For those without a utility room - How does your laundry system work?? (Disclaimer: Despite the thread title I am actually quite an interesting person!)

[bigonsmalltalk]

I'd love a bit a of advice from anyone who has a good laundry system running in a small house without a utility room. A couple of friends have utility rooms and it seems to give you a really efficient system but I will never have one

DCs and DH are well trained to put laundry in one of two laundry baskets in our bathroom (One basket for whites, one for coloured). Every night I put on a wash and then take out in the morning and put in the tumble dryer in the garage or hang out to dry. I then put a wash on in the day and tumble or put on airer overnight.

BUT...

At this point the system falls apart. I bring dry washing into the lounge (no cupboard space in kitchen) and dump it on the spare armchair where it hangs about until I put it in the airing cupboard and ignore it until we run out of clothes...

I have a tiny cupboard under the stairs that I can't fit my ironing board into - so it gets hidden in the dining room and then gets put up for use and left out for days as its such a faff putting it away.

I work four days a week and find it hard to iron in the evenings.

I know a lot of people on here don't iron at all, but I've tried that and I'm not convinced you can get away with it... I'm sure some people do fine - but we just looked creased when I tried it!!!

So - care to share your system? Even if your system goes wrong like mine I'd be interested to hear about it.

Life is too short for this stuff but I'd like to be more efficient so there is time to do other less boring things.

[JsOtherHalf]

I use an ikea version of this on at least two doors www.amazon.co.uk/Brabantia-Hanging-Drying-Rack-Silver/dp/B002P6852M/ref=sr_1_66?s=kitchen&ie=UTF8&qid=1345845032&sr=1-66&tag=mumsnet&ascsubtag=mnforum-21

I dry most tops on hangers from them, and the rest of the clothes get dried on an ordinary airer, then folded onto the shelf part of the rack. DH does the ironing when he gets fed up of seeing it :D

[HauntedLittleLunatic]

I'm crap.

I have almost permanent piles of clean washing that needs putting away.

But for me...the key to getting on top of it is hangers.

I don't iron, but if I take clothes hangers outside to the washing line (or to the airer if drying indoors) and put clothes straight on instead of folding I find it easier to put away.

Else I spend time folding stuff. Then I take upstairs and put in front of my wardrobe. In the morning I put it on my bed so I can open my wardrobe. Then at bedtime I move it back to the floor so I can go to bed...you get the idea...

[parabelle]

I have two airers which go in the alcove on the landing next to laundry basket. Do a load every day, finishes just as I come in from work, hang it up. Next day, fold and put in airing cupboard and twice I week empty airing cupboard and put away. I am a bit OCD about it though, I like hanging it up my way, when dh does it, everything needs ironing, when I do, nothing needs ironing. Probably should get out more!

[Evasmum12]

I live in a 3 story house so there is a basket on each floor, I start at the top of the house and take out all whites (or whatever colour) and work my way down to the washer. It then all goes on the airer, when It's dry it goes into another baskt, folded, ready to make the journey back up, stopping at each bedroom to put folded clothes on appropriate beds.. works for me.

Just realised It's Friday night and I have no life!! is going down nicely though!

[oohdaddypig]

not sure why I find this thread so compelling...

I would flipping love a utility room....and a gym....

anyway, I have a couple of baskets in the kitchen - one for stuff to be hung outside and one for stuff to be washed that day. dry stuff gets plonked on our bed and I get round to putting it away before bed. I hasten to add I don't really fold anything unless it's cotton, so this takes about 3 minutes...

[BerylStreep]

Have i got this right? You do two loads of laundry every day? How many DC do you have?

Granted I have a really big washing machine drum, but I only do two to three loads of washing a week. One on Saturday, one on Sunday. There are 4 of us in the house.

I also iron the bare minimum. Shirts and polo shirts, and school uniform.

Why so much washing?

[betterwhenthesunshines]

Fold the stuff that doesn't need ironing immediately. Usually put it on my bed so I have to put away before I can go to bed later.

What about a lidded basket in your sitting room for the ironing stuff so it's not just sitting in a heap until you get to it.

Our ironing board is in a cupboard in the dining room / kitchen so it has to come out and go away - I tend to do one big session a week.

[MaryPoppinsBag]

I don't have a utility room as such, but my washer and my tumble drier are in the store room (used to be a coal house etc but was rebuilt as a kind if garage but without the garage door )

I can't store clean washing in there as the cats would sleep on it. And it's a bit of a dirty dusty room and v cold.

Washing goes from upstairs into there a basket in garage at night, wash goes on over night. And stuff that'll be ironed goes on airer - undies and non iron stuff goes on wire radiator areas in the persons bedroom - dries in hours.
In summer all goes on line.

I sort into individual piles and put away Whilst kids (6&3) are in bath.

I keep my ironing pile in a little cupboard (used to be a TV cabinet but stands in my hallway under the coat pegs with baskets on top to hold DC's school bags - cupboard was £15 from a charity shop)

I iron a couple of evenings a week ( I work until 6 most nights as I'm a CM)

[Plomino]

Have 5 dc's , plus me ,DH , two greyhounds , and three horses , all living at home . To add context , all of us are likely to get dirty at some point every day . I add this to give you some context, so to speak .

Have a largish utility room, 2 washing machines , of which one is a washer dryer . I also work full time on shifts , so will try and describe the anarchy that is the 'system'

Everyone has a colour coded tub trug , including dogs, horses and bedding .

If this is winter and I am at work, DS 2 has the task of gathering all the worn uniforms nightly , washing and hanging on fire guard in front of the wood burner to dry overnight . These are then ironed by DS 1 or me in the morning. I usually put a load in each machine , which dh then hangs out on an internal washing line in the utility room , or on the fire guard, or on banisters if things are long , like trousers or sheets . When dried , then left in basket for me to throw into appropriate owners trug , unironed , to be put away by owner . Things get ironed as they get worn .

Sheets usually get done weekly , towels are usually used several times before washing , then do the dogs and animals washing , dogs duvets and horse stuff once a week , and then fling an empty hot wash through to get rid of various dog hairs and mud .

Then it starts all over again ..........