To ask how I could possibly cut down on laundry?!

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just had a smart meter installed and realised that a large chunk of our electricity goes on washing clothes - and drying in the dryer if not good enough weather to put outside. I have an airer which I use for a lot of it but I have too much washing to dry it all indoors. I tend to put socks, pants, t shirts pjs etc in the dryer. We go through a lot of pants and socks. But things like jeans, hoodies, school uniform on the airer.

both my machine and dryer are recent ish models. About a year old.

but how do I cut down on washing??

I have two kids, both have additional needs and can get very messy. Either accidents or food or mood from out playing. They need clean clothes every day, sometimes twice a day. I'm exhausted from all the laundry.

I tend to wash white shirts and other whites on a Friday afternoon..

Dp wears the same trousers for a few days for work but obviously needs clean work t shirts every day. Sometimes he'll wear a jumper for a few days 🤷‍♀️

I tend to wear fully clean clothes every day as I get messy and sweat a lot!

the rest is washed daily with all my other stuff. It's always a full load of darks every day, if I skip a day it'll be 2 the next day.

we use towels for about 3 days then washed. I have a separate wash basket for towels and tend to wash all together once or twice a week.

dd also suffers from severe allergies so bedding has to be washed once a week and her allergies are kept under control. I have a 10kg machine and thankfully all our bedding fits in one go but it's drying it if it's not dry outside. This summer has been great for line drying but that will soon change..

we have a dog but she's small. I tend to wash her bedding weekly but may change to Eve et 2 weeks, she doesn't get it overly dirty but like to keep it fresh!

so how do other people cut down on their laundry time?? Am I just destined to have continuous piles of washing every day? I see on here that some people only wash clothes once or twice a week! How?? I understand in adult only homes but what about with kids??

sorry if this is the most random boring post on a Saturday afternoon. I'm just sick of continuous washing and paying the price for it!! 😓

Also, dehumidifiers good for indoor drying and more energy efficient than the tumbler drier. We have those hanging things with small clips for undies. We are lucky to have a second bathroom, so heated or non heated airers are set up there with window open to prevent damp. Shirts etc on hangers.

We have looked into it and although dc both have health conditions we don't seem to be eligible as earnings too high but I'll look into again! Ty.

I put larger items on hangers and hang them from the curtain rails with the windows open, they often dry really quickly like that.

Do you have a greenhouse? I read on here that people are going to use theirs to hang up clothes to dry on wet days, as long as there is ventilation

Definitely wash less, although not an option for toilet accidents, but there's no need to change clothes when not going anywhere and it's just a bit of food or mud.

Check the manual for your machine. Short cycles are not always cheapest to run, especially as you're not supposed to put as much in them.

As your DC have additional needs, you may be entitled to a reduced rate for water, look for Watersure on your water company's website. You should also register as vulnerable with your G&E supplier, which may open up additional options and grants if you're on a low income.

Can you get a couple of soctopus to hang up the socks and pants and just leave them there until dry - you might need to find a creative indoor solution for wet days. I put ours on the curtain rail in the spare room, but I appreciate not everyone has spare rooms, or curtain rails it seems from a thread the other day.

They are not too big . Get or make adult bibs or aprons.

I do this too. I give then a 20 minut blast in the tumble dryer first in the winter before stretching and hanging up while still hot. Things like underwear or jeans I dry in the dryer or put out on the drying rack

www.etsy.com/uk/listing/608587684/adult-bib-75-x-40-cm-oeko-tex-fabric?gpla=1&gao=1&&utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=shopping_uk_en_gb_-bath_and_beauty&utm_custom1=k_CjwKCAjw9suYBhBIEiwA7iMhNCYBLWj52JamNoVG7itQ0X6Ubt8NYP76avMEhllQsX-jHJayqTDsBoCfvoQAvD_BwE_k_&utm_content=go_11073922980_109610251118_462914649514_pla-314548487700_m__608587684engb_562666113&utm_custom2=11073922980&gclid=CjwKCAjw9suYBhBIEiwA7iMhNCYBLWj52JamNoVG7itQ0X6Ubt8NYP76avMEhllQsX_-jHJayqTDsBoCfvoQAvD_BwE

Search adult bibs on etsy

It costs 4 times as much to wash at 60 than at 30. Water has to be heated by e.g. 40 degrees rather than 10 degrees!

Ds used to wear one of dh's old shirts when he was too old for a bib.

I have two kids, both have additional needs and can get very messy. Either accidents or food or mood from out playing. They need clean clothes every day, sometimes twice a day. I'm exhausted from all the laundry.

Well for starters, your children can wear less than clean clothes, especially for playing in. They don't need clean clothes twice a day - that's ridiculous!

That totally defeats the point of a dehumidifier. You keep the windows closed so you’re not losing heat in winter and letting more moisture in.

Switch to cold washes for laundry. Use biological powder. The oxygen bleach will disinfect and clean everything just fine, unlike liquids and tabs which do not have bleach.

Get the Meaco Arête 20L and use that for drying. Do NOT use the tumble dryer. They’re massive energy hogs and the dehumidifier has the benefit of using your humidity to heat your house at the same time. Literally a win win.

Don’t wash towels so much, as others say. I wash mine maybe every fortnight, if I can be bothered. I wash bedding maybe once a month. I wear clothes two days straight unless there are accidents.

I did read a book about old-time Quebec where the weather was foul for many months. For bed linen, they just had more of it, say 12 sets, and they changed them every two weeks but didn’t actually wash the sheets until the weather got better. The old sheets were just put into storage in the meantime. I’ve wondered about this myself. It’d only work if you had space and could afford the initial outlay.

It's not always twice a day, I was just saying worse case scenario. DS often needs clean pants and bottoms whereas Dd will be fine in same clothes all day usually.

Ariel cold wash detergent is amazing, I've been washing at 20/30 and I've never done that before. It was a lucky find in lockdown when that was all I could find and I've stuck to using it.

I do towels and bedding at 60. Clothes at 40 but looking to cut down to 30. Bedding has to be a 60 due to DD's allergies.

Thanks for this tip, genius idea!

You are never too big for a bib. I made each of us one for when we eat in the sitting room from trays,m which tends to result in spillage.

Im 69. DP is 74 ( and still working part time so not gaga, either) . Put your pride in your pocket, my Gran would say.

your skin will feel better

My skin gets worse the less I clean my bedding and clothes. I sweat a lot too and I start getting a spotty/oily back if I'm not having a shower and changing into clean clothes.

good advice on here already, but I also do the extra spin, it makes such a big difference.

Oh. I have mild psoriasis and it's so much better since I stopped showering every day.

Washing bedding once a month is fine as long as you don't get sweaty in your sleep. Sometimes I have such intense dreams that I wake up and my bedding is wet 😳

I only do towels once a week or maybe even less often as they dry completely between uses.

I also do bedding monthly, jeans are worn until they're visibly dirty or saggy looking.

Kids have clean tops every day but wear bottoms for several days. If we're doing messy things I get them to wear dirty clothes rather than a fresh outfit.

Basically drop your standards.

Clean pyjamas twice a week for kids, once a week or less for me.

I wish I had "dryer" skin as I think my sweating and oily skin is leading me to do more laundry :( just get horrible bedding and skin otherwise