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

[WitchyBrew]

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!!

@WitchyBrew I imagine having five DCs , all of whom (from your OP) have some kind of physical or neurological limitation, takes up a huge amount of time, and in the evenings when everyone has to be fed, homework supervised, maybe some DCs need taking to activities, then bedtimes, you really don't have time to keep up with laundry chores. It seems to me that suggestions of doing each person's laundry separately are the most practical. Could each of you just have a very large carrier bag in bedrooms, but obviously all sheets, towels etc go to one basket?
And if you can afford to send sheets and towels to a laundry, that would cut down a lot of the work at home.

It takes you 2 hours to fold and put away?

Don't separate out light from dark.

I don’t have 5 kids but this has revolutionised laundry with our two.

Every night I go around the house gathering dirty laundry, everyone’s bedroom floors/bathrooms the lot.. then shove it in on a time set to finish at 6am. It runs overnight and DS1 wales at 6am every day so who ever gets up with him just bungs it in the tumble dryer first thing. It finishes around 7am because it’s never a full 9kg if it’s done daily. We fold and put away as an activity with DS1 when DS2 wakes for the day I know, aren’t we fun🙊

I think you need to have putting away washing as part of your daily routine even if it’s 10 minutes every morning and then some at night. You are doing a lot more than your DH though! Could any of the children help?

I know it’s rushed rushed rushed when sorting wet clothes into dryer. But taking that time to fold everything as soon as the dryer finishes means far less time taken folding and sorting overall. If you just shake them out flat as they come out of the dryer fresh then they are smooth and I wrinkled.

Ideally, combine the removal from dryer and the folding. If you have 2 minutes just take, shake, lie flat. But if you can take 5, shake, fold, put into people piles. Means the putting away is much faster.

We don’t have individual baskets but we do have individual spots on the bench by the dryer. So as stuff comes out it goes into individual people ikea which means it is much faster to do.

And suggest if DH really doesn’t have that extra five minutes that you have a laundry amnesty - set to together to sort the mountain - and then swap jobs for a week or so; you do the push into a machine and press a button, and he does the fold and sort bit. He might be more inclined to help out with finding the extra five minutes to fold at the time then.

Don’t know what the DC’s issues are but if part of the problem is they need constant supervision so you can’t leave alone long enough to fold them get into the habit of bringing the washing back into the room and folding it with them.

Some friends with complex children keep their clothes downstairs. Instead of five separate wardrobes they have big drawers in the kitchen/utility. Labelled for each of them but right by the dryer so clothes come out of the dryer and into the drawers. Makes quick changes easier during the day too. And can use upstairs cupboards for pads and medical supplies etc.

This folding must be origami ???
Struggling to imagine 2 hours folding even where there is a bit of backlog. Are the drawers or shelves too small so you are having to do intricate logistical folding ? Do you need to hang more - ie if you are doing professional shirt folding type things ?? Are there hook opportunities etc.

www.wilko.com/en-uk/dylon-colour-catcher-40-sheets/p/0501597

Dylon colour catches are your friend. Chuck in a couple and then you can mix loads.

A pp said these didn't work for her bras but I've never had that problem.

Family of six here, this is what we do.
Once washed, tops/dresses etc, get shook, hung on a hanger and placed on curtain pole/picture about a radiator.
Trousers get shook and placed on the radiators.
Smalls go on socktapus type things, socks always paired.

Then when dry everyone’s stuff gets hung on their own designated door hook to be put away. Only urgent stuff gets ironed. Trousers are folded straight from the radiator.

The kids are in charge of socktopuses.

In summer it is the same but we dry them on the line, hung on hangers, rather than indoors. Everything gets put away the same day.

5 kids here too, I usually put a dark wash on every day after school, then hang it all to dry... Tumble dry pants and socks and tea towels etc. Usually some of the stuff from the day before is then dry so I can fold that. Anything that needs ironing gets put on the side in my room and try and do a few bits of that in the evening and put it away. Pants and socks get put away that day.
Next day repeat... I also fit in a white wash every 3rd day or so for school shirts which dry really quickly. I think maybe the key is hanging as much to dry as you can so you can easily pick off what is needed to be ironed and what can easily be put away. Do a dark wash daily, and on weekends catch up on other bits that need to be washed separately and try to do something daily... Putting away the simple things like pants and socks etc. Once sorted or ironed put the items in piles for each person so it's easy to pick up and put it away

I iron! That adds another level, some things I just can't get away with a shake and a fold!

The tumble dryer gets used a bit but I hang out when possible (it's been mild and I got a load nearly dry 2 days ago). So much can't go in the tumble dryer so it makes me a bit confused when I hear people just dump the wash from machine to dryer 🤷🏼‍♀️.

OP I know you say you don't wash too much but what is DP filling his load with to do one every day?

One basket per person and sort straight from the dryer.

There’s a lot less of us to be fair, however it does seem like you have an extra step in there that you don’t need.

So much can't go in the tumble dryer so it makes me a bit confused when I hear people just dump the wash from machine to dryer

I only use our dryer in winter, for sheets and towels. I have a Lakeland heated dryer and that makes it even easier - the clothes are already folded in half on the rack, so I just pull them off like that and put them in DH's basket (same for DSC when here). I also hang some things directly on hangers then put on the rack to dry. Over all, it cuts down on time, even though the washer-to-dryer stage takes a bit longer than bunging them in a tumble dryer.

Don’t let it pile up. I’ve taken over the washing as my DH used to just leave it in a massive pile and it was so overwhelming. No one could find anything. I now do one wash at a time and fold and put it away as soon as it’s finished.

Can you set the washer on timer, to finish a load as the first adult gets home? They can put it in the drier, and it will be ready for folding and putting away before bedtime.

I don't understand this really , surely you wouldn't leave clean dry clothes unfolded ? Surely that is creating more work ?
I just wash / dry fold and put away in about 5 minutes . We are 4 but only wash 2 x a week , our washing machine is quite big so maybe consider that so it isn't every day?

I think the inefficiency here is doing one wash a day. If you instead start early on Saturday or Sunday with one hour wash, straight into dryer, next one hour wash, fold and store, on rotation, you can get five /six washes done in one day, probably better if you rotate between you and your DH alternate weeks so the other can look after the children!

I don't put much effort into my folding. It basically just gets folded in half and thrown in the correct drawers.

It is essential to do a laundry load from start to finish in each 24 hour period.

First thing in the morning I put a load in the machine, take previous day's dry clothes off the airer, radiators etc and put in laundry basket to go upstairs. As soon as possible when the Washing machine finishes everything comes out and gets hung up to dry. This is often when I get in from work when dinner is in the oven.

While I am running the kids bath I quickly nip around putting the dry load from the previous day away. I never let it build up.

On my days off I do about 3 loads in a day to catch up with non clothes items such as towels and bedding. These get tumble dried. We only have a washer dryer so it will be easier if you have seperate ones.

I am not on top of my laundry and I completely get you.

Things that have helped: we all share socks. They’re all just black. No pairing.

I don’t separate colours and I don’t even own an iron. I tumble dry everything. We have very little that can’t go in the dryer, maybe the occasional jumper.

I keep the school uniform in my bedroom and all together.

We have a basket clean and a basket dirty each. Don’t get the people who say they don’t have room. The baskets are in each person’s bedroom.

My bedroom becomes the default laundry room where everything is sorted.

We all have a laundry basket (kept in bedrooms so out the way) for each person. Each basket holds about 1 load. Each basket is washed when it is full, dried, folded back into that persons basket and returned to their bedroom to be put away.

We don't really have lights to worry about, everything just gets chucked in together. If you have whites to do, you could do those in one go all together, then it's only 1 load to sort through what belongs to who rather than every one

If the reason none of the children can help is that some can’t and therefore it would be unfair to make the others do it, may I suggest bribery. Make this a pocket money task. Be prepared to pay well to get the incentive established!

Can you describe your current process in detail as I can't see how it takes so long? It looks like

1. DH puts washing in washing machine;
2. DH transfers washing from washing machine to tumble dryer;
3. DH removes washing from machine and piles it up (unfolded);
4. OP shakes out and folds clothes;
5. OP puts laundry back in bedrooms;
6. Is there ironing to do too.

Our process involves laying out on a dryer or on outside line which takes much longer than chucking in machine, we fold as soon as dry and iron a lot. It's the ironing that takes the time so I'm not sure I understand where your time is going. I think the clothes need to be folded as soon as dry though.

What I’ve taken from this thread is that there is a business opportunity for a full washing service not just the ironing services that are readily available.

My kids pocket money chore from a very young age was pairing socks.

I used to have this same problem. Now when I am watching TV in the evening/dh putting kids to bed etc I sit and fold a basket of laundry or two. Then when the kids are eating dinner (I've usually finished before them as they eat slower than a sloth) I put a basket or two away. Basically if I have 5 mins I tackle a little bit.