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Housekeeping

Find cleaning advice from other Mumsnetters on our Housekeeping forum.

Original poster

If you really do three loads of washing a day....

357 replies

Clary · 30/10/2006 13:42

That?s 21 a week, right? What are you actually washing? I?m not having a go, just interested (following ?how many times? thread) in how many people claim to do this much washing.

Yes, some days I might do 3 loads (if one of the kids has a night accident eg) but the next day probably none.
Are you mega washers really doing 21 washes a week? Are you all really dirty? what?s your laundry list, come on, I need to know if there is laundry I am failing to do.
(I have three DCs btw)

OP posts:
belgo · 30/10/2006 17:31

I remember my mum doing just one or two loads of washing per week for a household of four - and I'm fairly sure we never smelt or looked grubby - how on earth did she manage that?

mousiemousie · 30/10/2006 17:40

oh god me and my big mouth
OCD
sorry, it was a stupid thing to say

zippy34 · 30/10/2006 17:58

I was just thinking that Belgo, and what about back before washing machines when people just had their big washday Monday? I think there was a lot more tolerance to a bit of dirt and smells though and they probably didn't notice as much.

Fresh towels & bedding every day would be LOVELY but I don't think we could afford the electric bills to do that much washing.

When we got rid of the tumble dryer our consumption plummetted and I have to say, I do think twice about putting on the machine as we're on PowerCards so you can see immediately what you're using. Bit worried about the extra with a baby especially as I'm planning to use real nappies after the first couple of months.

Bucketsofbloodydinosaurs · 30/10/2006 18:10

Dead skin cells are good things! If you bath/shower everyday you are stripping your natural oils so putting on yesterday's pyjamas might actually help make up for he damage! If you have dry skin, all this bathing and laundry detergents is going to be very aging.

ShinyHappyPurpleSeveredHeads · 30/10/2006 18:34

Are we all judging each other I wonder?? Does just a few washes per week = a bit grubby/smelly... or does it mean a envionmentally friendly family and mega organised??

Does 3 washes per day = squeaky clean, or hygiene obsessed,... or perhaps disorganised and wasteful of the earth's resources...??

Threads like this on Mumsnet can be so exhausting, wondering what everyone else is thinking..!! I have given up caring actually, I just assume I am 'failing' in the Eyes of the Mumsnet Collective and relax in my slobdom.... so that's ok then..

Apronscreams · 30/10/2006 18:46

2ish loads of towels, 2 loads for the bath mats (from 3 bathrooms) 4 children's beds and our bed,
One child regularly wets the bed so thats another one or two loads. 2ish loads of dishcloths (which I always do seperately) Then btwn dh, me and the four children there are probably 2 loads a day of clothes...

thats that seems to be 23 - add in occasional washing of school coats/ swimming towels etc

Agree that not everysingle one of these gets done every week - somethimes the childrens'beds go 10 days or a fortnight...but with no exageration I think I must do 20 loads a week.

morocco · 30/10/2006 18:49

never thought anyone might be washing less than me tbh - I thought all families were snowed under with washing? I can't wash 3 loads a day in winter cos I can't cope with it all hanging round the house to dry and am obsessive about only using tumble dryer in dire emergencies (probably cos am scared I can't use it properly).
We do 2 washes every day, I have no idea how, and on some days also three - that's when I change the sheets/do towels or other big stuff.
my kids just get very very dirty (am believe me I don't change them every 5 minutes either), dh cycles to/from work so won't obviously wear work clothes round the house. apart from that, I have no idea how it makes so much washing.

ghosty · 30/10/2006 19:00

I do 3 a week ...
Do people REALLY do 3 a day?
Jeepers

My DD wears one outfit a day ... she stays dirty

ghosty · 30/10/2006 19:02

Just counting up actually,

Maybe 6 a week .... towels; sheets; 2 x whites; 2 x colours ....

squatchette · 30/10/2006 19:22

Good point shiny..
I have 4 in my household me DP and 2 todlers.DD1 is potty training and DD2 has a bowel problem .
We use towels twice and i do our beds weekly unless there's an accident(obviously).PJ's every other night.I have 3 sofas with throws and cushions so do these weekly too but often ends up being twice due to more todler related accidents.
Clothes wise at least 2 changes for the tots and just one set for me and dp each day- although he sometimes wears same jeans for 2 days.I also wash the bathroom Kitchen and playroom rugs every 7-10 days (hard floors in those rooms).
This all adds up to 2 washes a day sometimes 3 can't use line at moment either due to a hospital being knocked down behind our house ,think copious brickdust.
I do worry about the environmental impact and the bills of course.However until the children get older i doubt the amount of washing could be reduced much.

riab · 30/10/2006 19:22

I do about 2 a day, DS is a messy eater so at mealtimes its often his outfit plus my outfit and a teatowel that get ruined! Is often 3 at weekend when I do all the sheets.

swedishmum · 30/10/2006 19:26

When we lived in an apartment abroad you could book the laundry room for a session (am, pm or eve). It had 2 industrial washers, an industrial dryer, a drying cupboard and a big mangle thing to iron bedding. It was so liberating. I could do laundry for all 6 of us in one session. It always seems to be hanging around here - I hate it.

ggglimpopo · 30/10/2006 19:27

Message withdrawn

ShinyHappyPurpleSeveredHeads · 30/10/2006 19:36

I only change the beds once a fortnight. (Except for DS2's). Ours don't seem to need doing weekly and is's a very time consuming job, all things considered, which I'm far too busy/knackered to do weekly.

And still I do 2-3 wash loads a day!

misdee · 30/10/2006 20:10

yes clean towels each time. after the kids are bathed, they lay on the towels when i do their eczema creams. so the towel is greasy and yukky afterwards as the residue rubs off.

i like a good vigourous rub down with a towel before i put my lotion on. so lots of extra dead skin on my towels.

so shoot me.

Blossomhowl · 30/10/2006 20:12

Leave JARM alone! I am sure if we delved into all of our little ways we could all have a go.
I wash my towels every few days, they smell after about 3 times of use.

misdee · 30/10/2006 20:13

oh and dh rarely uses a towel except for mopping up blood. hmmmmm nice.

jessicaandrebeccasmummy · 30/10/2006 20:21

ah dont worry girls... i like being clean, i like having my little OCD ways - what everyone else does it up to them, but i cannot STAND to have dirty washing lying around or to use the same towel twice - i just cant!

Same as I have to hoover 3 times a day - it needs to be done!

LittleScarer · 30/10/2006 20:24

You sound just like a very good friend of my JARM!

I used to live with her and she was always sweeping, about three times a day! And I would make my dinner and the dishes would be done before I was finished, despite my protestations!

Now, if only I could find a man in the same mold...

riab · 30/10/2006 20:49

towels are a funny one, I use them twice but only on the same day? so if I have a shower in the evning and use the towel it goes in the wash it doesn't hang around overnight.

Someone posted about people doing less washing decades ago, my parents tended to do the whole eco, minial washing of clothes and bodies thing and I SMELT! I can remember being so embarrassed (aged 6) because my clothes were dirty when i went out with friends.

I let DS wear mucky trousers - ie grass/mud but he gets a clean top on as that is food stains and I won't let him walk around with spag bol or banana on his top.

blueshoes · 30/10/2006 20:53

2 - 3 a ... week - for myself, dh, dd 3 and ds baby.

1 light, 1 dark, 1 mixed. towels once a week. bed linen only when grubby.

zippy34 · 30/10/2006 21:03

Oooh I'd love to live in one of those apartment blocks you see in other countries (US? Other places?) where there's a communal laundry room. I live in a really small flat and our back court is horrible so I'd never hang out my washing there (never really gets the sun anyway) and I hate having it hanging around drying too. The main reason we didn't get a new dryer when our old one broke was space rather than the environment tbh.

Or a house with a utility room....mmmmmmm utility room - it would be my ultimate luxury. That's very sad isn't it.

SparklyGothKat · 30/10/2006 21:39

Normally do all the washing at the weekend, 1 whites, 2 darks, 1 colours, 1 towels, and 2 bedding. DD2 still wets the bed so sometimes I have extra washing in the week. Also have to rinse the school clothes every night, on a 20 min quick wash.
Now I have an utility room, its easy to just shut the door..

ballbaby · 30/10/2006 21:51

Using a bath towel a few times does not make you look dirty, smell bad and it won't kill you. Think of the environment fgs .

Blossomhowl · 30/10/2006 21:56

sgk ~ why do you rinse uniform every night?