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

A single Mum of 9? That's amazing. Kudos to you. How on earth you manage logistically, I don't know, but that's amazing 🤩

We sort as things come off the line/airer - we each have a small basket and clothes go into the right one. The baskets then go into the relevant bedroom to be put away. It means that if it's not put away promptly it's easy to find what you need rather than searching through a huge pile.

I love a MN laundry thread and reading with horror the amount of work people create for themselves.
Just do less laundry! Rewear,reuse and don't be overly fussy. ( and yes,I understand the laundry created by bed wetters,SN,sports kit etc. I have 3 DCs).
But with five of us at home,clean pjs every night would have been 35 pairs of pjs a week! Same with clean towels after one use. Madness.

I have a system that works for me. I had to introduce it because I was stressed all the time. Now it gives me now stress.

1. basket in each child's room, 1 for school uniform, and 1 for us
2. if a basket is full it gets washed, no delay
3. dried same day
4. Basket taken upstairs - and this step is vital - is put away before bed. No exceptions. It takes 5 mins and means no laundry piled up ever.

Have 5 sets of uniform, and do one uniform wash at weekends.

I wash all towels on a Sunday.

I change bedding every 2 weeks on a Saturday.

My dc don't like pjs just sleep in underwear - result. My colleagues 4 dc change pjs every night, madness!

I wash mine and the kids clothes only. Husband can do his own

I have 4 baskets - quickly separate the dry stuff into a basket each

fold it in front of the tv in the evening

put it away in the morning and repeat.

i have the drawers and wardrobe super neat and organised and get rid of things no longer worn/ too small weekly.

much easier to put stuff away when everything has a place

I think it did feel overwhelming when the kids were little. But this is the routine now:
2 baskets. 1 white, 1 other.
Uniform gets a could of wears before it goes in. Clothes should only go in if actually dirty. Dd is a sod for this. I will throw your clothes back in your room if I know you've not worn it.
I do the washing. Kids put it out. I might put into piles, but everyone collects.

If not collected from the room within 48 hours, if may go in the garage or the garden. Depending on my mood.

I am a capricious and petty dictator.

What part of the laundry task do you hate the most? I outsource all the ironing as that is the worst bit of laundry for me (I quite enjoy the washing and stain removal part) - perhaps you could do the same or assign that task to your dh. I also always listen to a podcast or audio book whilst I'm sorting and putting the clean laundry away

We both do laundry so I never really feel it gets on top of me. We do it in the week as we both hate doing chores at the weekend.

If you hate it that much, can’t your husband take it over (full time work isn’t an excuse as we both work full time and mange it). You could then take over a job he hates?

I agree with PPs you need to find a routine that works for you and you can stick to. I find using dead time helps. So every morning when I let the dog out for a wee I will put a load on. When one of us baths DC the other will hang or fold and put away clothes that are on the heated airer.

It became easier for me when my kids were older enough to put their own clothes away. I just take them off the line now and put them directly into a reusable shopping bag for each child. The British weather does not help as clothes you hang on the line in the morning, are not dry in the evening.

The only thing that ever works for me though is decluttering the clothes. Less clothes = less piles and emptier drawers. You are more motivated to wear those cleanish jeans again. You are more motivated to take the clothes out the dryer if you have no clean knickers left. It is easier to put clothes away if the drawers are empty. Easier said than done though!

My suggestions would be:

Declutter your clothes, towels, bedding and keep them to a minimum. Put out of season clothes in the loft if you have one.

Shove underwear and socks into a drawer, don't bother sorting. Replace all socks with socks of one colour (this was a game changer).

Wash clothes less frequently.

Clothes downstairs would be amazing if possible

Teach the kids. Make sure DH is doing half.

Presumably you have a machine that actually does the laundry for you? You just load it up, and away it goes. All the clothes are clean again. Fabulous!

If, by any chance, this is an EXTREMELY OLD POST and you are having to go down to the river with a stone to clean your frocks and undergarments, then you have everyone’s sympathy.

So for me the actual washing is easy. You do need everyone to adopt a system. Clothes go into a basket and then into the washer. Easier said than done with some kids I know. Strict rule, if it is not in the basket it does not get washed. Drying is a bit more challenging. It takes time to peg, but this is something DCs should be doing or at least helping with. Ironing takes the most time, but (hate to admit it), I quite like ironing. I can watch part of a movie and I find it quite satisfying. That being said I would seek to alternate with DH and when they are old enough (after say 14), I would expect DCs to start doing their own.

In terms of tips for cutting down. Does it really need a wash? I do not wash trousers in particular for a week or two unless they are dirty. Look at clothes that are either non-iron or require less ironing. Some people contract out. There is a lady in our nearest down who will do a small bin liner for £15. If you really hate it, it is an option.

A word of caution on laundry threads:
A laundry thread a couple of weeks ago involved several people advising the purchase and use of tumble dryers.... those people were absolutely villified, and you'd think they were trying to destroy the planet, one load of sheets at a time 🙄

Two adults, 2 teens, dog and two cats here. I have a good system with no washing piling up, either dirty or clean. I use a laundry sorting troller in the laundry room, and every morning I empty the two dirty baskets into the sorter, each compartment is a load once full so I do as many loads as necessary, usually one or two. Hang it outside if dry or tumble if not, then I fold it into the basket directly after unpegging. Straight upstairs into everyone's drawers. I wash the door mats and pet bedding once a week followed by a washing machine cleaner with white vinegar.

I don’t mind doing my husband and my laundry as he probably does more than me - puts a load on, hang up, fold and in - easy in the summer.

I will not do any of the children’s. From the age of 8 they have had a laundry basket and done their own.

Why is your partner not doing at least 50% if not more?

If you hate ironing it can easily be ditched. DH likes an ironed shirt but does his own. I haven't ironed for years.

NB there is very little ironing when you fold it straight from the line, not even Egyptian cotton bedding. Usually just formal school shirts and trousers. DH usually does that.

We don't wash after every wear, apart from toddlers clothes.

I have 5 IKEA Slibb baskets which are a perfect size for us, and as soon as stuff is dried it gets sorted. My biggest struggle was not putting washing away once dried and used to end up with a mountain in utility room. Now I put it away immediately because the job is smaller per basket. Eg I put my own basket away before bed, put my toddlers away whilst doing her bedtime. It's transformed my life (honestly!)

What a horrible post!

I live alone and find laundry a pain sometimes. I work 60-70 hours a week/. Putting stuff in the machine is easy. Remembering to take it out. Get it dried. Get it ironed. Get it put away. All pains in the arse unless you are Bree van der camp and you love domesticity.

OP where is your husband in all this - 50% each of all household chores.

Laundry HAS to be a joint chore - get DH to help. Also make people wear things more - some people I know wash kids pjs after one night - insanity! We often spot wash kids clothes too, I’m not washing a jumper every day, it can be spot washed and worn for at least a week unless filthy or v sweaty. Depending on kids ages, get them to help fold and put their own laundry away.

I felt like this and mumsnet gave me great tips.

So every 3 days wash
White lights and darks
Once out of drier or of line throw on the table or a chair in lounge used rarely. Wait till all 3 loads done.
Then sort between the rooms whilst downstairs and the person who they belong to takes them up or u take them to designated room and they put their own away.do not take all clean clothes to your room to sort i did this for years and I was so bloody overwhelmed

DH does his own.

I do mine and DCs, all washing must be in basket - I will remove clothes that are still clean (although they’re older now so don’t tend to do that anymore).

I’ll tumble or line dry depending on weather - it latter, I’ll ask one of the DC to help.

Clean washing gets taken upstairs and kids sort through the pile, take their own and put away - I used to hate this part more than anything!

Washing and sorting socks for multiple people was utterly joyless so now the DC have their own net bag and put all socks in there which makes life a lot easier.

I don’t iron.

I love putting washing on, especially when it can dry outside. I hate putting away so I’m noting tips about that.
I’ve not had enough socks for my children for ages, despite buying loads. This Easter I’ve been collecting all the socks together and I’m amazed at how many they have now!