How do you organise your dirty / clean laundry?

[carbonella]

Does everyone have their own dirty basket in their rooms? Who collects it all? Or do you have one in a central location (bathroom?) and expect dcs to put stuff in there? Do you have a system for sorting dirties by colour? How do you transport the dirty and clean laundry up / down stairs?

Sorry - I know boring - but I think if I could get a good streamlines system going it would be so much more efficient...

[GlassSuppers]

At the moment myself and DP share a basket and DD has one in her own room and I take one basket down at a time and wash them depending on colour.
We're moving house shortly and the new house has a bigger bathroom so will have just one basket in there and I'll do all of our washing together once a week.

[carbonella]

Thank you glasssuppers. So you carry each basket downstairs?
Anyone with a larger household have any ideas? I have 3 dcs, and lots of keen sporty people in the household - so lots of sweaty kit

[BrutusMcDogface]

We have baskets in each room (3 dc too) but it's out of control. I'm thinking it might be a better idea to have three on the landing: whites, coloureds, darks.

The good thing about washing each persons separately, though, is that there's no sorting because all the contents of one basket belong to one person.

Laundry is the bane of my life (as well as the morning school run!)

[BrutusMcDogface]

Yes I lug it up and down the stairs, which is fun!

[clearsommespace]

We have a bathroom and shower room upstairs and a utility room with washing machine downstairs.
Dirty laundry baskets in bath and shower room. Anyone who undresses in their room is expected to put their dirty clothes in one of the communal baskets in the bath or shower room.
When a basket is full, it gets emptied downstairs (usually by DH or me).
Next to the washing machine there are three baskets, dark, lights and to be ironed.
Dirty sports kit goes straight into these (kids go through utility room when they get home from school).
When one basket looks fullish or when a DC says they are down to their last pair of clean pants/socks/jeans, I put a load on.

[carbonella]

I don't think washing each person's separately would work for us - I don't know people did this! For one, I like to seperate whites and darks, so that's TWO loads per person. And secondly, I think if I waited to wash the 5 yr olds clothes until there was a full load of whites, say, she'd run out of socks!

[firstbornforbread]

I bought a three compartment washing basket on a stand from b&m, the basket has lights/darks/coloured sections and the whole thing is on a Velcro strap so it can come off the stand and be carried up and down stairs.
I keep it on upstairs landing and everyone knows to put stuff in the right section. I don't bother carrying the bag up and down, I just empty one section down the stairs if I'm doing that wash 😃

[carbonella]

Ooh, baskets-by-the-washing-machine for sorting - had not thought of this...

[firstbornforbread]

Basket is something like his, except blue and three compartments. Small net tie close tops on each section, and the bag has Velcro strap so can be removed. It's Beldray, was £15 and it's excellent 😄

[carbonella]

:D at emptying down the stairs!
So can you 'unhook' just one section at a time? That sounds a possibility...

Then what about getting it all back to the right rooms? 1 basket? Many? Just carry it up in a bundle?

[clearsommespace]

Brutus, do you mean sorting of clean washing? I don't find that a problem except the socks now that DS has the same size feet as DH. I put them all in DS drawer and he then rejects any which aren't his.

[Tiddlywinks63]

I've got one basket in the utility room and anything needing washing gets put in there. When DS was still at home he had one in his room and he was expected to either bring it downstairs or do his own laundry.
Seems to work well.

[Orangesox]

We have one communal basket on the top floor of a three flor townhouse.

When I decide to tackle it, or it starts overflowing I sort into lights and darks into large Ikea bags and then use those to carry said washing downstairs, then to carry it outside to be hung up, and then to carry it all back upstairs. Ikea bags are then folded and stored between the wall and the basket.

[clearsommespace]

Firstborn, do you just chuck it down the stairs?
We do this with sheets. It's very satisfying. The kids actually like stripping their beds!

[SandAndSea]

We have one wash bin upstairs and one downstairs. And another for clean laundry.

The upstairs one and the clean one are both easy to carry and compress flat for easy storage.

[firstbornforbread]

I thought everyone chucked it down the stairs once washed and dried it gets put into dryers basket, which gets ironed into 'irons' basket 😄 I put all the laundry away from that basket. I don't let myself do any laundry before emptying 'irons' basket as it piles up then.

[MycatsaPirate]

DD has a basket in her room.

Then she brings it down and puts it into the laundry basket in the laundry cupboard (we just put our stuff in nightly)

When it's washed and dried it gets separated into two baskets - one of ironing, one of underwear to be sorted and dish cloths/tea towels.

I keep the clean baskets on top of the washing machine and the dirty laundry basket on the floor.

I have perfected this system over the last two years!

Swimming stuff goes straight back into swimming bags which are hung on hooks in the laundry cupboard and beach stuff goes back into the bag for beach stuff which is also in the cupboard.

I may do a diagram.

[clearsommespace]

For carrying back up, I fold Kondo style and it all fits into one plastic basket (4 neat piles). Apart from the stuff on hangers which I hang off a door downstairs until next going up.

[GrowThroughWhatYouGoThrough]

Wash basket in the bathroom everyone puts washing in. I take washing downstairs in a laundry basket wash dry then take back upstairs sort in the spare bedroom put away or ironing in a pile

[MycatsaPirate]

Oh and dp does all the ironing on Sunday morning as he's up really early. He puts it into piles and then each person takes their stuff back upstairs. We randomly (me) sort out the underwear basket but I've got into the habit of pegging pairs of socks next to each other on the line and making sure they are bundled together when they are dry so less sorting.

[carbonella]

@mycatsapirate I'd love a laundry diagram!

@clearmesomespace I would love to put stuff on hangers... but the hangers are UPSTAIRS so I have to go and GET them, and I'm always ironing in a mad rush some urgent thing for tomorrow. I need A SYSTEM.

[clearsommespace]

Firstborn, I get it with big things like sheets and towels but for the rest seems like it would create work picking up the socks and knickers off the hall floor.
DH has designed his perfect home. The bathroom is above the utility and there is a laundry chute.

[carbonella]

I have at least mastered pegging matching socks together so easier to pair... small wins...

[carbonella]

OH for a laundry chute!!

[clearsommespace]

I dry hanger items on hangers. They dry quicker and ate less likely to need ironing. Every now and then I ask everyone to bring empty hangers down from their wardrobe.