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

[Userno73627384738]

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!! 😓

This. A friend is a scientist in a washing lab of a big name brand and tokd me only the UK have non bio and that it’s because of consumer demand, there is no evidence that bio causes or aggravates skin problems.

White vinegar —-5 litres can be as cheap as £4, put half an espresso cupful in the wash at 30C. I wash everything on 30C 15 minute wash with no problems.

As others have said, wash the towels way less frequently. If they get dead skin cells on them so what? They’re your own dead skin cells I don’t really get the issue? Bedding less frequently except for the one with the allergies. Dog bed every week?!! I can’t even remember the last time I washed the dog bed tbh.

Dog bed every week?!! I can’t even remember the last time I washed the dog bed tbh.

Every week might be excessive but I'd worry about it stinking of dog if it wasn't done at least monthly. My mum had a dog but you'd never have guessed it from going to her house, soft furnishings and carpets hairless and not a whiff of s dog smell because she would wash everything so often. Best smelling house I've ever been in and I miss it now.

Dp thinks you can use a towel for weeks as you are clean when using it but they start to smell damp even when aired

That doesn’t mean they need washing every three days though-I think you can find a middle ground!

If they are messy eaters but too big to wear a bib-tuck a tea towel into their top when they eat.

hang some washing on hangers in the window op,

I honestly though the norm was every few days 🤷‍♀️

@Userno73627384738 how many loads do you do per week? I'm trying to find ways to cut down. I've switched back to powder which I think works better at 30 degrees.

Can I just put a plea out there for people to use powder that comes in boxes. So much better than single use plastic.

It's cheaper too

And powder is better for your machine. We found that out the hard way.

My DM hangs her washing in the garage when it’s raining.

We wear pinnies and use napkins if we're wearing some light/earring something messy.

Just get everyone into the habit of wearing pinnies (aprons) at dinner time.

I can also recommend Meaco dehumidifiers. We used to get condensation downstairs so use it overnight as well as drying washing & it's gone. Installed a drimaster in the loft which is essentially a giant dehumidifier so we don't get it upstairs either anymore

Wash towels less often. Unless it's tipping it down, my washing goes out all but 3 months of the year. If it showers a bit, it billows in between. This time of year it's either dry, or needs 2 mins in the dryer.
Jeans don't need washing that much. If you're at home and not going out, re wear it if it doesn't have stains on and doesn't smell! Cover your children with aprons doing messy stuff/eating (if age appropriate) if no ones seeing them but you rest of the day, don't change them.
In my opinion beds don't need doing weekly unless visibly grubby. I understand maybe your daughters does due to allergies.
Incidentally, I hang all tops up on hangers when dry, all else goes back in drawers or cupboards if I can get away with it to avoid ironing. Bedding straight back on beds when dry.
My mum wasted half our childhoods ironing the lot!!! I know you didn't ask advice on ironing but life sounds stressful for you, and ironing can be an unnecessary evil 🤣🤣

I second all the other PPs who've said towels don't need washing every 3 days.

You could try a small heated airer - I have one that folds up when not in use.
On a separate point, I've found Lidl detergent just as good as persil, but much cheaper.

I share this on every thread about laundry get these for towels/bed linen.

I can get a single duvet and single fitted sheet on one and they dry in less than 8 hours after a double spin on the machine.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/JoomUr-Blanket-Hangers-Sun-dried-MattressWashing/dp/B0822LYJP2/ref=mpssa113?crid=2I4WCMXSIYU0T&keywords=circular+drying+hangers&qid=1662226097&sprefix=circular%2520drying%2520hangers%2Caps%2C71&sr=8-3

Also time your washing to maximise what you can line dry.

Check the weather forecast and use dry days to wash jeans etc or anything harder to dry inside.

Have the washing ready to go out early in the morning to maximise daylight as we go into Autumn.

Even if things aren't 100% dry, you can finish off in dryer and save a lot of the cost.

Invest in an airer on a pulley that you can raise up to the ceiling. I don't have a drier so everything is dried either outside or on an airer. If you raise it up high it dries faster.

I don't need a clean top every day, at least not in the winter. I use a strong deodorant, so they don't smell. Might be different for men I suppose. I can also wear the same trousers every day and use the same towels for a week.
You say you sweat a lot, but this will be less once the temperature goes down won't it so you may not need to wash your own clothes so often.
Can you wear overalls/apron to stop getting messy?

What size Meaco have you got? There seem to be lots of different ones.

Thank you. I used to iron all clothes but about a year ago I had a major f**k this moment (it was taking too much of my time) and stopped apart from if we were going anywhere formal which is rare and you can barely notice at all!!

my mum was and still is the same and judged me whne I said I don't iron anymore. She hadn't noticed any majorly creased clothes though!

DS is starting secondary soon so will likely have to start ironing his shirts though!

I'm the same! I'm thinking maybe I'll do every 10 days instead of 7 which will still save over the year!

I use powder! Albeit persil non bio and could get cheaper non bio cheaper but it's the only one that doesn't irritate me which surprises a lot of people who say they react to persil.

it's also cheaper to use powder generally and better for machine! Plus no plastic boxes as you say.

I also live in a very soft water area so I use half the amount that they suggest and it still
makes clothes clean!!

@Snowiscold we have a 12l, it dries washing in a day in winter (8 ish hours I reckon) but you do need to move it round because it dries one side at a time, and because you set it to a certain humidity level it only comes in overnight when it does below that level. I've looked it & i think it costs about 3p a day to run