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Original poster

Please share your laundry routines before I throw all the clothes out and devote myself to naturism

123 replies

WitchyBrew · 01/01/2022 22:19

2 adults and 5 kids in our house. DH does the washing and drying part of our laundry and I do the folding and putting away (ie, total fucking ballache part of the process). For various medical reasons, our kids are unable to help.

DH does at least 1 wash a day (if he doesn't then the pile gets totally out of hand). Before I went back to full time work, the clean clothes would accrue in a relatively small pile and I would fold and put away twice a week. However, since going back to work full time, I actually cannot get on top of it. It just piles up and up and up, and the only time I get a chance to tackle it is at the weekend, by which time there are 2 huge overflowing tubs of it strewn around my bedroom (which stresses me out no fucking end), and it takes the bones of 2 hours to fold and put away. And starts piling again immediately.

Unfortunately, we don't have a spare room that we could dedicate as a laundry room, and can't afford to get someone else to do the folding etc. And even if we did, it wouldn't really help unless they would actually come in and out the stuff away.

Please please please share your winning laundry routines/systems before I totally crack up and burn all the clothes!!

OP posts:

OwlinaTree · 01/01/2022 22:23

Buy 7 baskets. As it comes out of the dryer sort into the baskets. Fold and put away one basket worth each evening?

Shortpoet · 01/01/2022 22:25

Are things being washed too often? Can items (not underwear ) be reworn before washing which would cut down on the amount?

Are all 5 kids unable to help? Or is it you don’t feel it is fair in those that can?

Upwardtrajectory · 01/01/2022 22:26

Do you mix everyone’s washing in together? If so, I’d stop that and do each person separately - saves a load of sorting. I have a laundry basket in each bedroom, only the white wash is mixed as I don’t have too much of that.
Socks - just buy a million pairs of the same colour for everyone and shove them in the drawers unpaired.

OwlinaTree · 01/01/2022 22:27

Or at least get your DH to fold it as it comes out of the dryer.

Shortpoet · 01/01/2022 22:28

Or offer to seop do you do washing and drying and he does folding and putting away.

Or you both fold and put away together.

Serenschintte · 01/01/2022 22:28

I have a shelving system - each child has a clean basket.
Alternatively my gran - w 9dc stored their clothes downstairs - if that’s an option they could go away immediately out of the dryer.
Change the Jobs? You and DH switch round? See if that helps.

ILoveAllRainbowsx · 01/01/2022 22:32

Could you all wear the same t-shirts in bed that you wear during the day especially in winter as they shouldn't be dirty if they are under jumpers.

You need to start wearing trousers and jumpers for several days before washing.

Soontobe60 · 01/01/2022 22:34

I’m not sure what you’re doing, but it takes me about 5 minutes to fold the washing from the drier!
My sister, who has 4 children, used to wash by type of item, so all the trousers / jeans together, all the school shirts / white socks together, all the t shirts together etc. the boys underwear all went in 1 drawer. They shared pyjamas, school shirts, school sweatshirts. It helped that they were similar in size!
Part of the faff is actually sorting out the washing, but if you wash by category you remove this step.
My dh kind of sorts our washing by category. His work shirts (all dark) and any other dark t shirts go together, jeans and leggings / black work trousers together, all underwear together etc.

Footnote · 01/01/2022 22:36

We dress a lot directly from the clothes horse. If things dry fairly quickly I avoid a lot of putting away. Nobody gets a choice of clothes though.

Original poster

WitchyBrew · 01/01/2022 22:38

We're not washing too often, DH and I both try to wear things a few times, but the kids are all messy buggers so it's rare to get more than 1 wear from them.

We used to have baskets for everyone, it's a good idea and did work well from the folding and putting away respect, but because everyone has more darks than lights, what happened was the dark stuff was getting washed regularly but the whites were being left mouldering in the bottom of the baskets.

DH unfortunately doesn't have time to fold as he's taking them out of the dryer, it's often a case of grabbing them out of a morning before chucking the next lot in and heading off to work.

OP posts:

Itmustbeaproblemwithyourdoodad · 01/01/2022 22:38

Don’t wash as much. In winter we can get away with washing school uniforms about once a week or even less. They just don’t seem to sweat or get smelly or dirty much.

GoGoGretaDoll · 01/01/2022 22:39

Each person has their own clean washbasket and folds and puts away themselves in our house. If that's not possible, I think giving each individual a dirty laundry basket and washing/putting it away as a single load would be easier. But you'd have to put away one load every night to make that work.

Original poster

WitchyBrew · 01/01/2022 22:45

As for switching jobs/getting him to do it- he would have the same issue as me so it would just be pawning the problem off. There surely must be a more efficient way of doing it than our current setup!

I would LOVE if there were somewhere downstairs to store the clothes, but there isn't

As for folding clothes in 5 mins from the drier, this may be true if we had time and opportunity to do this for each and every wash as soon as it were dried. But by the time I get a chance to do it, it's at least 7 full loads of washing for 7 different people that need to be sorted, folded and put away.

OP posts:

Original poster

WitchyBrew · 01/01/2022 22:46

As I've already said, we definitely don't overwash. Our kids are very very messy!

OP posts:

MissLucyEyelesbarrow · 01/01/2022 22:47

Sounds like you need to relax your folding standards. Basket for each person, roughly fold clothes: job done. Where possible, put on hanger while drying, so no folding needed.

Also, it makes no sense to have two people involved in what happens when you take the clothes out of the dryer: you're just creating extra work. You've created two steps to a process that could be done in one. Can't you and DH take it in turns to do the drying, but whoever takes stuff out of the dryer then folds and puts into each person's basket at the time? That way, it never builds up.

Holly60 · 01/01/2022 22:52

I don’t quite understand why your husband can do a wash and dry every day but you can’t find any time to do a fold and put away. One dryer load should take between 5-10
Minutes to sort and fold and then 5 minutes to chuck into rooms or into drawers if children can’t put away. Can you not do a load every day?

MissLucyEyelesbarrow · 01/01/2022 22:53

DH unfortunately doesn't have time to fold as he's taking them out of the dryer, it's often a case of grabbing them out of a morning before chucking the next lot in and heading off to work

This is what is creating the inefficiency. Either DH needs to get up 10 minutes earlier or you need to do the drying in the evening, when you have time to put it away afterwards.

Your problem is that the person who is creating the inefficiency (your DH) isn't feeling the pain from doing so. If he had to manage the putting-away, I bet he would do it straight from the dryer. He's only letting it build up because it then becomes your problem.

Glitterbells · 01/01/2022 22:56

Op I understand, my dc wear clean clothes every day because they would look dirty and uncared for if they didn’t. They are incredibly boisterous and outdoors type children. whilst I’m very jealous of those who can make a school uniform last a week and I know some children are just naturally ‘neater’ (my Dneice is like this), I have to accept that my dc would look frankly neglected by a Wednesday in stained and dirty and crumpled clothing.

I only have two dc but it still seems a very heavy washing load (partly like I say due to the nature of dc).

The other problem I have is I don’t like using the tumble drier. So in summer it’s a line of washing out on the line daily before work and on weekends.
In winter so much harder. I struggle to dry clothes and feel that the general mess of airing stands and piling things onto radiators is so messy and stressful to look at.
So no answers but I’m watching for any ideas!

SavoyCabbage · 01/01/2022 23:00

We've got a clean laundry basket each too. I try to sort straight from the dryer or clothes horse whenever possible as it saves a whole step.

I try to buy clothes that don't need a lot of attention. (Ironing)
I encourage dressing straight from the clean laundry basket.
I have ikea boxes in the dc's drawers to help them stay as organised as possible and when they were younger they had labels on the drawers.
I get rid of clothes as soon as they grow out of them as the less stuff that's in the drawers the easier it is to manage.

MyPatronusIsASnowman · 01/01/2022 23:01

@Itmustbeaproblemwithyourdoodad

Don’t wash as much. In winter we can get away with washing school uniforms about once a week or even less. They just don’t seem to sweat or get smelly or dirty much.

Daily full clean uniform here! My DS is a mud magnet!

EmpressCixi · 01/01/2022 23:05

Sorry, but I do all the laundry from start to finish. From dirty basket to washed to dried to ironed to folded to put away.

Folding and putting away is the easiest and fastest part of the process. I am busy too, and as I pull a load out of the dryer, I carry it up and dump it on my bed. It accumulates through the day. I spend ten-fifteen minutes each night sorting, folding and putting it away, except for small pile of ironing, which I take back downstairs and iron when I get free time during the next day...ie...iron while watching tv after dinner is done in the evening, or get up a bit earlier and knock out heavier breakfast.

Your problem is you are letting it build up over several days. You need to add it into your daily routine somehow. And frankly, you have the easiest part of the whole laundry process so I am taking a dim view of your martyr tone here.

EmpressCixi · 01/01/2022 23:07

@MissLucyEyelesbarrow

DH unfortunately doesn't have time to fold as he's taking them out of the dryer, it's often a case of grabbing them out of a morning before chucking the next lot in and heading off to work

This is what is creating the inefficiency. Either DH needs to get up 10 minutes earlier or you need to do the drying in the evening, when you have time to put it away afterwards.

This is ridiculous to suggest “doing the drying in the evening”, you cannot leave wet clothes in a pile for hours in the U.K. unless you want them to mildew. And how does it help OP to have to try and fit in drying plus sorting, folding and putting away when she is already struggling with just the last 3?

Kite22 · 01/01/2022 23:10

Just get a big tub / drawer / basket for 'school uniform'.
Putting shirts and trousers and school socks and sweatshirts away all in different drawers / hanging spaces then having to get one of each out ready for them to dress in the morning is wasting time. Honestly, have a 'school uniform' tub.

Sickofpineneedles · 01/01/2022 23:11

There's 5 of us in the house, 2 of the kids are messy so hard to do repeated wearing. I find that putting away a load every evening is the only way to keep on top of it. Although the 2 older kids put their laundry away 1 does it by storing it on the floor in an ever increasing pile

JustKeepSwimmingJust · 01/01/2022 23:11

Can you get a service wash each week and then both put away?

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