How do you sort your washing?

[Krazylady]

Just wondering...I think I probably do more loads than necessary instead of lumping together.

I always separate the following:
Jeans
Towels
Bed linen
DH's shirts
Dark colours
Light colours
Woollens
Delicates

I've always done it this way, but my sister says she just does dark or light colour washes. Who is right? Do I need to get a life?

Just chuck everything in together when the basket gets full - pack the drum almost solid too heretic

Towels, a full load.
Bedding a full load
Everything else gets bunged in together to make a full load.

Pure whites
Whites with light patterns
Pastels
Brights
Black synthetics
Jeans/Darks
Cleaning cloths & tea towels
Towels
School uniform (trousers & jumpers)
I have two washing machines & they are on every day for at least one wash. On my days off they do many loads.

I do a black / dark wash (most of my clothes, I wear very little that is white/pale).
Bedding/towels wash x 2
Each week.

I handwash cashmere roughly once a fortnight and spin it in the machine. I used to machine wash it but don't trust my current machine not to shrink/ felt it all. Roll on my new kitchen/utility cupboard and new appliances!

I occasionally do a bonkersly hot wash (90degrees) with tea towels /kitchen clotHs primarily to clear out the washing machine (apparently lots of 30 degree washes causes Detergent build up and I'm too tight to do an "empty" hot wash so choose things that won't be wrecked by the heat.

Hot whites - white bedding, towels, flannels, nearly white tea towels, dishcloths etc. Long hot wash.

Hot colours - coloured bedding, towels, flannels, tea towels. Long hot wash.

Warm whites - school shirts, white underwear including bras, white socks (which always need pre-soaking), other white or very light coloured clothing. Long warm wash 40 degrees.

Then all other clothing goes in these loads

pastels
brights
darks
denims and school trousers/skirts
light coloured woollens/silks
dark coloured woollens/silks
dh's work shirts
bath mats

40 degrees for everything, or special wool programme for the woollens.

Darks
Lights
Whites
Anything that needs cooler than 40
Towels

There's only DP and me so we'd never get enough for a full load if we split it further!

I am obsessed with clothes washing. I've found some of my people on here.
I do -
White wash
Black/ dark grey wash
Navy/dark blue wash
Grey/ brown wash
Pink/red wash
Blue/ green/ turquoise wash
Purple wash
Towels, bath mats and tea towels on 60, at least partly colour sorted.
Dog bedding on 60
Human bedding sorted by similar colour
Delicates wash
Probably other random washes from time to time, e.g. DH's work uniforms.

I always have full loads and can never keep on top if the washing. DD2 is terrible; she refuses to wear anything for more than a day including pyjamas for more than one night. Dogs make a mountain of stuff too, and DH goes running. His stuff reeks afterwards so that's a load every couple of days.

On the positive side all that sorting means our clothes stay really new looking and always keep their colours looking bright. Some of my neighbours hang out the most awful grey looking mixed wash loads. I don't do grey clothes unless they're bought grey. I'm a horrible clothes washing snob

My washing machines never last long. My indesit innex 9kg which I loved has just gone wrong after only 2 years and repair people said uneconomical to fix. I've replaced it with an lg with a 10 year motor guarantee in the hope it does me longer but it's only 8kg. I like the machine but am mourning the loss of the extra kg already!

Dark,
coloured,
white,
bedding ( though if there's a few coloured clothes I'll chuck them in with it)
Towels
Teatowels and rags
Dds wool skirt and school socks
Cloth nappies

Jeans, towels, pants and socks 40 cotton with quick button pressed.

Whites - shirts, flannels, tea towels (very strict white only or a little colour detail) as above

Everything else - school trousers, leggings, tshirts etc - 40 delicate wash with quick button pressed

Occasional 30 with fast button for anything that has white but is mainly another colour. Eg navy tshirt very thin white stripes. It upsets me if I kill white bits. Those kids' tshirts with contrasting white sleeves used to give me nightmares

There are 4 of us but I have a ginormous American washer and dryer. I do 4 washes a week:
Whites
Colours
Sheets (on hot)
Towels and bath mats (on hot)

Sometimes there's a wool wash too but it's hot here so not often....

Also have dh's work shirts and trousers dry cleaned and pressed ($1 each) so don't wash or iron those.

Unless it's something that needs delicate care, I do darks and lights, if there's a lot of it, I might do a middle of the road wash.

Sheets and towels 60c, don't tend to buy white as too much faff
Most clothing stuff gets a 40c cotton wash in the winter and a good spin, all in together with a colour catcher.
Woollens get a wool wash

In the summer I do a white wash about every 1-2 weeks and use a more delicate wash cycle as stuff goes on the line and doesn't need the very fast spin. It all goes in together though with a colour catcher only white is separated.

Darks
Lights
Towels
Bedding
Woollens
Dog stuff.

I just separate by temperature and, very occasionally, if I think the dye might run. So the vast majority is all shoved in together at 40 degrees. I've never separate darks and lights, with modern dyes you really don't need to do it.

Colours
Whites
Bed linen
Dog stuff

Whites
Coloured/dark
Sports non bio
Sports bio
Denim (and dark trousers)
Towels
Delicates including socks
Wool

I am really not bothered by most "housework" tasks ( dc when younger fell about laughing when they saw a mother vacuuming in a tv advert because in our house that is a Dad job) but I am very fussy about laundry.

I definitely keep DHs underpants in a separate wash

Whites, towels, everything else (and rarely delicates). Teatowels go in with either whites or towels depending on what needs bulking out.

I keep an eye out for anything new that's coloured - so I wouldn't put my teatowels in with a new coloured towel for instance, but I figure the old ones have already had any colour sucked out that's going to.

Then I adjust the wash depending what's in it/how long it's been since something like teatowels or the machine has had a 90 degree wash.

So I would suppose that I don't have a routine, but fly by the seat of my pants instead.

I'm staggered at how many delicate clothes people wear. None of our clothes need a delicate wash.

I only separate pants and socks so I can give them a boil wash. GEnerally do lights and darks, thenTowels, again so I can wash at 90! (Very non eco friendly) and bedding separate.

I'm staggered at how many delicate clothes people wear. None of our clothes need a delicate wash.

I use the delicate wash quite often but only for teddy bears and things that aren't actually supposed to go in the machine. To me "hand wash only"'s not advice, it's a challenge.

I do: black, dark, light, pink/ red, white/ boil, and baby wash.

Light colours 40
dark colours 40
Towels,sheets,socks,underwear 60

I do a delicate as it's quick and does the job. I had a Hotpoint for about 12 years. When I changed to my present Zanussi it took me ages to find similar settings for stuff. I still swear they don't feel the same. Not as soft. I have to do an extra rinse. And an extra spin. But it's still not quite there.