Laundry baskets/hampers - what kind, where and how many?

[StripyDeckchair]

Possibly the most boring question ever but I'm trying to improve on the current continually replenishing avalanche of laundry we have and I'm wondering about where you gather your laundry that's waiting to be washed?

What kind of laundry basket(s) do you have? Where do you put them? Do you use them to sort laundry as you go? Do you have one basket between everyone or a basket in each room or what? What's your system?

Currently we have one overflowing unsorted one in our room and one mini overflowing one in the baby's room plus little piles of laundry accumulating elsewhere and some sorted laundry in Ikea bags cluttering up the space next to the washing machine waiting to be washed.

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I chuck all dirty washing into the washing machine.then when it’s full,I separate the lights and darks.
I just don’t have the space for laundry baskets.
I have only one laundry basket,and that stays in the cupboard on top of the tumble dryer,then the clean and dry goes into the basket for me to put away.

We have one for lights, one for darks and a small bag for delicates.

Crucially each basket holds less than the washing machine, so if a basket is full that's one (already sorted) load. Makes it easy to bung it on, no sorting required and also means I can't let it build up too much as the basket gets full quickly.

They live in our bedroom which is also very near family bathroom where small dc get undressed.

Not sure what we will do once DC are older. I can see there will be a phase when they're old enough to put their own clothes in the basket but not old enough to sort reliably into lights/darks/delicates. Might have to have a general kids basket then which I will have to sort into categories

We have one in the bathroom with a divider for light and dark. They all ignore it and I have to separate it anyway.

Feel your pain! Our problem was too many laundry hampers/baskets.

Have just got rid of all the laundry baskets from the bedrooms and just have one on landing with 2 sections (still have separate hamper in bathroom for towels and another for underwear, so not making this point very persuasively).

No babies though for non bio etc so children's clothes now being washed with ours.

So far, not bad. Once it starts to near the top a wash has to be done.

We have an otterman on the landing just looks like a piece of furniture and hides the washing well!

Ikea trofast unit with three medium size tubs, one each for lights, darks and brights. Each tub holds roughly a load. I gather together towels from around house just before washing them.

We have three laundry baskets - one in our en suite, one in DS's room and one in DD1's room (which DD2 also uses). Large wicker things with lids.

Having three baskets increases the chances (slightly) that clothes make it from the teenage floordrobes into the laundry. No chance that they'd sort it, though.

Twice a week, I collect everything, tip it into a big pile (usually on the landing), sort it, and wash the lot. Then the dry stuff all gets put away before the next wash needs doing.

I can't bear a constant flow of laundry - much prefer doing two blitzes a week.

We have a 1x4 ikea Kallax unit in the hall, with a box each for light, coloured, dark and clean. I love it - easy to bung on to wash as already sorted, and it isn't obviously a laundry thing. We tend to get a little pile building up in the baby's room but that's just laziness!

Have a laundry basket in each bedroom. It means dirty clothes dont get left on floor. Also means it easier for me to hand each dc a pile of clean washing to put way as I don't need to sort them for each dc. Having two dd's almost the same size makes it hard distgish one set if underwear from another!

We have a set of small and large laundry baskets. The large one is in the master bedroom, the small one's on the landing for DC to use. There isn't really space for it there but more space there than in the bathroom.

Our system basically involves washing everything on Saturdays, give or take, so it's usually only once a week that we get everything out and sort into piles. Any other washes I'll just fish out from both baskets.

Think it depends on both the size (and I suppose shape) of your house, and also the makeup of your family.
We have bedrooms on 2 floors. I have one basket on landing of top floor (serves 2 bedrooms / 3 people), then one in main bathroom on first floor (which 2 people use). I then put another one on the landing outside dds' rooms as is a long thin Victorian house so actually quite a way from the bathroom. Since doing that all laundry goes into the baskets and it is all washed and returned in timely fashion. Before that, it used to pile up in the girls' rooms.
When they are filling up, or, if I've got a day when I'm at home, I collect from all 3 and then I sort by the washing machine into 3 piles... whites that go on a hot wash / darks that go on a hot wash / any colour that goes on a more delicate wash.

1 basket for ironing, 1 small basket for carrying dirty washing down and clean washing up to be hung up.
1 basket for dirty washing, as well as the bedroom floor (dh's clothes), and the bathroom (dh's flannels and towels after a shower). Apparently it's too difficult to put his dirty clothes straight in the basket, which is just in the hallway (literally a few extra steps from the bedroom), instead they go on the floor, for me to pick up. Same with flannels and towels. I find flannels on the sink or on the edge of the bath (we have a shower over the bath), and towels on the floor. Again it's too much effort to walk a few steps down the hall to put them in the basket. (The amount of times I've left them if I haven't realised they were there).
Sorry, rant over..

Thanks all! Maybe some Ikea furniture instead of just bags would help!

Marvelling at those who wash once a week
I'm trying to do a load every day and it still piles up, so I must be doing something wrong.

I have 3 baskets, carrying type baskets in my wardrobe. Darks, lights and whites. The DC use these for their dirty washing. When one is full it's taken down for washing. It is the simplest system. I used to have a hamper and a basket and sort through the hamper to put a wash on, far too faffy imo.

I have a small one from Dunelm. I think it is bamboo. It takes about two to three loads. I wash nearly every day. DH has another one. I used to keep one by machine but I hate that it is on show so ditched it. I just take the washing down each morning when I get up and go to put kettle on. I put washing in as I'm waiting for kettle to boil😊

We do several washes on Saturdays! But restricting it to once a week (plus extras if wet beds, muddy sports kit etc) seems to have a magical reducing effect on the sheer volume. I put it down to all washes being full loads and not putting anything nearly clean in to "make up the wash". Try leaving it a bit, you may be surprised. And if you find there's one item you always run out of first, buy more of that item. My kids do wear clothes a couple of days if not stained, same with pjs for all.

I think less is more. We have one dirty hamper in our bedroom (there is me, dh and 4year old twin boys). Everyday i look and put a load on of what there is i.e. darks or whites or woolens. I have one basket which takes it down, and use same one to put wet clean clothes in. I have one other basket by the airer to dump dry stuff in. That gets emptied when i can be bothered.

One laundry in the utility room by the washing machine, if laundry isn't put in it then it's not done.
I bring bed linen and towels down when I clean from top to bottom once a week.
Washing gets done a couple of times a week, ironed and put away same day.
Only two of us here plus DD occasionally, but when both DCs at home DS had a basket in his room and would bring it down when full, but DD would bring hers downstairs daily.

I have 3 - one full size one in my room, a pop up one in DDs room and a small one in the bathroom.

We live in a 2 bed terrace with both bedrooms going directly off the top of the stairs so while we only really need one upstairs there's no landing to put a communal one on. When I used to have one big one in my room DD would never put her stuff in it and would make piles in her room instead so I gave her her own laundry basket and she is pretty good about using it.

Also as the bathroom is downstairs I have a little basket in there as clothes were forever piling up in there as it wasn't worth undressing to shower, taking the clothes upstairs to put in the laundry basket to then bring back down to the washing machine ... so now any clothes that need washing go in the basket and anything that is still good for another wear gets hung up to be taken upstairs

On the landing upstairs, we have a wicker basket with a lid for dirty clothes. DD has a black bucket (Ikea bin for their segregated system!) that she uses in the attic, and empties into the hamper every day or 2. (Or we do that part for her - we're happy that she's at least putting dirty things in 1 place!).

Once everything is dry, it goes in a red pop up laundry hamper (that used to live in DD's room but was never used!) in the kitchen (out of sight past the breakfast bar). That gets filled up all week, and on a Saturday late afternoon, someone will grab it, turn on a movie, and fold laundry in front of the tv. Ironing goes back into it until DH does that on Sunday afternoons watching a movie.

We also have a decent sized basket for moving clothes from the washing machine to the clothes line outside when the weather is decent, or for bringing piles of clean, folded clothes upstairs (especially the piles going up to DD's room in the attic!). That is stored upside down on top of the tumble dryer stacked on the washing machine in the utility cupboard. (It doesn't fit under the light and over the spare kitchen towels/Ikea octopuses for socks if upright).

Our system is to keep the dirty laundry under control by trying to do a wash a day - but we only fold clean things once a week so if you need something before then, everyone knows to go through the clean clothes hamper in the kitchen.

I have a slimline curver which sits in my hall. There’s only 2 of us so never gets too full. I try to do most of my washing at the weekend so if you wear something on a Monday that’s it until the next weekend

Only two of us. We have a wicker laundry basket in a spare room and a canvas basket thing with handles that I put clean laundry in ready for ironing.

3 kids have hampers in each of their rooms, DH, baby and I have hamper in the hallway, under the stairs I have a sorter - darks, light and colours which they sort their washing into. 2 washing machines, 2 tumble driers, designated folding shelf, and I still drown under the sheer volume of washing!

I have a 1x4 Ikea kallax in my upstairs hallway with 4 pretty boxes : whites, darks, colours and towels/sheets. When full I just take down to utility to wash. With 4 children I have spent years searching for perfect wash basket and this is it!!!