How much time every week should laundry really take?

[HiawathaDidntBotherTooMuch]

I seem to spend hours every bloody week doing laundry. I am sure I must be doing it in a very ineffective manner.

We have 2 DC (6yo and 1yo). DC1 is in uniform every weekday. DS2 has some leaky nappies and still wears bibs due to messy eating and drooling, which creates extra washing.

I wash uniform every Friday night. I wash bedding every Sunday. I wash towels every 4 or 5 days. I do other washes as and when there is enough to wash, but I am guessing that our normal clothes give us about 6 or so washes a week. DH goes running twice a week, so there is sports kit from that.

All in all, a fair bit of washing. We have a fab washing machine and an even more fab tumble dryer. Our cleaner does all of our ironing on Wednesdays, so I always try and make sure that everything that needs to be ironed is washed and dry for then.

I just feel that I spend so much time every day gatherine washing, sorting it, putting the machine on, drying it (some things can't be tumbled dried, as I have found to my cost in the past, like DS1's pants always shrink, his tops and some canvas trousers do too; DS2's bibs are plastic backed and they shred in the dryer; anything with Lycra cannot go in etc) on the radiators or airer or in the dryer, sorting it into iron and non-iron in time for Wednesday, folding it all, putting it all away in the right places ...

I must do ten washes a week.

Is this normal, and am I moaning over something that every house experiences, or am I spending a disproportinate amount of time on it and making a meal of it?

Thanks for the replies re 90 degree wash. I've only ever used it for a machine clean type wash.

3 kids aged 5, 5, and 12 + 2 adults.
I also do about 15-18 loads per week and I have an 8kg bosch WM.
I shudder to think how some people do so little?

Everyone throws dirty clothes on to the stairs in our house then the adults bring it down and put in laundry basket in utility next to WM.

Per load I think it takes 2 minutes to sort & load it into machine; 5 mins to take out and hang up to dry on indoor clothes airer; 10 minutes to put away when dry. But add another 10 minutes to that if I hang it out on washing line.
(I don't put away DH clothes, ust mine and the kids, OK mine stay in a big pile in my bedroom).
So lets say 15 minutes per load x 16 loads that is 4 hours per week..

• Kids beds changed about once fortnight. Our bed once a week (yes it needs it).
• 12 year old needs clean shirt & trousers for school most days he gets filthy, twins wear their uniform all week.
• We wear our clothes until they are dirty, often for several days.
• Face clothes and tea towels are only used once - but I don't use teatowels much I use DW or let things air dry.
• Hand towel in WC changed 3x week.
• Bath/shower towels used about 3 days.
• Swimming kit & towels washed every time they are used.
• Games kit for 12 year old once per week but for twins once per term.

I do NO ironing at all.
Almost all of the items are 100% cotton.
As we have so much laundry I sort it. All coloured clothes are washed at 30.
Whites are washed at 40. I put pants/knickers in a separate load may wash at 60 or 40 (about every 5-6 days).
Towels & face cloths sometimes washed at 40 sometimes at 60.

In my experience cottons often shrink even at 40 and certainly at higher and colours do run or fade at higher temperatures.
Not sorting it and puting it all the the Tumble DRier might save time but in my TD (a bosch)

• the clothes come out wrinkled (and i don't iron),
• the high temperature shrinks things (even on the low heat setting),
• and Tumble driers are expensive to run (aren't they)? My electricity bill is already shocking!

MrsTaraPlumbing - it takes you 5 minutes to hang out a load from an 8kg machine on to an airer?

I reckon laundry takes me an hour per day. I don't iron.

Pre DC I would do 2/3 loads a week. Now I do 5/6 loads a week.

Cashmere - you do 9 loads a week for 2 of you? How is that even possible??

MrsTara - I don't understand how you need to do so much washing with such a big machine? It can't be full most of the time, surely? Why do towels need washing so frequently? And I hardly ever wash swimming stuff - the material degrades really quickly if you do - I just soak it in cold water and let it dry. And does your whole bed need changing every week - sheets maybe, but the duvet cover? All the pillowcases?

I feel like I am on a one-woman mission to get people to do less laundry! It is such a waste of time, energy (yours and the planet's) and money!

I cannot get over how many of you
Iron.
Do all the washing when there's another adult in the house.

I wouldn't have a clue how much gets done. I chuck a load or two at the weekend. The teens use the machine. The partner uses the machine.

Result no mountains of washing. No hours spent sorting, drying, ironing and folding.

"I feel like I am on a one-woman mission to get people to do less laundry! It is such a waste of time, energy (yours and the planet's) and money!"

Hear hear. How on earth a nuclear family can generate such industrial loads of washing is beyond me.

I agree. We are a family of 4 (two adults, two dc, no nappies) and do 7-8 loads per week.

All our clothes are perfectly clean, we have fresh towels and bedding frequently.

But I do always do a full load.

I am still mistified by those who do less laundry.

believe me I am a lazy housewife and I don't do chores that don't need doing so I can't imagine how people do 1 load per day or less.
I can honestly say most if not all stuff is dirty when it goes in the WM - as in you could not wear it again. I smells, has food and stains and marks on it.

And I only turn the machine on when it is full. Rarely (perhaps once or twice a week max. out of those 16 or so loads it might not be completely full).
My bed definitely needs changing weekly - approx. ( Maybe my bed sees too much action - but I wouldn't say no to more!) Kids only once fortnight.

When I mention washing swimming stuff - it is not just the costumes - they take up no space - it is also towels, if we are going swimming 2 days in a row I might just hang them to dry but I don't keep reusing them for weeks on end without laundering them.

Mintyy "- it takes you 5 minutes to hang out a load from an 8kg machine on to an airer? hmm"
What do you mean - Do You think it should take longer or less time?
That can be sorting out a load of clothes and hanging them neat and flat - no wrinkles no ironing - so I can't do it in much less.

How often are people washing their towels?
Everyone who is specific in this thread like me seems to say twice a week about the same as me.

Then there are all the extras!

• last week my dad stayed so all of his sheets & towels were laundered. And the towel visitors might use in WC? I change about 3 times per week.

Perhaps 2 - 3 times per year I launder the washable sofa covers - they need it.

I wash our towels about once a week. If we're going swimming I take the towels from the bathroom then put them in the wash afterwards. I do one lot of adult bedding in with one lot of DC bedding too.

I can understand if your bed sees a lot of action that you need to change the sheets every week - but the whole thing? And why do the children's beds need changing every fortnight, especially in winter? I do DD's once a month or so, more frequently in a hot summer, but she's 4, not sweaty, bath most nights so absolutely no reason to do them more frequently.

Towels I do every couple of weeks or so, and that load will include 2 large bath towels, hand towel, kitchen hand towel and a load of tea towels and napkins. Swimming towels I can understand need doing more frequently. Weirdly, I have never come down with any kind of heinous disease from washing towels less frequently.

Oh, and we're all in our pyjamas for a week at a time in winter.

I am wearing a dress today that is now on it's 4th or 5th wear since it was last washed - it doesn't smell. Same for my cardie, in fact I try not to wash 'outer' wear like cardies and jumpers much at all, or jeans either - DH is very anti-jeans washing, his get washed maybe 4 times a year? The only reason I wash my jeans more frequently is because they go saggy at the knees - if I ever got round to buying some better jeans that wouldn't be an issue. Now that pubs are smoke-free (and I'm not in one every other night) I can't imagine my clothes getting too smelly to wear that quickly.

It would take me about 15 minutes to hang out a full load from an 8kg washing machine.

Out of interest, and without wanting to spark any kind of SAHM/WOHM debate - are those who do a lot of laundry SAHMs (or at least not full time WOHMs)? I work 3 days a week, and have a child not yet at school, so what with everything else I don't think I could fit in doing much more laundry, so needs must in a way.

That sounds very similar to us, river. Sheets washed every fortnight, maybe a bit more for DC if it's not been hot and sweaty. I air all the beds every day anyway. Towels get washed about once a month really because we just seem to have quite a few, so enough to change them every week without washing them straight away. Jeans rarely get washed, work trousers and skirts have a good few wears before being washed, so it's only really tops that get done regularly.

To answer your interesting question, we both work f/t and so the washing gets done in fits and starts when we need to!

However as I've said before, I can completely see that school uniforms and sports kits for 2 or 3 DC make an absolute world of difference.

MrsTaraPlumbing

I have an 8kg washing machine and if I do a mixed load of clothing it might involve 4 pairs of trousers/leggings/shorts, 10 tops/tshirts, 2 pairs pyjamas, 10 pants, 20 pairs of socks. There is no way I could hang all that out in 5 minutes. It would take me 20.

What's this 'still using bibs'?

The bib is the saviour of clothing! Seriously, a set of sleeved IKEA bibs for DS2 will save you a whole load of stains and trouble for tops. A teatowel on your son's lap will also help. Your son will learn to eat without spilling in time, using a bib won't make this process any faster or slower but will save quite a few items of clothing!

MrsTaraPlumbing I'm not surprised your electricity bill is shocking if you're doing 16 loads a week! We have 2 or 3 bath towels on the go between us and change them weekly, and 1-2 hand towels a week for downstairs. We use normal bath towels rather than enormous bath sheets, to reduce washing load. We tend not to wash swimming towels that often. T shirts and shirts get washed after every wear for adults, jeans after 4-5 days, jumpers very rarely. But I do think washing just once a week (several washes back to back) makes a big difference to how much I do. It makes no sense but it really works.

We've just got a tumble dryer, having resisted for years, and I am loving not having to hang out 56 socks and 28 pairs of pants every week.

Bloodyteenagers good point about DPs and DC not pulling their weight. When DP has sports kit to wash he does it, making up the wash from the basket. Yes I do most of the washing but he does nearly all the ironing and various other chores.

7 of us here , plus 3 horses and two dogs . Have 2 washing machines in the house (had to buy one in a rush as broke and needed it the same day , but only a 7kg washer dryer , so needed a bigger one. Bought a 9kg one so can have both going if need be . ) plus the old one still good for animals , so have got it on the stable yard where is used for weekly washing of dog beds and horse kit .

Uniforms is one wash per day , which is DS2's task, plus at least two other loads of random clothing . Two loads of washing a week is human bedding , another two is towels , one load for white shirts . Must be somewhere about 16 -18 loads give or take . This time of year they get hung out overnight before I go to work, dry all day and I collect when I get home, before throwing it into individually colour coded tub trugs one for each person. Stuff gets ironed when it's needed .

We have 5/6 of us at home, an 8kg machine, and I do 3-5 loads a week (depending on bedding).

Collecting washing takes a matter of minutes (say 1-2 mn per load by the time I get it downstairs) as everyone puts their washing in the baskets.

Sorting it into lights and darks takes maybe 15 mn tops for 5 loads.

Loading it and setting the machine to go takes 2 mn per load.

Hanging it up takes 10 mn per load.

Quick 10 mn tumble dry (not counted in final total as don't actually have to do anything more than shove it in the machine and turn the dial) and folding, 15 mn per load.

No ironing. I don't do ironing.

31 mn per load. So for 5 loads (absolute maximum) it would take 155 mn a week, or 2 hours and 35 mn. Shared between DH and me and any available children, it's not bad as chores go.

I forgot to say we never run the machine part full- all those washes are full loads. There must be an economy of scale there.

River, coincidentally I follow what you do almost to the letter. I work ft as does dh though I have a live-in aupair who helps with housework. My family of 4 rarely generates more than 3 full loads a week.

Having said that, my work clothes are mostly dry cleaned or handwashed. As I work in an office, they do not smell. Therefore, I don't need to clean them after every wear.

Dh wears suits and so on work days only has one work shirt to wash a day.

The dcs wear their uniforms twice before they are washed, save for white shirts with obvious marks after the first wear. Any yoghurt or food stains on dark clothing that can be wiped off will be wiped off for a second wear. I only wash towels once a week. Bathmats once every 1-2 weeks.

duchesse how is that possible?

Or are you all very chic and wear black? Maybe your bed linen is also balck ?

Because I am forever seperating washing into colours and whites and delicates and fuck knows what else....then there are the muddy kits. I can't be the only one?!?

So today's washes were:

1. whites. DH's work and DS school shirts. Various white underwear. Sheets. A dressing gown.

1. three black/grey sweaters on delicates.

1. Reds. Footie tops x 4. A hoodie. Two fleeces. PJs, boxers, socks.

I don't do whites only or red only (as someone else here does). I do darks or pales. Everything goes in on either the machine's 30C eco wash, or the 60C when DD1's hospital uniform is in it. Pretty much everything we own is cotton, so no synthetics to consider.

Woolens get collected until there are enough to justify a wool wash. (maybe once a month, we certainly don't wash them at every wear when lanolin does a perfectly good job of sanitising them already).