to do 4 loads of washing a day

[ihmlsnwidhks]

I've just put my third load on with another load to go.
Family of 5 dc ages 9.6 .2
Dc6 needs multiple changes due to accidents and he pees on his bed most mornings ( asd) Toddler enjoys wet and muddy play so needs a few changes a day
Dd school clothes and home clothes both dirty
dh work clothing and home clothing
Me a couple aday
wtaf Im a doing wrong here?

Like what?

Seems mad but if that's what you've gotta do 🤷‍♀️ 4 kids here and do 1 wash a day. Extra one if DS wets bed.

Seems a lot

waterproof dungarees for toddler will stop most the muddy wet laundry

the football playing school child, once home and in clean clothes, those clean clothes are on what 4pm-7pm? They can be re worn several days after school

bibs compulsory to toddlers

everyone own colour coded towel. Wash all once per week unless actually dirty.

Wash roughly once per day here. That includes reusable nappies every other day. So approximately 3 nappy washes and 3-4 clothes/ towels/ bedding/ anything else washes per week.

Reading this I'm thinking maybe you're just a bit more fastidious than me! 😕

The toddler getting muddy etc. I usually stick a puddle suit on if the weather's bad or leave her in slightly grubby clothes til bedtime if she's just dirty and not wet!

School aged children I only wash polo shirt and pants everyday. Skirts/trousers/jumpers go in once a week unless obviously very dirty in between times.

DH and I also tops and pants each day plus gym kit which can rack up over the week.

Bed linen and towels I do once a week which makes 3 loads but not really found a way to reduce that!

Pull-ups for your 6yr old.
Waterproof overalls for your toddler.
No home clothes during the week for your school age kids - if you're washing the uniform anyway just leave them in it.
Ditto your husband's work clothes.

I have a toddler and a newborn, both in reusable nappies, and I only do one wash a day. I have no idea where all your laundry is coming from.

Get yourself a plasticised wipe down apron to wear in the house. Pee will wipe off it.

As others have said a puddle suit for the toddler. For the others for anything messy think overalls, old shirts, t shirts of your's or your DH to cover them up for messy activities. Or get them all plasticised aprons. They could eat in them too!

What about an apron?

4 loads a day is excessive

@ihmlsnwidhks we are a family of 5 and I also do a lot of washing, we are a one wear family and don’t give a stuff what people think. I generally do to loads each week day 3 on Wednesdays as do towels twice a week and 4-5 loads Saturday and Sunday because of school blazers, p.e kits and changing all the bedding plus another towel wash. So no advice really on how to cut it down but just wanted you to know you are not alone.

I really don't understand how people get clothes so dirty so quickly. I wear the same pair of trousers 5 days running for work before they get washed. DS age 8 can get away with 2 days of school uniform before it starts looking grubby.

I agree, you need to wash loads with small kids, it's hardly a surprise. There are worse things to get worry about.

What are you washing when your son wees the bed? When mine was night training (took aaaages whereas second child was instantly dry which was much easier!) I used a pee pod so that was the only thing I needed to wash. It didn’t take up that much space in the washing machine.
I do have to change my 3 year old several times a day because she likes getting incredibly muddy but I still don’t need to wash more than every other day. Her stuff just sits in the basket ready for wash day.
We wash towels weekly or so, bedding maybe every 10 days. I don’t wash what DH and I wear unless it actually needs washing so probably every 3 wears?

My at home/ post work clothes get worn for about 3 days. All I’m doing is sitting in them for about 2-3 hours, maybe walking the dog in that time and eating dinner before I go shower for bed. If I wear them 3 days that’s only about 9 hours wear. Same with Dc and dh (obviously if we’re going somewhere it may be different, but just at home doing home work and eating dinner I’m happy for them to put the same sweats back on!)

toddler - either don’t do wet muddy play every day, or buy some waterproof clothes that are specifically for that. Again we have some that I just let dry out and put them back on a couple of times. If it’s just a bit of mud, and they’re immediately going to go back in mud, what’s the point in putting clean clothes on.

school uniforms, dc will wear the same trousers/skirt and jumper for 2 days, with a fresh shirt each day (unless they’re particularly stinky teenagers)
and work clothes dh and I will not wash jeans or trousers daily, so it’s really just a shirt and underwear to go in the wash.

do you have any chance to limit the bedding that needs changing? Can you use pull-ups for example at night time.

obviously the bedlinen is one load but you could maybe add towels etc or school shirts if also white to it as a childs bed is unlikely to be a full load,

if school clothes are dirty I would just keep them on to bed time, most people changed to keep school clothes clean for next day but if they are not clean enough for tomorrow then they stay on. Also for kids home clothes definitely 2-3 days that's a total of about 9 hours also it depends on how many sets of uniform they have but if they have 5 shirts each i would only wash them in 1 lot at end of week they probably don't have 5 sets of trousers so a midweek wash might be required
but if someone had a small splash of gravy on jumper I would just sponge that mark off and leave to dry and wear it again tomorrow
with the toddler a puddle suit or same muddy clothes back on each time you do not need clean clothes for going outside in mud a second third fourth time in one day

The bedding is understandable but the rest seems excessive. Surely the adults don't need multiple sets of clothing each day. The school child can wear the clothes changed into after school for 2-3 days as they will only be on for a few hours. As others have suggested, put the toddler in a puddle suit for muddy activities.

What has your number of children got to do with anything? Do you have some kind of low bar for disgusting because you have more than the average number of children? I don't get it

Get a Waterproof puddle suit for your toddler, their clothes are fully protected and will never get dirty again.

we have 3 sets of school uniform plus pe kit - pe days they wear pe kit (Monday and Friday so only need one). We do one mid week light and dark wash then one of each at the weekend plus sheets. I understand you’re sheet washing is daily but just because dc school uniform is dirty, surely that goes in the next load unless you have the tiniest washing machine in the world. We have dirty clothes each day but that doesn’t mean I put the washing machine on.

Wrong? We get two baskets a day of laundry done; lights and darks.

Hubby changing clothes, and tea towels are regular reasons. But I'm doing laundry and drying every single day here. We only have one child.

I have a large family like the OP so from my informed, been where you are perspective, she’s not doing too much washing for the normal cleanliness needs of a large family. That’s why I mentioned it.

And yes some of the suggestions on here are disgusting. Not going to pick fights over specific ones but some people seem to be living with same level of cleanliness as at the turn of the century before indoor plumbing.

I don't think you're washing excessive amounts. We also have a toddler, and she goes through two outfits a day on nursery days, and several bibs and cloths for cleaning her face when she's at home. My husband and I end up with stains all over our clothes too (crayons, play-doh food, you name it). Add into that pyjamas, towels and bath mats for everyone, kitchen towels, cleaning cloths, bed sheets, etc. and it's a lot. Just my and my husband's bedsheets take up a full washing machine - no way could we fit anything else in one load. Towels are easily more than one load and ours tend to get unpleasant much sooner than a week - I think they last about 3 days max. And there's nothing wrong with being clean!

Are you drying it all in the tumble drier? If you have anywhere outside to hang it, then I'd suggest that at least for some of it.
That'll shave a lot of your electricity bill and is more eco friendly.

Also select a low temp quick wash for clothes that have been worn once. 30 degrees is fine with detergent.

Underwear is a wear once item, anything soiled or exercised in, wash.

Everything else can be worn at least twice. It wears out clothes imo to over wash/tumble dry.

Family of four here, albeit much older kids and I don't have the time or money to do more than 6 washes a week. No tumble drier either.

Consider a bigger washing machine too. It'll save time and money. You may need one of those industrial ones

The main issue appears to be sorting out your 6 year old with some pull ups. Let your kids get dirty. A bit of muck doesn't matter. No child has to go to school absolutely pristine. Wear your clothes for longer.

There are no magic solutions, just common sense.

If child gets food/paint/glitter glue on their clothes then so be it. In the wash at bedtime. Pyjamas can be reused unless weed on. I find school cardigans can go round again as lunch goes directly onto the white t-shirt.

One of my mum friends when the kids were at primary was almost obsessed with sending her three children to school every morning in freshly washed and ironed uniforms. You could always smell her coming from the heady scent of Lenor wafting off the children.

I used to put mine in a clean shirt and pants and they'd wear the jumper and trousers all week. Odd marks sponged off.

My friend told me she had a difficult upbringing and was teased as a child for having dirty / ill fitting clothes. She also felt judged for being a young mum with three children.

Not saying that's your reason for washing clothes (slightly) obsessively Op but we all have our quirks. Who are we to judge.