Can we talk honestly about Laundry?

[Giggleslikespickles]

I have a husband and two young boys and I CANNOT keep on top of my washing unless I become obsessed and it’s all I do and all I think about (yes I’m over exaggerating but genuinely feels like this sometimes)

I need some helpful tips or like minded people to make me feel better about my failures 😝

I’m literally always routing through clean clothes that are still on top of the washing machine because I hate how soul destroying it is putting clothes into piles and then walking upstairs over and over again to put them away just to se them either thrown on the floor or back in the laundry - it’s monotonous, tedious and quite frankly boring

What can I do to make my life easier and embrace the task? I’m done being surrounded by clothes that aren’t in the places they should be

Pretty sure I’m not, the exact opposite in fact, am hyper-aware of smells (and she is very much so too) but I tell you what, I’ll do a sniff test on them regularly for the next half term and report back to you.

Now this is just cruel, she's going to be rejected by her peers for being the smelly kid.

Haven't read any of the thread but would say, just wash less often. People wash too much. No need for clean uniform every day, don't care how many people come on throwing their hands up in horror. One towel per person per week. Bedding for kids fortnightly. Etc.

I have a routine. Thursday DD’s white shirts and any other lights/whites.

Friday uniform/PE kit/my clothes from during the week.

Saturday OH’s clothes from during the week.

Sunday PJ’s and whatever is left over.

Sometimes there are washes during the week, towels, bed sheets etc , but I had a break in between so that’s fine.

I use the drier a lot unless I’m off.
I fold (hate ,hate ,hate folding) while watching telly or on call with my mother /a friend so it distracts me.

I only put my own clothes away. DD and OH are responsible for theirs. As long as I’ve washed them, it’s not my problem what happens to them and I’m also not re washing them until it’s “their” time. Same if stuff is not in the laundry basket. Not my problem.

I probably wash things a lot less than it’s acceptable on mumsnet . That’s probably the real game changer.

Nope, hasn’t happened and not happening - she isn’t smelly, her clothes aren’t smelly, she’s got a great set of friends. Sorry to disappoint you.

Agreed.

I'm certainly not a clean freak, but that's grotty.

The daughter will smell.

There was a boy in my class that smelled bad. He was a nice kid but (with the benefit of hindsight) he was neglected by his parents. When you're 12 years old you don't think in those terms, though. Kids just bully.

Trousers and jumpers worn for weeks at a time with sweat, skin cells and body oils on them are not going to smell good. Unless this is genuinely a case of having to prioritise other costs instead of washing, don't do that to her.

Stop doing husbands laundry?

Anything that comes in to close contact with the smelly areas of one's body (armpits, under carriage, feet) need washing more than once every 6 weeks for goodness sake.

I haven’t read the whole thread but I find the delay function really helpful. I put a load in the machine at night to start just before we start waking up. It’s done by the time DD has had breakfast and then goes straight on the line or on the airer. I fold it up after tea and take it up to put it away before bed. I then take the next load down for the next day. I can afford to skip one or two days a week but no more, otherwise I become overrun! We don’t have a tumble drier but will be getting one in the next few months! I’m hoping I can get through more than one load a day then.

I can do 4 or 5 loads a day with my drier if I start early enough (use the delay function the night before). I got a heat pump one last year and it's brilliant. I also have a giant rotary washing line I can get 3 loads of washing on which helps on sunny days.

Single mum of 9. NINE?

I just can't...

what age range are they? Any twins??

I think they'd all be in paper clothing if they lived here!! 🤣🤣

I have no idea how you cope!!

I do the washing for myself and dc only. If Dh wants clean clothes, he is a grown up and knows where they come from. I have 3 wash baskets on top of counter above washer and dryer, it comes out of dryer or off drying rack and sorted into appropriate basket. No folding, no putting away. If anyone wishes to fold or put away their own clothes, it is there for them to do. If it doesn’t get brought and put in washing basket (random discarded clothes on bedroom floors), it doesn’t get washed. I rarely go hunting for clothes to wash. I do about 5 washes a week, it’s minimal effort.

I do one wash a day to keep on top of it. This sounds desperately sad but I Tue in the folding with watching a tv series I like. I spread it all on the bed in the evening and stick on something to watch on the iPad, it makes it feel not so much like an awful chore. I do this daily!

I can totally believe you on the skirts, DD’s don’t smell either. However, towards the end of the week, her jumper and trousers definitely start to whiff, particularly if really warm or depending on the time of the month. Which is why we started swapping them midweek as soon as we realised.

And the things that do are. Her jumper doesn’t. Her trousers don’t. Her skirt doesn’t.
Undies, socks, tights, shirts all washed after a wearing.
She doesn’t wear these every day, and her half term’s are 5 weeks, so we’re talking about her wearing them for approx. 2.5 weeks without washing. She’s been at secondary for 4 years now, the earth hasn’t caved in, she isn’t ostracised or bullied, she doesn’t smell.

And that’s all I have to say on the matter. You can all carry on imagining the terrible things that will befall her if her jumper isn’t washed weekly, and we will carry on perfectly well with our lives.

This is exactly the same as what I do.

She rarely wears the jumper, and generally it’s stuffed in her locker so I don’t see it most of the time.

Time of the month - yes, trousers will get an additional wash if necessary.

@Giggleslikespickles- you mentioned going up and down the stairs to put it all away is annoying. Simple quick solution that might work this week.

Dont sort in to separate piles downstairs then carry the pile’s individually upstairs to the rooms. Carry the full basket of clean dry clothes upstairs, sort into piles on your bed. Then both yours and DHs are already in the right room to put away, you just need to take the dcs ones to their rooms (if they are old enough, just dump the kids ones on their beds and they can put away themselves). Less journeys/steps to put away.

I get confused by people who feel so swamped with laundry. I know its not uncommon. I have my friends IRL who feel exactly the same, OP. But surely if your kids are school age (?) You only have uniform to wash monday-friday? My DSs have multiple sets of uniform. They wear one Monday and Tuesday then pe kit on Wednesday and another uniform set Thursday and Friday. All uniform.gets washed on a Saturday ready for the next week. My DP washes all his own stuff on his midweek day off. I do mine with towels etc through the week as needed and then all the bedding on a Sunday. It's rarely more than one load per day.

The crotch area of trousers will smell. I won't elaborate further but there is no question that they will smell.

Let it be your partner's job.
I hope you haven't been doing his.

Three teens at home and me. One laundry basket upstairs. Everything goes in it and everything brought downstairs once a day. Sorted in laundry room and whatever I have a full load of goes on in the morning. Could be sports kit, general clothes, delicates, towels. We don't have enough whites for a white load so do lights instead but it's never been the end of the world if it gets mixed up a bit.

While cooking breakfast I fold the previous days clean laundry from the airer/tumble dryer. Goes into piles for each person in a basket.

Basket upstairs and put away that evening, while chatting/supervising that revision or homework are being done. It's a good excuse to pop into their rooms.

Sheets and duvet covers every 2 weeks on a weekend while they're out at matches etc

The key for me is to do it while doing something else eg. making coffee/omelette etc or chatting/supervising. So it never becomes a task on its own. And little and often or it feels overwhelming -- it takes a couple of minutes to put away one load. The youngest probably has 10/15 polo shirts because many were handed down to him, but most never see the light of day and will be sent back to the second hand uniform shop in good condition.

They haven't ever just worn things briefly or not at all and put them on the laundry. Eldest has a white rack for clothes to wear again, the others put them on their chairs; just common sense really.

They wear their uniforms daily which are always freshly clean on (mainly because they’re messy and cannot be worn again). They also have games and pe kits. They have swimming stuff and football training stuff weekly plus one of hockey/cricket/rugby training stuff too. They always change out of their uniform straight after school as it’s uncomfortable. My youngest son is a right mucky pup and can’t stay clean but also really hates being dirty so he has to change if he gets food or dirt on him. Tbh we all like clean clothes so wouldn’t wear anything over and over again. I do think from chatting on here that we have an excessive amount of clothing which must be adding to my laundry problems 😂

We have rules going into laundry:
clothes on the floor are not picked up by me. Cold/wet rugby kit into school? Not my problem.
clothes need to be “decoupled” - pants and trousers together/inside out? Straight back into your room unwashed.
visible mud or stains? Straight into a soaking bucket.

laundry goes in every night just before bed.
in the morning, dry laundry down from airer/ out of tumble dryer, folded and in piles. (Or into the ironing pile)
wet laundry then up on airer/ into tumble dryer.

ironing done once a week by ironing lady.

everyone is responsible for taking own laundry from the utility, and putting away.

another rule - your laundry box is full of clean laundry? I’ll sift out all your dirty laundry and no more is washed until it’s done.

this took around two months of tantrums when favourite clothes weren’t ready at weekends/ wrong or dirty kit for sports/ brazening out a couple of stinky shirts at school but they all got there.