How often do you do your laundry?

[Lndnmummy]

Need some help from the Mumsnet brigade. Dh and I were taking this evening about our family laundry. There is only 4 of us so not a huge household. All sports etc cancelled at the moment so in theory that should reduce the load. We wash.all.the.time. At least a load a day. We live in an apartment so not a huge amount of space. We do have a drier but use it mainly for things like sheets and towels. My question is how do you guys do your laundry? A designated day where most of it gets done then put drying racks etc away until the same day next week? One load a day? I feel that there is are permanent drying racks everywhere and it’s driving me insane. Where am I going wrong?

Loads. But I have a tumble drier and a heated airer in the garage (for things that can’t be tumbled).

Done are the days of my house looking like a laundrette.

Every day here, we have a toddler who we put in a clean vest and babygro every night; clean clothes each day (bar the jumper if it’s not dirty), and he often gets clothes muddy/covered in sand/water/food each day- so we do a lot of washing. I’m hoping as he gets older we’ll revert to a couple of times a week, but who knows...

My poor washing machine is on constantly. I have a teen with LDs who is toilet training though. I usually have all his bedding to wash and a basket full of his clothes before I even start on anyone else's.

And, unless it's both warm and dry outside, if it can be tumble dried, it gets tumble dried. I have enough condensation to clean up on a cold morning without 3 loads of wet laundry adding to it.

Every day, and if a load doesn't go on at least once a day we end up with a backlog. Sheets get washed every 7-10 days and I have to wash DSs stuff in different detergent. I have quite sensitive skin and there are only one or two detergents I can tolerate, DS reacts to both of them.... I do try and save up as much of his washing as possible but probably end up doing 3 loads a week just for him; 2 colours, one whites and white bedding and that's if we don't have any nappy leaks overnight. Our bed is super king size so that's a load on its own, one load of towels with teatowels , plus a couple for mine and DHs clothes. In non lockdown times MIL stays over one night most weeks as she looks after DS and traffic in the morning is horrendous, I always make sure the spare bed has clean sheets for her. Plus the odd load for floor cleaner heads, steam mop heads etc (throw them all in together once or twice a month with polishing cloths etc), bath and shower mats need doing every 7-10 days because ds soaks the bathroom and there's only so many times I can hang them up on a radiator or towel rail before they smell damp.

All washing done in one day here. Me and little boy (ocassionally some bits from partner) 5 loads odd on a saturday, straight into the tumble with other bits on the rads and I keep at it until its all put away.

I bloody hate clothes airers and washing drying all over the house. I also have mon to fri drawers for DS uniform in his room (cheapie Ikea ones in cool colours) and that gets sorted down to the underpants on a sunday evening. I’m fucked if I’m rifling for clothes every morning!!

Oh and I dont iron. Comes out of the tumble hot, folded quickly and that does us 😀

Two of us, 2 or 3 loads a week. I do a lights load most weeks, DP does a darks load and I do towels or bed linen as I can see a way of getting them dried. Much easier in summer.

I only do washing on Friday evening - Sunday morning. About 5 loads. That means the drying rack is stacked away for the entire week

Yup generally a load a day, sometimes 2. Family of 4 here too. Gets hung up at night infront of the dehumidifier. Usually dry by the morning. Heaviers stuff takes a bit longer. We livenin a small 2 bed house and the clothes horse and dehumidifier live in the kitchen permanently, which can be a pain in the arse but there's just no other way it works for us.

Not ever day. 2 adults, 1 child.

Do it Fri-Sun when I know I'm available to process it.

8 loads. Whites, pastels, towels, bedding x 2, darks x 2, bright colours.

Usually only tumble bedding, towels and socks/DH's pants this time of year, the rest goes onto large clothes horses.

Iron Sunday eve and put away.

The rest of the week is laundry free and tidy.

5 adults here, three in uniform that has to be washed daily. A load every day and then at the weekends at least 3 loads a day. Bedding fortnightly, towels weekly and the dogs towels constantly!
I separate whites when I remember..the rest gets chucked in together.
I tumble most stuff in winter but the rest of the year the majority is hung outside and the other bits on an airer.
I never iron!

Three of us, 5 washes a week, tumble everything apart from tights.

My washing machine never stops!

Just DH and I - twice per week on average.

I try to do it on 'good drying days' as I love the washing out on the line.

But when it's like now -cold & foggy with mizzle it's pointless putting it out.

So I do about 1 load a day and I have a spot to put a large airer, where it's warm & not in the way I get a bit grumpy if I have to put another airer up anywhere as the house isn't very big, so it's always in the way

I don't have a drier, I hate them. I will dry stuff on the radiator if I'm desperate, but that's very rare these days.

Family of four and we usually do three or four loads per week. Where we are (not UK) our electric is charged by time of use so during the week day it's the most expensive and at the weekend we have off-peak charges so the big stuff is done at the weekends to keep costs down.

Only do mid-week after 7pm if it's needed. That's usually my husband's work clothes if something happened or the blankets on the couch if one of the dogs has had an accident (rare but this weekend one had a bad tummy and the blankets were straight in the wash).

No school uniforms where we are so don't have to worry about washing that daily or every other day.

The kids' chores involve sorting all clothes after a wash. They out theirs away, we then out ours away.

@BackforGood

I'd say, if there are only 4 of you, and - as you say, there are no sports kts or anything to add to the load at the moment - then you are probably washing things that don't really need to be washed if you are doing a full load every day.

I am still agog sometimes on MN, how often people wash something or do other types of housework.

Totally agree. If people are washing every day that suggests they are washing things after every wear which is unnecessary if you aren't doing a very strenuous job. I wear things mult times before needing to wash them. Think of the environment!

How the hell does everyone find the time to do this much washing!?

This has been enlightening thanks everyone. Yes we do wash things after every wear we must be a pretty dirty bunch. I have a toddler and I’m always mucky at the end of my day with him so just put everything in the wash. I wear pjs twice before I wash them and we use towels twice before they are washed. All bed linen washed weekly. 5 sets of school uniform so they just get washed in one go on a Friday. Before lockdown we had a lot of our work clothes dry cleaned weekly so maybe that’s why it feels so much more now. Our lounge type clothes doesn’t need dry cleaning. We just got abit fed up this evening as it feels like there are clothes and washing everywhere. I think we might need to rethink it and start to use the dryer abit more. There is no reason why underwear, socks and toddler clothes can’t be tumble dried.

@alibongo5 yes I was just wondering that. And school clothes, we always had a clean shirt and knickers everyday, but trousers/skirt washed once a week. We didn't die of anything. How can you wash clothes after one or two wears if they're not dirty. Think of the environment and the damage to the oceans and rivers from the plastic

@alibongo5 so this is the thing!! I don’t have time to do a hey thing BESIDES all the washing

If people are washing every day that suggests they are washing things after every wear which is unnecessary if you aren't doing a very strenuous job.

I have a dog and a pre-schooler, we spend a lot of time outside and get pretty mucky. Not everything is washed after every wear but a lot has to be. It's not necessarily a clothes wash every day either, one day might be towels and another could be sheets.

1-3 loads a day. Family of 5. I seperate everything so whites ,darks, colours , hand wash setting etc. Towels are reused and beds are stripped once a week . I spend my life washing drying folding and putting away clothes

I wash at least 7 or 8 loads a week for DH, me and foster child who is sporty. When sport is back on an additional load. My 2 d adult sons living at home wash their own clothes and bedding 2 or 3 loads each at weekends. The tumble dryer seems on all weekend and in week too. Tbh I don't use line much.in winter.

About 1.5 loads a day for us. In the winter the limitation is on drying space so I just do washes constantly, slowing down whenever there is too much backlog of wet items waiting their turn to dry.

Summer is different. We have a lovely long washing line which catches the sun and wind, so when it looks like a good day for it I wash everything in sight, four or five loads in a day, then wait a few days and repeat.