Everything else gets thrown in at 30 or 40 degrees with some vanish to catch the random stains.

[WitchWay]

If this is proportionate, I do more than 95% of it! DS does own sports kit occasionally & DH does car-polishing cloths.

In terms of actual loads, one white load, one coloured/mixed load & one dark/jeans load weekly, one/two sports kit loads weekly, towels x two loads & bedding x two loads roughly fortnightly but more often if necessary, tea-towels & dishcloths chucked in with whichever load happens next, occasional "hand-wash" loads done.

[TheFear]

Should have pointed out that we have a large machine and neither adult wears work specific clothes to work.

[queenmools]

1 nappy wash every night.
Monday=whites
Tuesday=darks
Wednesday=red, pink, orange and purples
Thursday =pet bedding or pillows, mattress covers, duvets or pillow covers depending what month it is.
Friday= pale blues and greys
Saturday= green, yellow and browns
Towels
Sunday= Bedding
I also wash my son's school coat once or twice a week.
We are a family of two adults, a 4 year old and a one year old.