Someone help me cut down on clothes washing.

[2MumsAreBetterThan1]

I am SICK to death of all the clothes washing I have to do, it's driving me mad and no matter how hard I work I am always drowing under a mountain of clothes.

I do AT LEAST 2 washes every single day, sometimes even more and spend hours washing clothes, hanging them to dry, ironing, sorting and putting them away.

It means I get very little else done as every day is washing day.

I would love to be one of these people that has a wash day once a week, or even twice a week actually would be great.

How on earth do you all manage it?

I have a 6 week old baby who has severe reflux and so is sick a lot, this means I end up doing a 'baby clothes' wash every other day. She also has reusable nappies which are washed every day.

I have a 5 year old who is a mud magnet so needs fresh school uniform every weekday and changes when she gets home so that's 2 outfits a day in the wash.

I have an 8 year old with severe special needs, he also uses reusable nappies that are washed every day. Sometimes in the same wash as the babies nappies but if there is too many I do 2 seperate washes. He has a habit of taking his nappy off at bedtime meaning that 3-4 times a week I also have to wash a full load of bedding as well. He is also a VERY messy eater and food is never contained to just his bib so he ends up having his t-shirt changed a few times a day.

I have a DP who works a manual dirty job and so comes home and changes immediately adding one full set of clothes to the wash, she also showers every evening after work meaning there is a towel each day.

I wear clothes, pj's etc. until they are dirty to not add more to the washing.

I change the bedding weekly, towels are washed as and when they are used, baby being sickly often means I have pram covers, moses basket bedding, bouncer cover etc. to wash several times a week.

I also have a dog whose blankets are washed weekly in there own boil wash.

Sometimes I put the clean washing upstairs to put away when I get chance and the fucking bastard cat will come along and piss on the lot meaning I have to rewash everything I have done :( Thankfully this is happening less and less now that the children are remembering to close the doors.

Short of becoming a family of nudists or leaving my children in filthy beds and clothes, how can I reduce my wash load??

Do you need to wash towels after each use? I use the same one for maybe 3 days running.

Can your 5 year old change straight into pyjamas if not going out? I know a few people who do this. When DP gets home, can the clothes she changes into be used for 2-3 days?

Would you consider using disposable nappies?

I would not wash a towel that has been used once! Or the 8 year olds t shirts several times a day. I certainly would not wash a childs set of clothes that have been put on at 4pm after school and then taken off at say 8pm for bed...fiold them up and they can wear them the next day!
loosen up a bit! My dogs blankets are not washed weekly either.

The number of loads doesn't sound abnormal to me....

My sc don't change after school (why would they? You say theyre dirty anyway) but apart from that, my laundry is similar to yours. It's the putting away that I hate, so I have a small labelled chest of drawers and everyone had to put their own away.

Gosh that sounds really hard, I don't know how you would reduce all of that. I think people who have a wash day once or twice a week have small families and don't have small babies or SN children, unfortunately.

If money is no object, a tumble drier would help with the hanging up time and a larger capacity washing machine might help reduce the number of loads you need to do. Buy extra clothes, school uniform etc so you can last longer between running out completely. Consider using disposable nappies (although I know these are hard to get hold of for older children). Instead of bibs, use old shirts put on backwards for DS's eating and reuse a few times before washing.

Subject to personal taste - reuse towels unless they smell or are visibly dirty, or if someone has nits etc. Wash dog's stuff with human stuff - it won't harm. Change beds once every 2 weeks rather than weekly, unless of course there are any accidents.

Buy non iron fabrics, don't iron at all unless it's a wedding/funeral/etc. Can DP not do some of the washing?

Get rid of the cat.

You have a lot on your plate - would you consider disposable nappies for the baby at least, if not the 8 year old?

Why would you wash towels after one use? Especially given that you're generally clean after a bath/shower! I wash mine weekly unless soiled.

My DD2 is disabled and in night nappies that often leaked until we switched to pyjama pants (pull ups) and got 2 washable bed pads from the HV which means I don't have to wash bedding most days now. Instead of doing the whole lot I can just wash the bed pad.

Why change the 5 year old when she gets home? Just let her stay in her uniform if it's going in the wash anyway. (I do this for my mucky younger two as they are muck magnets too).

Get a load of cheapo white towels to put under the baby so if she pukes on her bouncer/moses basket/pushchair you only have to wash (and not iron) some towels rather than the whole lot.

I have a 6 week old baby who has severe reflux and so is sick a lot, this means I end up doing a 'baby clothes' wash every other day. She also has reusable nappies which are washed every day.

• stop doing a separate wash for just baby clothes

• have you been to the gp to see if medication could help?

I have a 5 year old who is a mud magnet so needs fresh school uniform every weekday and changes when she gets home so that's 2 outfits a day in the wash.

• she could wear the same 'after school' clothes at least two days in a row

I have an 8 year old with severe special needs, he also uses reusable nappies that are washed every day. Sometimes in the same wash as the babies nappies but if there is too many I do 2 seperate washes. He has a habit of taking his nappy off at bedtime meaning that 3-4 times a week I also have to wash a full load of bedding as well. He is also a VERY messy eater and food is never contained to just his bib so he ends up having his t-shirt changed a few times a day.

• wash all nappies together as much as possible (I can't imagine that 2 people create more dirty nappies than fits in a wash, but could be wrong)

• designate an overzised t-shirt (old one from dh?) as messy t-shirt for mealtimes, he could wear it one day.

I have a DP who works a manual dirty job and so comes home and changes immediately adding one full set of clothes to the wash, she also showers every evening after work meaning there is a towel each day.

• again, as with your dd, he could wear the same 'after work' clothes a couple of times, they are clean if he just had a shower ffs

• get a towel rail so towels can dry between use so you can get 2-3 days or even a week out of them

• close the doors on the cat so it doesn't get the opportunity to piss on laundry (or re-home it)

and I forgot: don't do any ironing. if your dh needs/wants shirts ironed he can do that himself!

There are five of us, one of whom has wet pajama bottoms every night. I do 3 loads a week. One dark, one light, one bright. I don't know how/why it is so low compared to most of you.

I agree with the others. We are a family of 5 (nearly 6). The washing machine is always on. I don't have one in nappies right now, but am potty training a toddler. I only wash towels and bedding once a week. I have long since given up getting the older two changed after school. They just stay in their (already filfthy) uniform. Mine go swimming once a week, so that generates another load. My eldest is also quite sportty, so often there is sports kit too.

I hanker after a bigger capacity machine (9-11kg), but they are slightly too large for the space in my house .

I rarely iron.

When life is on top of me the washing never makes it back into drawers and wardrobes.

I would sell a kidney before giving up my tumble drier well almost

My DD gets changed out of her school uniform if any of the uniform is clean enough to wear again, if it's not she can stay in it til bathtime rather than wear another outfit.

What size is your washing machine? I have 14 wk old ds in reusables and due to having an 8kg machine only do 2 nappy washes a week. He is also sicky but I just keep a muslin over him and change it once a day. On my bed only change fortnightly and towels after 3-4 uses. Maybe investing in a bigger machine would help?

Wash the bedding fortnightly (if it makes you feel better bung the pillowcases in with another wash it makes the bed feel a fit fresher inbetween washes)

My son wears a clean shirt, pants and socks every day, his trousers are clean on Monday and then a another clean pair on Wed or Thurs.

Your Partner should not be putting on a clean set of clothes every evening and then putting them in the wash, they can't have worn them for more than a few hours, tell him to fold them and wear them another evening or even 3 evenings.

Why an earth are you washing towels after one use. Ours get washed once a week, flannels can be changed and bunged in with any wash daily if required. Even if you change to washing towels twice a week it should help.

I will agree with you on the dog bedding, I do think if you keep the dog clean and its bed you won't get a doggy smelling house.

Agree with the post about the oversized t shirt, great idea.

Some great suggestions here thanks!
I can't believe I havbn't thought of some of these already.

I always change 5 year old DD after school as she plays out on the front and I worry that she will look like the 'scruffy child' playing out in her dirty uniform and then because she plays out she ends up filthy again. Do many of you let your children play out in uniform? She is the oldest on our little street so not sure what the other mum's would be doing if they had school aged children.

The large t-shirt for 8 year DS instead of a bib is a great idea!
Hopefully I can wash 1 t-shirt a day then rather than 3-4 t-shirts plus bibs.

I don't want to use disposable nappies, manily as my 8 year old DS has to have reusables due to the fact that larger nappies are EXTORTIONATE and I can't afford them. If I am washing nappies for him anyway it makes more sense to have the baby in reusables as well. They mostly fit in one wash anyway unless it's been a very thirsty day and DS has gone through a lot.

mrscog Do you find they are ok leaving the nappies that long? Sometimes I put the nappy wash on and it's only half full but I wash every day regardless as always thought they would smell / go mouldy etc. if I didn't? May be able to reduce that to every other day which would be great.

sidge Can you tell me where you bought the washable bed pads, that would definately save me washing bedding as much when the nappy leaks or is removed.

The baby clothes have to be washed seperately as she has excema and so uses a sensitive wash powder which is quite expensive. I can't afford to wash all our clothes in this so seperate her clothing and wash everything else in the cheaper stuff.

I definately need a bigger washing machine, the one I have is 6kg, would love a huge drum to fit more in! I do have a tumble dryer but only ever use it for bedding and towels as the whole house ends up stuffy and warm when it's on and you can barely breathe (small house and dryer not correctly vented by landlord).

Really excited now (saddo emotion) to try some of these things out and get a break from washing!

The towel thing is new to me, always washed after one use but now people are saying don't it makes me wonder why I always have.

How often to other people wash things like children's PE kits, children's coats, curtains, couch covers?

I suspect I am making more work for myself then needed by washing things too often.

All I would add (or reiterate) is don't wash towels after only one use. Make sure dp washes properly then they will only be damp not grubby so hang somewhere to air/ dry and reuse.
My DD also has SN and uses only fingers to eat and wipes them on the nearest place, usually t shirt. She now has special 'pasta clothes' which can get wrecked. I tend to change her clothes after school but (aside from tea time and pasta clothes!) these don't usually get that dirty so can be reworn.
And I don't know how feasible this would be with an 8yr old but when dd started to take her nappy off at night we went back to vests with poppers like you usually put on babies. Not sure you could get them for ds tho. Maybe check online? Stopped her taking nappy off = less washing of bedclothes.

Yes my nappies have been fine so far - they do smell when the lid is off the bin, but thats only for the few seconds I'm putting in the machine - they all go in a net as well to minimise my handling. I don't know if it depends on the type of nappy - I use pocket ones.

I probably would wash every other day rather than every 2 if I could afford it but trying to use as little energy as possible due to m/l!

X posted so just read your last post. Don't you get free nappies for ds? Are you in uk? My DD is 4 and qualifies for free ones, arranged it through HV. Maybe check with yours.
Wash coats when they look dirty.
Have a leather sofa so no washing just wiping with baby wipes.
Have never washed a curtain in my life . Most I've done is spray vanish and wipe when dd had a 'smearing' phase.

How often to other people wash things like children's PE kits, children's coats, curtains, couch covers

PE kit: once a week as it's pe uniform rather then separate kit
Coats: when really dirty/smelly, and before putting away for the season, sponge wash inbetween
Curtains: never (only have one and don't have pets)
Sofa covers: when I run out of cushion turning combinations, about twice a year...

Just went online and typed in all in one vests for disabled children and this was the first that came up. Seemed to be loads of pages.

www.rdkmobility.co.uk/Popper-Vest.html

Obviously keeping the cat away from the clothes is a good start.

Agree re. towels - get hooks in your bathroom if you don't have room for towel rails and hang them up after use - they'll dry and be usable again. Definitely don't wash them after just one use!

Curtains - jeez, mine haven't been washed in years. Depends how obsessive you are about them, I suppose - have you tried just hoovering them? Or are they covered in cat hair/prints or child fingerprints? Mine don't show anything anyway.
Same with couch covers - try hoovering them before having to wash, or wipe any small spills with babywipes (if you have them), damp cloth otherwise.

When I had DS in cloth nappies, I had a 30L brewing bin (airtight lid) - it was usually full after 2 days and so I could do a wash every other day instead of every day. I didn't change his nappy after every wee either; he never had much in the way of nappy rash unless I accidentally left him in a pooey nappy for a little too long. While it's not a great plan to leave your child in a soaking nappy, there is an inbetween stage of not changing them after every wee but changing them before the nappy is drenched!

Also - does your DP help out with the washing or not? If not, why not? There's no reason she couldn't at least help out with sorting/putting away; or even bunging a load on in the morning before she leaves for work, or before you go to bed. I realise this doesn't cut down on your actual washing, but it might help lighten the load on you a little.

I've bought washable bed pads through Amazon in the past.

Agree about not washing towels after every use, I can't even imagine doing that! Once or twice a week should be fine.

Unless it makes up a load on its own, I don't think you have to wash dog bedding separately from human stuff. Some people will say this is gross, but I don't see the problem personally, detergent and hot water takes care of everything IMO!

Or if you can't reduce the amount, can you share the load a bit? Could your partner do the laundry at the weekend (or whatever days she's not working?) Iron her own work clothes? Or can you afford to use a laundry service? Some will do collection/drop-off which is it's very convenient.

PE kit... my DD is at secondary now so its whenever she brings it home...er, once a term!

She never used to change out of uniform to play out in primary - I wanted her to (would have reused casual clothes 2-3 days) but she never wanted to bother so what the heck.

Dog bedding about monthly (but he's small and short haired, not too stinky/muddy)

Towels approx weekly though DH tends to only use his about twice (forgets to hang them up and leaves in a damp heap, drat him.)

Bedding - somewhere between 2-4 weeks - depends on the weather. We tend to do our bathing in the evening so we're clean into them.

We never wash coats (do people do that? ), they go to the dry-cleaners before being put away for the 'season'.

We don't have curtains, just blinds or opaque windows. Easier and nicer IMO.

Sofa covers...I think we've done them once after an unfortunate dog 'incident'! Otherwise just spot-clean any stains.

You've had a lot of great advice already but I will add that yes it is fine for DD ro play out in uniform after school.

And I can't believe with huge amounts of washing you have that you wash towels after one use. Seriously use for a week at least and second the bedding fortnightly. You should really be able to cut down a decent amount.

I'd only wash coats if they had got covered in mud or sick or other disgusting substance - otherwise no, they don't get washed.

And agree as well that if the uniform is already dirty, don't bother changing DD out of it - only change her out of it if it's clean enough to be used again the next day.