How do you deal with your washing?!

[mollysmum82]

I'm just curious what other people's laundry habits are. I never seem to see wet washing hanging at anyone else's house so I wondered what I was missing! Obviously when it's a glorious day you can hang it outside but if you don't have a utility room and its peeing it down what do you do? Do you tumble dry everything? (If I try this everything seems creased beyond repair) or do you just iron everything from wet? What other options are there? How often and when do you do your washing? I feel like such a novice at this house keeping malarkey! Thanks so much for any tips!

I do loads of laundry - potty training number 2 son and sport mad husband. My 3 steps to success are:

• Buy the largest capacity you can - we have an 8kg which I would marry if I could
• Use Colour Catchers so you don't have to piss about with separating colours (although I do tend to always save whites for a load)
• If you're going to tumble dry everything (which I do), use dryer balls (shortens time needed to dry clothes and no wrinkles) and don't over fill the dryer otherwise you will be ironing everything.

Oh and we mostly do everything at 30 degrees, except bath towels and clothes with wee/poo/vomit on.... say no more!

I second the Colour Catcher/ dye Grabber from Lakeland! Can wash whites and colours together with no greying ever!
www.lakeland.co.uk/20647/Color-Grabber

5 in our house, me, DP and 3 DCs.

We do all the laundry on a Sunday. Tumble dry everything

I never iron. Actually I think there's a spider living on the ironing board, it gets used that little!

I have a 5yo & a 2yo.
We have no outside space and no tumble dryer.

I check only dirty clothes go into the washing basket - sounds obvious but 5yo will throw everything she touches in there, so I am training her.

I dry on a rack indoors, usually in the living room or in the bath depending on timing - in the summer I hang up at night and it's ready to put away the next day. Same for in the winter when the heating is on.

It's tricky at the moment as the days are cooler but the heating isn't on yet so it's taking longer to dry. And I start to think about buying one of http://www.lakeland.co.uk/21736/Dry-Soon-3-Tier-Heated-Tower-Airer THESE. I think the same thoughts every year but I'm yet to buy one.

We get by.

I do find myself doing the 'armpit check' on clothes that have been on the 'worn' chair for a while... But only while no-one is looking.

gosh first ever link fail and I previewed too!!!

lakeland Heated Airer

I do several loads a week, sometimes 2 a day but never more than that as I would never get everything dry. I live in a flat and there is no space for a tumbler. This summer we got a washing line and it has made things so much easier! Hope to get another month's use out of it before wet washing freezes on the line! We also have a Dri-Buddi which folds down when not in use - it has a fan and a nylon type cover so you hang clothes on hangers over the arms, zip the cover over and switch it on. It can dry a full load of baby washing/half load of adult washing in about 3 hours. Other than that, we dry over the radiators through the winter. Clothes dry very fast but it does create excess moisture in the air and thus mould! Especially last winter when we had our ds, and the washing pile increased exponentially (at least 2 changes a day for baby, extra bedding, baby wee/poo/sick getting on our bed or our clothes!) My mum is now looking after ds every week so she is going to start taking some of my bulky washing away with her.

I do a load of washing most days. There are four of us. Clothes only get washed if they're dirty, not after one wear if they are ok.

Most things get washed at 30C.

I don't have a tumble drier, and so I dry outside if the weather permits. Otherwise I have a tall square drying rack on my upstairs landing and I can hang up to two loads on it (Argos). Yes I have washing hanging up every single day but as it's upstairs it doesn't feel too intrusive, and the floorspace it takes up is minimal. Things usually dry in less than 24 hours so once a day I swap everything around. I iron twice a week to keep on top of things.

I have a system that works well yet it feels absolutely relentless. I guess it's the same for everyone.

We have had loads over the years (5 children). Washer on every day for last 20 years at least one load.
We do have a drier which helped when we had 3 in cloth nappies at once.
If you came in our house even now with older chidlren you'd see radiators with clothes over adn 2 clothes horses always with clothse over but in utility room as after 15 years we could afford a house with a utility room. Also towels hanging over some doors to dry when drying space is not available. Outside clothes thing too but that depends on weather.

Also I suspect we do not change clothes as much as other people (although we don't smell).

We are a family of 5 and I save it all up til the weekend while I am working - stuff just gets added to one of 4 laundry baskets about the house to keep it out of the way. Then over the weekend I dump all 4 baskets onto the utility room floor, shutting the door when I leave so no one sees it all :), and then do about 5 or 6 washes over the weekend, ususally including bedding, towels and bathroom mats. I have a bit of a production line going. Have the iron and ironing boeard up in there all weekend so stuff goes into the washing machine, staright into the tumble drier, another wash goes on, I try and catch the tumble drier just before it ends and hang stuff up and fold stuff. Then anything that needs ironed I try and iron as I am going past (but there is always a basket of ironing in there).

Having a utility room and a drier massively helps of course - I don't think it would be workable for our family without a drier - I am often drying stuff for bedtime just at the last moment (bedding, favourite blankets, cuddly toys etc)

One problem we have is where to keep the childrens worn but not dirty clothes. I have 2 young dds in a room slightly bigger than a box room - and 1 ds in a single room so there is def no room for an airer or even really a chair to put things on. We also have a tiny bath room so they keep their towels on the radiator in their rooms. (My dd will save her pjs for instance but a proper bed making session can reveal 5 pairs of PJS under her pillow!) She also has a habit of tidying by stuffing worn clothes down the back of her bunk bed (cant imagine where she gets her slovenly habits from ;) )

We have a tumble dryer, but i have used it a handful of times since DS was born (he is 3).
We live in france, so weather is better and am a sahm so can keep and eye on the weather, so bring in stuff from the line when rain looks imminent. biggest saver is the verandah, we had one at old house and DP has almost finished the one here, so i will leave washing out under it for a couple of days to "wind dry" even if not sunny

We have an "on the go" basket at the top of each dc's wardrobe which slides out (ikea stuva - dont take up much space) and the theory is anything worn once but not needing a wash goes in there to be used next time. This works reasonably well but they like to select a different one each time so I do sometimes have to clear a massive pile of stuff out of them - but at least it keeps it off the floor)

i have 5 kids and no tumble dryer,i do at least 3 loads a day,we use cloth nappies and wipes,theres bed accidents quite often too,sheets are changed once a week at least,more if their weed on obviously!towels are washed after ever use as are clothes,to keep on tp of everything i would have to do at least 4 or 5 loads a day,i dont ever have an empty laundry basket.i hang it outside if i can but i have airers too,2 big ones,i also hang on radiators etc if i really have to,am thinking about getting a tumble dryer soon actually once the weather gets bad.

I never iron, and have just recently got on top of mine, a load every other day either dry out or tumble dried depending on weather. Pegged out in who's clothes they belong to order on line. Taken in folded and put straight away. I have lost that feeling of living in a laundry!
I don't have room for clothes airer so, in winter I tumble dry alot

giraffes my dc have a squidy gardening type basket which goes under their beds.
all clothes that can be worn again live in there.

I tend to save it all for the weekend as work full time in the week, but we too wear stuff a fair bit before washing!

Am curious, do those that use the 30min quick wash setting find it cleans enough? Do you use less washing powder then?

I have a washing room. I suppose it could be called a utility room, but it's a room with a washing machine, dryer, drying space and work surface, so I'm calling it the washing room.

I've only just got it, after years of living in a shoebox with no drying space and a tiny kitchen, so sometimes I just go in there in the evenings and stroke the walls lovingly

Not sure why I never thought of a basket for their clothes - will look for something similar thanks

This would be perfect but too expensive www.amazon.co.uk/Urban-Silver-Storage-Drawers-drawers/dp/B002V9CTJS/ref=sr_1_23?s=kitchen&ie=UTF8&qid=1380568695&sr=1-23&keywords=wire+drawer

I don't have a tumbledrier. I live for the summer when I can wash and dry a load or two in a day! We have a large clothes airer and bannisters etc which will hold a full load for winter time. I leave the window in that room open so it doesn't get too humid. I only iron shirts and my own tops - everything els goe in airing cupboard then back to wardrobes.

I wash probably every other day (only me and dd) dd rarely wears something twice so most of washing is hers!!

I also wonder what other people do with their washing but mine either goes on the line outside (I actually enjoy hanging washing outside ) or on a airer in my bedroom, I also hang some clothes from doorframe on hangers and if weather is bad bedding gets dried hung over doors!!

I don't like tumble driers - I got rid of mine and brought a dishwasher instead

5 of us here including 3 active boys so tons of washing. I have quite a little routine going re the washing. It works for me although it still feels relentless!

Monday - wash clothes: a load each of darks, colours, whites.
Tuesday - wash bedding (alternate between ours and dc's)
Wednesday - towels
Thursday - delicates/hand wash stuff
Friday - school uniform; swimming kits/towels

In summer I dry outside as much as possible.
In winter I tumble dry bedding, towels, socks, underwear, some uniform and PJs.

I also have 2 big airers - 1 in the utility room in front of the boiler and 1 on the landing - whatever isn't being tumble dried gets hung on those (and I use them in summer when the weather's bad)

Apart from the bedding I try and put a wash on either in the evening or straightaway when I get up and then hang it up in the morning or straight after the school run. At the same time I fold up any dry stuff and put it away.

In theory I do any ironing required on Tuesday evenings in reality it piles up until noone has anything in their cupboards