How do you manage Mount Washmore!

[Scattymum101]

I'm barely staying on top of our washing for me, hubby and the two kids. I'm still on Mat leave and finding it hard to manage - especially with putting it all away. I'm doing at least one washing a day, sometimes two. I try and put things away as quickly as I can but I can't put the kids stuff away once they're sleeping as it'll wake them. I find it really hard to put things away when they're awake as they're pulling at things and screaming at me for attention.

I go back to work in January and I've no idea how I'm going to manage it. Ideally I would just do the washing at weekends but I don't think we'll manage a full week without any washing done.

I usually dry most stuff on a clothes horse and tumble dry towels, socks and underwear. I live in Glasgow so it's rare that I could hang something out then go to work.

How do you do it?

In our house there is me, DH a 1yo and a 3yo. We have a big laundry basket in the bathroom and a smaller one each in the 3yos and our room (1yo.in with us).

The smaller ones get left til they are nearly full (each is about a loads worth), so all dds washing goes in one load, dried (radiators/washing line), then put in a big IKEA bag in her room.

The other small basket is left til almost full too, washed, dried then into our room.we have two chairs in our bedroom and dhs clean goes on one, mine on the other. DSs stuff goes.on top of his chest of drawers.

The big main basket gets washed as and when I pass the washing machine. Usually a load in in the morning, spun mid morning and onto the rads at lunchtime. I put another load in when I empty it always.

Everything clean goes into its designated "spots" - the chairs/drawer top/IKEA bag.

When dh gets home from work or when the IKEA bag is full, I go in and put it all away. Same with ds.

DH and I just pick off the chair til we can be bothered to hang it all.

I never split washes into colours and I never iron.

I work four days a week and within those three days off I can clear all the dirty. Usually also tidy away dds and dss stuff.

A good week is mine and dhs stuff being away.

A) you seem to wash too much stuff. Make sure your only washing dirty stuff, not a jumper your child had on 2 hrs and is actually clean

B) put washing folded straight outside children's bedroom doors if they are asleep. So as soon as you go in you can put away

C) use timer on washing machine so it starts at 6am. That way it's ready to hang up soon after you wake.

Me, DH, DD3, DD1. I wash one load every day darks one day, then colours the next. Then tumble dry or airer, no washing line as yet. I don't find the washing or drying the toughest, I find putting all the clean stuff away the worst bit!

We just use stuff straight of the airer rather than put much away. We have a shelf in the bathroom for the stray bits when the next load needs to be hung up. We wash 1-2 times a week as we wear clothes specific to what we are doing and don't wash them each time (eg gardening, going out, slobbing around the house etc, use aprons/'dirty jackets' over clothes to protect them etc)
Anything not worn against the skin is worn again provided its clean (jeans, jumpers etc)
Towels - we have our own they are hung to dry and reused.

Sorry meant to say its me, oh, ds2 and dd1

Me, DH, DDs 3 and 7 months. I'm also on mat leave, with a tumble dryer

• Darks load (including gym kit) Wednesday night as soon as the kids are in bed
• Towels and sheets on Friday
• 3 loads over the weekend - darks, coloured, whites/pastels
• Nappies about every three days

Like a PP I put the clean clothes, folded, outside the kids' doors and take in with me in the morning, put them away as they're waking up

When do you fold clothes? I do it while supervising the kids' evening meal. Then I take the basket up for bath time and put things away while the DCs are getting undressed/having a nudie jack. Or fold after DD2 is in bed and while DD1 is watching a bit of TV then put away while she is choosing a book for bedtime.

Does your DH help? Absolutely no reason while you can't get through a basket of clean clothes together in 5 mins - it really doesn't take very long

Nudie jack?

Nudie time, even

I do tons of washing , there are 4 of us all 16+ . Everything that can be tumbled is and gets folded and put in the wash basket to go away except shirts which are put in a laundry bag to go to the ironing lady . Tshirts / anything that doesn't tumble gets hung on a curtain rail at the patio door and then gets taken down when dry ( usually next day) and put in the bag for the ironing lady . I do at least 12-14 loads a week including towels / sheets( all king beds) / dog stuff . Unless I've missed a couple of days I don't sort into colours it all gets chucked in together to make up a load . My tumble dryer does get a lot of use all year as I don't hang out often even in summer but my electric bill is ok . My eldest has OCD and cannot have used towels in the bathrooms ! ironing goes on a Tuesday and comes back Wednesday and is put away or in the basket to put away .

Since going back to work after my second baby, I fear amount Washmore could possible collapse and kill me. I've got a tumble drier- this does help massively.

Leaving it all until the weekends hasn't worked, so I'm trying to do a wash a day, failing, and working forward from there.

On a Sunday I sort all the clothes, complain to DH that he hasn't put his clothes away, he says he will put his clothes away, and then I contemplate divorce.

Sharing the responsibility definitely helps, DH is good at remembering to put washes on, just not as good at putting them away/hanging up.

I also live in the capital of driech weather and in any case I don't have a garden. There are 5 of us.

Laundry happens almost every day.

I cut down on tumble drying by having an IKEA coat and hat stand to hang up DH's work shirts and the school shirts.

In your position I would be tempted not to bother putting baby clothes away but just use the clean laundry basket.

My DC are older and are now in charge of all putting away - delegate as much as you can as soon as you can would be my other top tip. I think your DH will have to do his share once you are back at work at least until he can get your minions trained. Mine likes ironing.

Oh yes and now my youngest is 4 they both put the majority of their own clothes away, have down since around 3. I just hang up shirts really

I should have added that i don't iron lol.
Dreading the kids starting school and me having to start that!!

From reading your replies (which have been really helpful so thanks) I think I've managed to pinpoint some of the issues.

• baby is 10 months so generally only gets one wear out of things as she's revolting and spills things, pees while I'm changing her and has leaky poonamies often. She also gets a clean babygrow every night still which is really adding to the washing as normally dd1 gets 4/5 nights out a pair of jammies.
• hubby just throws everything in the washing basket whether dirty or clean of the kids if they've worn it and he usually does jammies on wth them in evenings while I put things away (wish he would put his honking stuff in the wash more often ironically).

Hoping it will get easier as dd2 gets older and isn't as messy. However dd1 is starting nursery at the same time as I go back to work and I'm fairly certain I'll need to wash everything every evening as the last time she was at nursery she was filthy every evening.

Plan of action.

• Buy everyone a small washing basket that clean washing can go in (different colours) so that at least if I can't put it away immediately, it's not lying everywhere and getting mixed up.
• make sure dd1's clothes are only being washed when they're actually dirty
• see if I can get two nights out of a babygrow for the baby
• I'm only going back to work for 3 days initially so will try and do 2 washings on Saturday, 2 on Sunday, and 1 on Monday and Tuesday and hopefully that means I won't need to do any on the days I'm working.

I think it's difficult just now as dd2 is having a separation anxiety phase just now and doesn't want to be put down so I end up trying to do things with her in the baby carrier pulling my hair and fish hooking me lol.

Hello - similar here as am on maternity leave with 2 DCs and soon back to work. Washing feels endless but just started the following which seems to be helping. (1) do one person's washing at a time - mix whites and colours for the baby/my DS as nothing seems to run thank goodness. (2) I tumble dry everything that can be (appreciate not ideal environmentally/financially but it is keeping me sane) (3) dry washing goes into basket and instead of sorting in utility room I now do in that person's room and put straight away (4) no ironing unless crucial. (5) bedding/towels separate washes and put away from basket.

Have you got a big drum in your washing machine and dryer? Ours are 8 or 9 kg. I also fill them fuller than DH would, obviously not cramming stuff in but they fit a fair bit and everything seems to come out clean. Fewer loads saves a lot of time.

I never ever iron.
T shirts get two goes before washing and trousers 3, jumpers 4 or 5. Underwear all after 1 wear though!
Towels sheets and pillows once a week but duvet covers get two weeks as they're such an arse to change.
I sort on our bed, my washing goes my side, DHs his side, baby's thrown into her box, toddler clothes near the door. I fold DHs shirts but nobody else is bothered.
Piles of children's clothes go outside their door if they're asleep at the time.
We have separate baskets for whites and darks in our room but the children have a basket each of mixed.
I like doing laundry now we have a tumble dryer. Feel guilty using it but as soon as we're past this stage ill go back to an airer.

I'm not sure how big the washing machine is at the new place.

Even cutting back on what's being put in the basket has helped loads. Baby having poonamies is not helping though lol.

Mostly at least dd1 is getting two wears out of clothes before I need to wash them. I'm having to wash most tops after one wear as baby pukes, wipes food on me or cleans her nose on me constantly argh lol.