Empty washing basket

[Reality]

Is this a myth?

Does anyone ever finish the laundry? I’ve just bought two more baskets so we have lights/darks/colours separated and when one is full we wash it. I’m sick of the one we have being constantly overflowing.

I feel like this is a genius plan but also feel like I’m chasing something that doesn’t exist.

Is it just our house that is drowning in dirty clothes, towels, bed sheets, or am I missing something?

We do at least a load, mostly two, every single day and it never gets any less piled up. Are we just shit?

Pretty much what we do here. Works. Although we both run and cycle go generate a ridiculous amount of sports washing!

I find by keeping my bar relatively low (my house is tidy, and surface level clean!) it's totally manageable. Similar to a pp, bedding fortnightly (although this does slip now and again), towels weekly, re-wear clothing (apart from socks and underwear) so it's not that bad with a four person household. Includes two lots of school uniform but they have five tops each so a fresh one each day.

I don't see the need to have a goal of an empty washing basket. It's a perennial task. Housework (including laundry) is more like gardening than anything else, in my opinion. Something will always need doing, and things are never fully stationary - the house is always being used. Towels, bedding, clothing are being used constantly, so it will literally never be done; but this doesn't have to be a bad thing. It's just the nature of the task.

If I only have one lot to.do I sometimes leave it until bed time and do it naked it feels good to have nothing left to wash.

We don’t actually have a washing basket!!

I discovered my children tidied their bedroom by putting any clothes from the floor into the wash basket, whether they were worn or not.

Do you have children who likely do the same.

I frequently reach the bottom of the basket, and have everything dried and put away, except piles of DP’s stuff because he’s ridiculous and has like 60 pairs of socks. Then he’ll come along and stuff it full of things he’s hoarded in a pile on his office floor 🤬

OP, I recently found the bottom of my laundry hamper, after a particularly active weekend on my part. In the bottom was a conker that must have fallen from a pocket… and it was SPROUTING. (I am equal parts ashamed and impressed)

I postulate (but as yet untested theory) that there is a direct correlation between increase of bottom of laundry basket sightings and decrease in number of offspring living at home.

Who knows… maybe one day I’ll open my laundry hamper and see the bottom for the fifth time that week, and my eyes will be wet at the thought of all those tiny people that have grown up and flown the nest.

Unlikely though.

I cheat and give everyone their own basket. My husband often has clothes spilling out of his

Mine is often empty. Me and 2 teens at home. Bedding washed every 2 weeks (teens spend 4 out of 14 nights at their dads and only me in my bed most of the time anyway), towels once a week and an average of one load of washing a day which is hung out to dry unless raining/winter.

I work form home most of the time so I re-wear clothes for a couple of days unless they are 'dirty' and pj's/night wear are worn at least a couple of nights.

I don't think I've ever seen the bottom of my laundry basket. In fact, my DD is 25 and I bet there are babygrows at the bottom

One of these days I'll take a day off work and dedicate it to getting to the bottom.

Yes today! > takes a bow <
I feel I should be presented a prize or something
I have a speech prepared

“I’d like to thank Indesit, for always believing in me and never giving up. Keep on spinning, baby”

It's never really 'done' but Sunday seems to be towels and bedding. Then it's full and I do it on Thursday and Friday as I wfh those days. It becomes empty for about a day. I agree with a pp. you have to think of it as it's never done as there'll be more.

Yes. But I guarantee a teen will appear to fill it up again not long after!

I have an empty basket on Thursday evenings and again from Sunday night until Tuesday morning. 7 people altogether.
Everyone has their own coloured towels which get washed once a week, bedding fortnightly unless it's really hot weather.
My new washer is a 9 kg drum but weighs the load and adjusts the timing so even it's not completely full, say on a Sunday morning, I'll still turn it on.
I like Mondays to be completely laundry free and that means no washing, folding or ironing outstanding.

3 beds, bath towels plus swimming towels and tea towels each week plus at least 2 dark loads, 2 colours and 1 whites each week for us. Plus dog bedding/towels. At least one load every day and it’s never fully done!

I live on my own so there's usually a bit left, eg delicates as I don't have a full load of them every week. I've found it helps to wear a top for two days, though!

I never put sheets or bedding in the wash basket - I take it from the bed or bathroom and immediately wash. Agree with a pp that you accept it's an ongoing process. My dishwasher is rarely empty and that doesn't cause any stress.

I have done 4 loads today including our bedding and my DP's towels he uses for work. All washing baskets in the house (2 adults, 2 grown up children and one teen) are empty. I feel like I have won the lottery. Last bit drying then they will all put it away later.

You've never technically done all your washing unless you do your last wash naked!

@JauntyJinty someone up thread does!

Ha! I ask myself this daily!
We are a 2 adult, 2 DC household. One toddler, one baby, so we go through lots of changes of clothes. With the dry weather we have had here recently, I’ve managed to catch up with laundry and now only have half a load. This is big news for us, a week ago, we had about 6 loads piled up😳

Wow. Some people do a lot of laundry. There are four of us - two adults, one DC with some toileting issues, one grubby toddler. I try to wash every other day and then it doesn’t get unbearable. Our problem is drying rather than washing but I now take bedding and towels to the laundrette and use their driers if the weather isn’t conducive to drying outside. That does make a big difference.

Bedding once a fortnight give or take and towels when I remember to wash them. No-one else puts them in the wash basket or changes the towels so if they’re not bothered, then neither am I. 🤷🏻‍♀️

I probably put the washing machine on 3-4 times a week, maybe?