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 have Ikea 37l Sortera tubs that hide stacked in an Ikea Pax wardrobe.

I think how often you need to do a load depends on the size of the clothing worn by the people in the house. Dh is 6'3" so his clothes are larger than the average person. Ds1 is 15 but already 5'8" so his clothes are big too.

I have several tubs, they each hold 1 load, I have a uniform tub (trousers and jumpers - both children at secondary) whites, lights, darks, and blacks.

The children have put their clothes in these tubs for years. If they are unsure which basket they go in then they ask and try to remember for next time. I do not pick clothing up off the floor, I call them back to their rooms and make them do it.

One for me
One for my partner
And one for the kid which is a lights and darks one as he's the only one who ever wears white or pale colours

I also have two washing baskets on wheels (think shopping basket) which I go round the house collecting the washing in, have a dodgy back so it saves me carrying it all! Then have a different colour one which the clean washing goes into and I wheel into the right bedroom to put away
I do my washing by person as I find it so much easier to put away!

I am abit weird when it comes to washing tho to be fair!

We have one basket in the laundry room, with 2 compartments (light and dark). DH, 2DC and I bring our dirty clothes to the basket...or they don't get washed. If I'm feeling kind I will call out a reminder for any more bits before I put on a load. DH and I put in towels used by all of us and bedclothes from all 3 beds.

I wash for 4 adults and one child, the game changer was for me to put a washing on every time I go to bed and then in the morning put a load on and hang out last nights etc an indoor airer. Just 1 mini basket in each bedroom and 1 in the bathroom. With a few square baskets to transfer around then I just hit the ironing 2x a week watching tv in the eve. Do the 2 loads a day habit for a fortnight and you will conquer it. Also obvious but take towels flannels and socks off the airer and put away straight away!!

We have a Trofast unit on the landing that holds 4 large tubs: colours, blacks, whites and wool/delicates. If it's not sorted into the unit I don't wash it. Once a tub is full it goes into the wash. When clean it is sorted into piles on the sofa on the landing. If you see clothes in your pile you put them away. I also have an extra "basket without portfolio" that I collect a load of towels and bedding in when the mood strikes me.

There are 6 of us. In practice, DS basically does his own apart from the odd item popped into the whites or woollens. Likewise when the girls come home from uni they tend to chuck their washing in the unit but then run a few loads.

I have a laundry basket in ds’s room and one in my room.

I do a full load of colours on a Wednesday which mostly clears them. Then through the weekend (including Friday when I work from home) and also loading at night and delay starting for morning. I do a load each of colours, whites, towels/tea towels, bedding (towels and bedding are tumble dried).