How do you all keep on top of washing!??

[lisad123]

My house is fairly ok, but the thing that drives me crazy is washing??!
I have piles all over the place! Im the only one that does the washing, will admit I don't do ironing!!
How does everyone else deal with it?
Even if I fold an put into piles they get messed up before I can get upsatirs to put away!!

[threeinmybed]

booyhoo I got it from Lakeland for £80; which is a lot but it is brillo. It folds away flat when not in use and you can dry jeans overnight (including waistband) it will take a full load of washing; I do knickers on the bottom shelf, tops on the middle and trousers on the top. Only downside is, because the slats are quite close together, it can take a while to hang out a load. But probably no more time than it'd take to peg a load out so I'm being picky. It was a fantastic investment, I use it nearly every day

[maybunny]

I tend to do 1 load a day - bedlinen once a week, towels twice, and then darks, lights and whites on the others. I either put washer on delay to go overnight so it's ready first thing, or put wash on as soon as I get up.
Just before starting dinner I get washing in off the line (weather permitting obv) and immediately iron and put in airing cupboard. I hate ironing and only iron what I have to and if I don't do it straight away I will never do it! Then every other morning the airing cupboard is emptied - it's hard work sometimes to keep on top of it all so I know where you are coming from!

[booyhoo]

threeinabed how much did you pay for your heated airer, how big is it/how much does it hold and how long des it take to dry the clothes?

[threeinmybed]

Ugh I always seem to be washing. 1 or 2 loads a day, that's 2 adults and 1 baby. I try to use my heated clothes airer from Lakeland which costs 3p an hour to run; far cheaper than a dryer! We are constantly ironing too; but it doesn't bother me hugely. Just one of those things.

[MrsRobertDuvall]

I am ruthlessly organised when it comes to washing/ironing/putting away.
I generally do 3 loads a day.
I have a big rotary dryer outside and a huge clothes horse in the utility room( which is very warm).
In the utility room I have 3 large clothes baskets. One for ironing, one for underwear/non iron stuff( which I put away every 2 days) and one for dh's ironing. He does his own
I iron twice a week, usually Sunday and Wednesday, for about an hour. Then put away.

[ThePrincessRoyalFiggyrolls]

I wish I didn't have to wash every day and do my best to re wear but have sticky baby situation so get covered in goo regardless, so does the baby and dh work shirts seem to add to the pile, also I find if I load too much in then the washing doesn't come out clean which I think is something to do with my washing machine being a bit old and me being in denial , also have a back log due to having some a bastard of a period this month and having to change the duvet, sheet and matress protecter 3 times and having had to wash each one more than once to try and get clean. Otherwise I would be on top of it which is really annoying!

[PastaLaVista]

lisa, if you have enough overall to do one load a day, then you can just accumulate enough (e.g.) colours until you have a load. Next day you do whites, next day you do darks. Once you get started on it it will work out. In summer you will probably do more whites, in winter more darks.

Try to take everything out of the machine as soon as it finishes because it reduces creasing and smooth stuff out before hanging it to dry as well - it all cuts down on ironing. The same goes for things out of the drier.

Who is messing up the piles of clean stuff before you get to put it away? You need to head them off at the pass! But with only one load a day, it takes a couple of minutes to put it away before the marauders descend from the hills.

[FlumpsRule]

Always have pile of clean laundry waiting to be put away & an underwear basket (that kids are meant to sort) with loads of obligatory odd socks .

Am fine at sticking washing in the machine & getting it dried on airers (no tumble dryer) and folded but then rebel at thought of lugging it upstairs..

Thus my piles are clean & all my dirty washing baskets and wardrobes are empty

[booyhoo]

agree moondog and ragwort. when i take clothes off in the evening i hang them in the bathroom overnight with the window open and they always smell really fresh in the morning. i usually wear trousers 3 times before i wash them and tops about the same unless i have beenparticularly warm that day.

[Ragwort]

Agree with Moondog - unless you are really, really sweaty and dirty you do not need to wash clothes (apart from underwear ) daily - my DSIL puts her kids in clean clothes at least twice a day - they are not mucky kids - not babies either - she just has a 'thing' about it. My DS has the same 'out of school' clothes for the week - two or three school shirts and a couple of pairs of school trousers. I can happily wear the same shirt for a few couple of days - no one tells me I smell .

[madmomma]

I think maybe my family are just sweatier and stinkier and messier than those who can get away with one or two loads a week!

[booyhoo]

i have a real back log at the minute and need to b doing2 washes a day to get backup to date but i have no line and am struggling to get it al dry. even if i did have the line, the weather here has been shite.

[AutumnHues]

I am trying to do at least one load a day. I like to make sure that one load is dry (or near to getting dry) before I do the next lot. I do have a back log partly caused by a bit of depression I had a while ago but I have turned a corner and I am trying to do better.
I do it like this: Wash clothes, if weather good, hang it out, get it in when nearly dry(have a shady back yard) hang on indoor airers, then when dry put away. Don't iron unless absolutely necessary.

[Moomoomie]

I have three laundry baskets on the landing. Whites, colours and darks.
Each basket takes a load of washing, so once full, straight in the wash. Will often wash overnight so i can hang out on line first thing in morning. Or in utility room if wet out.
I iron things as soon as they come of the line, or fold and put straight away.
Day after day after day after day.

[moondog]

People wash far too often.
It ruins clothes too.
Do a bit more sponging and folding.
I do a load a week-maybe 2.
That's for 3 of us.

[posey]

I do about 5 loads a week. Get it out on the line in the morning if set fair. Bring in at teatime. If not dry bung on clothes horse overnight. When dry take off clothes horse and sort according to where it needs to go (ironing pile or whose bedroom). Put away non iron items. Leave ironing in ironing pile til Sunday morning when I set to while everyone doing homework and other sundry Sunday chores.

[madmomma]

I used to be constantly drowning in laundry and dealt with it by binge washing. The only way I've found to keep on top of it is to wash every day and a couple of times a week do two loads a day - like add on a whites wash or a delicates wash or a hot towels/bedding wash. I really resent doing it and I am constantly aghast at how much I have. Washing just sucks. Face it head on every morning!

[An0therName]

I do a load every day, then one apporx white load, and every so often delicates. Alway put it one first thing in the morning, depends what on when it get hung up...

[Becaroooo]

Coloureds and whites and delicates.

Thats it.

Wash every day - if I miss a day (unavoidable sometimes) it takes me ages to catch up again.

Have so much ironing to do tomorrow I could weep

[lisad123]

So unless I'm able to pop on one loads a day to wash and dry I'm going to have to live with it
I don't understand how you can physically have a load a day?? Or do you just do colours and whites?? I do colours, darks and whites.

[headfairy]

I binge wash on my days off... I did five loads over the past two days. First wash on Tuesday morning at 7.30am, up on the line when I got back from the school run and second wash on. I squeezed in the third wash at the end of the afternoon, hung it up on a dryer and left it to dry overnight in the kitchen. Same again yesterday. Luckily it was warm and everything dried v quickly. I spent about an hour last night after the kids were in bed putting it all away (luckily they're both deep sleepers, I usually put all their clothes away in their rooms while they're asleep in there) Dh's stuff was still sitting on the end of our bed this morning - I wonder how long this stand off will last before I give in and put it away for him

[Waltraut]

I just accept that there will be piles of laundry everywhere. I am to get the clean stuff folded and into baskets, to be put away. Does any bugger put it away? No. It's bigger than a one-person task, so I do my own and if nobody can find enough socks, I have a rant.

It's an imperfect system

[Dipsyistipsy]

I have two bins in the bathroom,one for coloureds ,one for whites,when they are full,I do a wash.

when it is dry I have three wash baskets,fold it as it comes off the line or out of the drier and then empty them daily.

[Melindaaa]

I do all laundry every day so never have a back log.

We have a utility room so it gets washed and tumble dried and folded immediately. I put everything away once or twice a day, or whenever we have a viewing on the house.