5 washing baskets - is this madness?

[Asthmaticmouse]

Hi lovely people. We have a household - 2 parents and two DC, one 4 and the other a recent baby.

DP insists that we need 5 separate washing baskets - one for whites, one for lights, one for brights, and then one for darks plus a 5th for delicates/hand washing.

I think this is bonkers - at most its probably whites/lights, darks/brights, and then delicates/handwash. We don’t have the space for 5 separate washing baskets/bags!

AIBU?

I only sort whites and coloureds then make a call on which wash to out lights in but I also only have one basket and sort as I do the wash. My house is quite large, I have no idea where I'd put 5 laundry baskets!

We have two DCs. They have a wash basket outside their rooms (their choice!) and DS does his own washing (he's 12). We have a divided one, darks one side and delicates and whites the other. I grab DD white school polos when I'm doing our white wash (or the other way round). DS has no delicate clothes and DD has about two wool jumpers I take straight off her back into the delicates.

I sort it as I go: darks, coloureds/delicates, whites.

I like the idea of this but I feel like my DC don’t have enough washing individually to process it at the speed it needs doing, if that makes sense. Eg when they need their PE kit again 3 days later.

I have 2. One for me and for my DS (2) as I wash our clothes separately. I separate when I’m ready to wash. If I had a laundry room with space for more I would consider a bedding and a delicates but I don’t so I won’t :)

if space is limited then definitely only have the washing baskets you can fit. Saying that I have a three basket Joseph Joseph one which I find really good. We are a family of 5 and I use one of the basket divisions for my two boys / one for me and my daughter and one for DH and for towels. They are quite sizeable.

if I wash by basket it makes it far easier to put things away as the boys share a big dresser and me and my daughter’s clothes are in the same room. I wash whites sep and pick them out as I go.

it’s RRP is £120 but ours was ex display and half the price on eBay.

https://www.josephjoseph.com/products/tota-trio-90l-laundry-separation-basket-black

Sounds like insanity to me. We have one washing basket on the landing with 2 internal compartments, loosely whites and darks. But the kids largely disregard and I sort as I go. Who has space for 5??

Hand washing? Surely he jests?!

I do dark cottons, white cottons, dark synthetics, light synthetics, reds, dark delicates and light delicates. So in theory that's seven loads, but in practice I compromise according to what needs washing, and I certainly don't have seven washing baskets.

Whites and colours in one, darks in other, towels in bath tub. Kids have learnt to follow this so less effort sorting. Delicates going in the 10 million delicates bags with normal washing. Separating that is extreme. Dude can do the laundry if he insists on 5 baskets

We have 4 but one’s in the utility off the kitchen for throwing stuff at when the machine is on; one’s in DD’s room in the vague hope she’ll one day use it instead of the floor; two next to eacj other in the hallway. One of these has two compartments so we had to pick: wools and delicates get their own basket as they’re ruined if washed wrong. Darks get a compartment. Whites and brights in together on the logic that they’re the easiest to separate by sight as you drag stuff out. Towels and bedding go straight from bath/bed to machine, no in-between stage.

But really there’s no right/wrong, and there is no laundry hack in the world that makes washing for four people anything other than a ballache and I can’t wait to one day live alone in a cave.

We have this and it's great, no more sorting into piles on the floor in front of the machine.

We use one section for whites & lights, one for dark colours and the third for lingerie. Towels and bedding go straight into the machine with no basket as a middleman.

I think two of these might be a good compromise, you'd get 6 sections but wouldn't take up very much space at all.

We have 3 - whites/lights, colours/darks and towels/bedding 😂😂

we pre sort to help keep on top of them or my husband would only ever throw a colour wash in !

I've always drowned under washing - but I saw this recommended on here and it has literally changed my life.

Everyone's laundry goes in, no sorting by person and I divide into 4 - whites&lights, brights, darks, DPs filthy builder stuff.

Each bag holds a load, I know if it's full I need to do a wash and I don't end up doing half loads, or finding black socks in the whites, or sorting it all and then finding a random heap somewhere else that should have gone in the machine. It's so much easier than sorting it all out of one mixed hamper each time I want to do a wash.

SONGMICS Rolling Laundry Sorter, Laundry Basket with 4 Removable Bags, Laundry Hamper, Laundry Trolley, for Laundry Room, Bedroom, Bathroom, 4 x 35L, Grey LSF005GS amzn.eu/d/08aMPq0o

I have 3 on the landing, Darks, Whites/lights and coloured. Anything delicate, towels, sheets etc i chuck straight downstairs in direction of utility room. 3 seems adequate ro me.

I don't see the need to wash whites and lights separately? Do you have enough pure white for full loads?

I have more, but have a bigger family and a laundry room with a shelving system for the baskets.

We have 5 - one per person with their name on it. I only ever wash one person’s at a time. Saves so much hassle with the sorting and putting away.

We just have whites/lights and brights/darks. I can see the logic of a (probably smaller?) delicates/handwash basket, if you have a few things in those categories.

We have a light and dark laundry hamper, brights go on the floor next to it and delicates in the light delicates and dark delicates mesh bags hung on hooks above it.

We have 6! One for each person plus a towels and bedding one and I actually have a secret one for delicates too.

Me too, I would think is the most common way! I have a nice but small utility room, definitely no space for 5 laundry baskets!

I have a stand with 3 baskets, whites, lights and dark. Perfect size for a load once full. Works for me

Three story house, we have three on the top floor, whites, darks & colours. Makes it so much easier for me to throw a load in before work etc. I wouldn't have the time (or the will to sort on a morning).

The DS on the middle floor has his own basket that has three compartments (whites, darks, colours) he brings one compartment down when its full.

We then all have a hand basket each in the laundry area where clean folded clothes get put for each person to take and put away.

Sod that. I have 1 basket and the whites or should I say greys are lucky if they are separated. But then I don't care about laundry. That was for the last century. And I don't iron either

That's what I thought.

The one I have takes up enough room.