How would you tackle this laundry backlog?!!

[periperisaucemama]

For 3 days per week I am at home looking after young DC being 100% mum (weekend and Friday).

For 4 days a week I'm working from home whilst DC are at nursery.

Like a lot of women I feel like I'm always spinning plates and juggling various responsibilities and tasks. I do majority of housework as I'm home more, and I always seem to have overflowing laundry baskets, and baskets of clean clothes to put away.

So with the above schedule, would you:

A) only do laundry on the 4 wfh days, and not do any on Fri-Sun (family time).

B) do all laundry on the 3 "mum" days (Friday, Sat & Sun) and rope in family to help out. Leave the 4 wfh days clear for work only.

C) spread it out across the week / everyday / most days

D) something else - a magic organised system I'm missing...

I do all the laundry in my household and find it really easy compared to other tasks but if you don't, maybe you could swap with your DH for one of his tasks. People are good at/more suited to different things.

As others have said, stick it on when you get up, if you have time hang it up before you leave. If not put it on for the longest eco cycle you can and then hang it up when you get home. I do 90% of the laundry in our house. I work out of the house 5 days a week and there are six in our household. I refuse to allow a backlog or it stresses me out!

To get on top of the backlog you could take it all to one of those 10kg drive-in places.

I think the trick is to lay it away as soon as it's done, dont leave it in baskets, get children involved in but they can do. They might not be able to put stuff on hangers but they can put underwear and PJ's in a drawer.

Totally overthinking. Do it when it needs doing. Why nothing on 'family days?' You cant just stop all household chores at the weekend. Get the kids to help. Total non issue.

Doing a load a day is definitely the easiest way to keep on top of it. Especially if you have no outside space for drying. I dry as much as possible outside but find it difficult in winter, getting everything dried is a bigger task than putting on a load of washing. I put a load on every evening after dc are in their pj's, hang it up before bed and it stays hung to dry for 24 hours, i take it down, fold it and put it straight away the next evening before i hang that night's load up. If you pile it or put it in a clean washing basket ime it just stays there. If the weather's good i will put it on timer to be ready to hang out in the morning.

Lone full time working parent of 3 and I rarely have laundry build up. One wash load a day minimum here. I put any dry laundry away at when I'm sorting the kids for bed. Bedding and towels is once a week and if the weather means I can't peg it out, that goes in the tumble dryer. I try my best not to tumble dry clothes at all though except in emergency.

Use a timer so load is ready when you get up, ditto so a load finishes at a convenient time in the evening.
Do more expensive shorter washes so you can plough through any backlog.
Use your towels more before washing thus creating less washing.

I really think you're overthinking this.

Just put a load on in the morning - use a timer if needed, and set it so it's ready for you to deal with on a break or before you do the nursery run. As soon as one load is done, put the next one in.

Every day.
And you can involve the children. When my children were small they really enjoyed the washing machine!

This.

I am always amazed by the amount of laundry some people do. We rewear things until they need washed, sheets and towels done when needed.

We have always managed on about 2-3 loads a week.

OP - one of the things you mention is having to sort the washing after the washing machine and before the tumble dryer. Could you not do this before the wash so that everything in a particular wash is for the tumble dryer / hanging up?

Regardless of whether I’m part time, full time work or at home I have the same regime with laundry. If I miss a beat we get a huge backlog. At night washing comes out of machine and gets hung, either on airer, heated airer, over banisters or on the line if it’s not going to rain. we don’t have a tumble and washing is our limiting factor.
The next load goes in the machine and as soon as there’s room to hang it wherever it goes out, if this is morning great, if not early evening after work. In fine weather this is great as I can get 3 loads out between the line and the airer. In wet weather it goes on the airer and I have to wait til it’s dry before the next load goes on. As soon as that is out another load is in.
we have 2 double laundry baskets so pre sorted into whites, colours, darks and towels/bedding. Generally towels are washed after kids swimming lesson day but we have lots of towels so this load can wait if there’s other things needed ahead of them . Whites on a Friday/Sat after the working week so all dry for Mondays (white tunics for work and school shirts).
Kids bedding every other weekend (alternating opposite to the other, our bedding roughly once a week when it makes sense to do it as it doesn’t fit in one load, it can be handy to do this on a wet day as it dry well and helps the other loads to dry hung over the heated airer, and bottom sheets dry well over the bannister.
I never get complacent with the washing, if there’s only a part load of something I’ll find a coat or blanket that probably needs to go into get the load cleared as if I wait for a full load there will be two others with it the next day.

Every day. You need a system and then it's easy to keep on top of.

I set a timer on the machine for a 'normal' clothes wash to finish when I get up and I hang this as soon as I'm up. Normally goes in a pattern of darks, lights, reds, blues and back to darks again.

Then I have set days for towels and bedding which I do in the day when I'm at home. Towels are tumble dried.

Never have more than half a washing basket. Family of 5 + a dog. I work from home 3 days a week and the other 2 weekdays I'm with a toddler.

Once you're in a routine with it it's easy

Kindly, lower your standards.

I work 4 days, but not at home, will be away from home approx 7.30am till 6pm each work day. 2 kids, one is at school,the other goes to nursery 2 days a week.

Most of our washing goes in on the same load on the same cycle each time. The only things that dont go in the 1 white wash a week for DS's school shirts.

We wash every 2 days and just hang up inside on airers to dry. That takes 2 days, so as a PP has said, its the drying on airers that is your limiting step. Obvs bedding and towels need washed too, but we have 4 airers that fit either 2 full loads of clothes, or 1 bedding and 1 clothes.

Lower your standards on when things need washing. Bedding every 2 weeks minimum, unless its needed, towels only weekly. Longer if you get the hung up and dried between uses!

One load minimum every day here. Loaded up every evening, timer set to come
on early. Hung out when done if dry or inside/dryer if not. Put away as soon as it is dry, no piles ever.

On sunny WFH days I will do 2-3 loads to take the pressure off wet days. But a minimum of one load a day, every day.

Also, I sort of had this realisation after children that washing needed to be dealt with as regularly as washing up or food shopping / cooking and become part of the daily routine. Hate the backlog when I come back from holiday or when baskets are full and you’ve forgotten to do PE kits etc!

I do at least one load every day, and alternate darks and lights. Wash goes on in the morning, previous days taken down and sorted into piles for different people, wet stuff hung up on airer as soon as I get a chance. I put away the previous days load while I'm running kids bath at night so it doesn't pile up.

Once a week I'll do an extra load for towels or bedding after the regular wash and this gets tumble dried. We only have a washer dryer so this is always done second on a day I have extra time. Gets folded and put away as soon as it's out the dryer.

I stick a load on whenever the basket is full. About every 3 days. In the winter most of it goes in the dryer. Doesn't take long. Anything non-ironed gets separated off the line/dryer and away that day. Iron once a week.

Never had a backlog other than coming back from holiday but I don't separate anything other than whites and give it little thought.

By the way we don’t wash things often but DD is at nursery and gets very messy. We also have 2 x Superking beds and 1 double
so they each have to be done separately. Towels are weekly.
I have a horse and we have kittens so also have pet bedding, horse things etc to do plus muddy/smelly clothes that are done separately to main washing.

We seem to be at about 8-9 loads a week. I expect it to gradually decrease though as DD gets older and only has uniform i stead of 3 changes a day like now.

If everything goes in the dryer then that should make it easier.

If I'm doing that I put anything that can't go in the dryer in a laundry bag so I can fish it out in one go.

Everything gets folded or hung up straight from the dryer/line and put into separate baskets so everyone puts their own washing away. Obviously small DCs need help but it's good training.

I realised I can't cope with big washing baskets as I just used to fill them with clean clothes and then tripped over them in my bedroom until we ran out of clothes.

I also ruthlessly decluttered clothing so it's easier to put away.

DCs seem to cope better with fewer things and easier systems to use. DS just has baskets in his wardrobe that he can rummage through, he's no good with multiple drawers.

I think finishing the job is the most important part, it has to make it to the relevant bedrooms or your house just gets covered in clean clothes.

I sort the loads just before bed or first thing in the morning. Stick the first one on as soon as I get up, a second one on when it finishes (I WFH).

We have a line but no dryer - if it’s not sunny I have two airers (one heated) and a dehumidifier in my small office. I fold it while I’m on all staff calls or while I’m watching tv in the evening. I put folded clothes back into the laundry basket so I can carry it round easily to put it away.

Also, spin the laundry really well. That way it dries quicker and you can move onto folding and putting away sooner!

We have 5 kids. Both nurses so have uniforms. Plus gym clothes, uniforms, PE kits, karate uniforms etc. All the bedding etc. it never ends!
Daily- do the mixed stuff plus I do one set of bedding and there is generally a load of towels.
saturday- white wash for school and karate stuff
sunday- cushion covers, any rugs etc.

I hate putting it all away!

Personally I'm not a fan of "one load every day", because you have a never-ending stream of wet washing, semi-dry washing, dry washing, ironing (if you bother with that), stuff to put away.....

I prefer more of a "binge" approach. I do laundry twice a week (choose the most convenient days for you), sort into darks/whites etc, do 3-4 loads, hang it all up/out to dry. Then, by the time the next laundry day comes around, everything is dry and has been put away in one big pile, and the racks are clear.

I like to do all of mine at the weekend. That way I can make up the most efficient loads, and do all the sorting on one day. We have 2 adults and four teens.

C. I put a load on each evening and get it out the next morning.

I do a load a day.

Put load first thing.
sort into hanging and tumble mid morning when I get a coffee or at lunchtime.
Take clothes out of dryer mid afternoon when I have a break or after work.
My washing machine is in the kitchen so I can't help but remember when I enter the room.