Endless piles of washing! How do you keep on top of it all?

[Jemster]

We seem to have a constantly full laundry bin & even an overflow! I just can't seem to get on top of it & find it exhausting just looking at it all!
There are 4 of us & I wouldn't say I have a huge amount of clothes but between the 4 of us it seems huge, and then of course bedding, towels etc.
It doesn't seem right to me the amount of washing we do. I remember my mum doing it once a week on a Monday only, that was washing day.
Does anyone else feel like this? I'd like to hear how people manage it together with all the drying, putting away & ironing it creates as well as working & trying to have a life!! I feel like a bloody washerwoman!!
What's the answer, less clothes, wear them more times before washing?

Towels once a month?
Ewwww....

Family of 4, no nappies, one wash a day. Towels and sheets certainly not changed after every use. Keeping up with the washing is ok, it is the getting it dry (especially in this weather when it is damp outside and no heating on in house) and putting it away that is the bugger.

I don't iron, Dh irones his stuff as he needs it.

I hang / fold stuff straight off the dryer and put it in the right pile. Then put it away as it eventually makes it upstairs.

Yep, it's the drying which we struggle with. I'm going to treat myself to a hanging airer I think.

Some things do need ironing. I wear a lot of shirts, linen t shirts, skirts etc - they all need ironing.
I do a load a day, and put the previous day's load away after dinner every night. Letting it build up is so depressing. Especially piles of clean clothes to put aeay, which for some reason makes my heart sink

Oh and we purposely put the tumble dryer in an upstairs cupboard so there's no piles of clean washing left downstairs for any length of time because I can never be arsed to take it up, it comes straight out upstairs, gets folded then put away.

No idea how many loads I do...but it's loads :)
Daily;
school uniforms x 2 (ds1 is entering puberty and frankly is a bit whiffy despite his liberal application of Lynx)
Dhs work stuff
Underwear, pjs, towels, flannel and tea towels.
Weekly;
2 lots of football kit (one practise and one match kit)
My uniform
Fortnightly;
Bedding
Monthly;
Throw Cushion covers
Throws

Have you never watched pulp fiction the blood and dirt goes down the drain. If its on the towel you don't understand how washing works.

Anyway I refuse to be drawn into this nonsense of only making use of all the domestic appliances we have nowadays to increase our standards rather than using the time potentially freed up to do something, anything with our lives that means something or at least is enjoyable.

Any ways as you were in back off to my course work.

I don't particularly want to wear smelly and crumpled clothes.
My DC both have excema so need clean towels each time.
if you don't mind wearing crumpled smelly clothes (yes they will smell if you wear them more than twice, sorry!) that's fine.
Only on mn is washing and ironing your clothes frowned on!

I would suggest perhaps you don't know much about skin conditions?
Towels get damp.
They then get smelly.
Not a smell I particularly like.
So I wash them.

Thanks for all the replies, some great tips I will look at trying. Although I mentioned ironing we actually do very little. DH will iron what we need for the day that morning which is helpful but still means I build up an 'ironing basket' which never sees the light of day! He is also very good at doing laundry, I think perhaps a little too good as I think he washes absolutely everything after one wear, whereas I am happy to wear more than once. He has quite a lot of clothes (and tons of socks & pants) so I think an awful lot of it is created by him. Still I guess I shouldn't mind that he likes to be clean!
We are not good at the putting away stage, thinking of training ds 7 to put his own things away.

I wash at least 2 loads every day. Sporty household here, with 4 permanent residents plus 2 student offspring.
Imload on as soon as you get up.
If someone at home it gets hung up outside during the day, otherwise goes on airer in conservatory overnight when we get in.
Another load on while cooking tea, usually makes it to dryer, unless there isn't a Third load to do overnight, in which case it gets hung out before work if the morning.
That way i am always on top of it, and can slip in another couple of loads each weekend day if needed.

I'm with you Winchester - housework is for people with not enough other stuff to do like sitting around

Monday: alternate bedding or towels (incl teatowels)
Wednesday: clothes
Saturday: clothes

I wash everything in together. I don't own anything with dye that runs, nor anything white

I also don't iron, unless it's one blouse or some linen trousers (so hated on MN). DH irons his own, DS doesn't have a school uniform.

I fold into piles and put away mine and DS' (he's 3yo). It is summer, so only pants, tshirts, shorts; he has 3 drawers, nothing to hang.

Laundry: piss easy in the elQuintoConyo house.

We dry wet towels on the washing line in not suggesting leaving them to rot on the floor all month

"Towels get damp."

We put used towels on the heated towel rail, so they can be re-used. Washing a towel after one single use is so wasteful and unnecessary.

4 people here all 16+ , I do loads of washing , usually do a load of towels a day and one or 2 clothes washes every other day and bedding (2 king 1 double) on a rotational basis usually about 5 days per bed . Everything that can be tumbled is ,anything else is hung on my drying pole and dries within 24 hrs when it is either folded to be put away or put in the ironing bag to go to the ironing lady . I put away the basket of folded stuff / towels daily . It really doesn't take long or much effort with my system .

Okay but when you use a towel you are clean, I mean you've just washed, all you are wiping away is clean water. So I really don't get why that towel would then be dirty. Just dry them out. Changing your towels once a week is more than adequate.

When you use a towel you're probably wiping away lots of skin cells that have been softened up but not washed off, especially if you haven't used a flannel in the shower.

but these skin cells are clean. using a towel at least twice will not harm anyone.

I suppose again its finances.

When you can afford to tumble dry everything, or send out the ironing, it does make the job easier and less effort.

We would probably wash things more often if we could tumble them all.

We use a towel for a week, so seven washes.

However skin is sloughed off during wash, and towel is not used to vigorously dry.

Does anyone use the sniff test? Unless it smells funny it's good for another day. This goes for everything except underwear, socks, tea towels, dish cloths and flannels. I know flannels are not much loved on here, but you can get a fair bit of water off you with one before you even step out of the bath/shower. That way you are not creating ridiculously damp towels to wash daily. Also I don't think you need to shower everyday, unless you smell a bit whiffy. A stand-up wash won't kill you and actually your skin/hair might enjoy the break from harsh water and chemicals.

I can't wait until my kids get a bit older and they get better at eating, as usually by end of the day their clothes have food all over them.

I don't understand this disgust at our own skin cells/sweat/whatever - why would that bother me? Genuine question.

Yes to sniff test

I shower every day and put clean underwear on everyday (we all do), and I will put on the previous day's T-shirt if it is still clean and passes the sniff test.

I also wear jeans, trousers and skirts several times before they get washed as I don't do a mucky job or get filthy at home unless I am doing the gardening.

There are some overly fastidious people on MN.