I'm drowning in laundry. I hate doing it. And its the one thing I can't really hire a cleaner to sort out for me. Please help with suggestions!

[oranges]

How do people cope? I have no garden, and am a real slattern when it comes to changing sheets, but I feel I'm forever sorting, drying, putting away. Short of discarding all clothes and buying a fresh set from Primark each week, what do I do?

D'you reckon it would be cheaper to do service washes than run a washing machine? (hmmm... thinks about it)

I used to use an ironing service which was very good. A great big bagful for about a tenner, marvellous when it all got on top of you. All guaranteed smoke-free houses.

cod - your laundry sorting system is scary! I tend to throw everything in, and handwash the odd dress. dh has a real blindspot with laundry - before I went away I left some clothes to dry. WHen i returned, house was immaculate, ds well cared for, but that damn laundry was still there!
Right, must figure out why drier fails to work. I tend not to tumble dry my own clothes but am happy to blitz everyone elses.

oooh, service washes, ironing ...a whole new thing to spend money on! I like the idea, but don't you have to drag the clothes down to the launderette for a service wash?

I put a load on just before bed most evenings, as I am on economy 7. It keeps the cost down, and also doing it regularly keeps the washing organised. I also drape things like sheets over doors and bannisters when I can'thang them out. In the winter, when I am busier and can't keep on top of it, I find one big trip to the launderette, just to catch up helps a lot.

how do i defluff? ((spots where the problem might be))

alternatively trip to launderette on own with lots of books (no service wash) but quality me time at the weekend????

We have no garden, no tumble dryer and a small machine. as yet only 1 child, but that's due to change in just over 9 weeks.

We have a big (long) bedroom, and have a large washing rack/airer as a permanent fixture directly under the window (also in front of the radiator) behind the bed, so it doesn't encroach on our living space iyswim but still dries fairly well due to the proximity of the window. (We've only lived here since April so don't know about how it'll be in winter when th radiator and occasional blasts of open window will take over drying duties). We also have a smaller airer over the bath, which I use either for handwashing or smaller items of ds's clothing or underwear/small tops etc.

I am not particularly fussy about changing ds's clothes often - a couple of food stains on his tops don't bother me. Another thing I do is have a set of clothes for 'outside' (e.g. park) and another set for 'inside', so he can wear the 'outside' ones a few times and get them fairly grubby before they go in the wash, and ther 'inside' ones stay cleaner longer.

I don't sort excessively either. I do whites/lights (incl nappy-change flannels, pre-rinsed) at 60°, colours/darks at 40° and wool/delicate stuff at 30°.

fluff collates in the meshy filter thing. that on my last two machines has slide/slotted out from the door rim.

HOW DO I DELUFF??
i think we have solved the problme
int he fonr of your dryer there is a thing oyu an remove that catches all the lint off lothes
yours mUST BE RAMMED

and maybe backed up in to the grey hose thing which vents to the outside? I occasionally have dislodged that from the machine becasue it's been clogged up and eventually the big ball fo fluff has exploded "so that's what that burning smell was"

I do have a garden but can count on one hand how many times I hang the washing out. In the summer (ha ha) I even put the heating on for half an hour and put the clothes on the rad. All dry in an hour.

Ironing tips, invest in a good iron with a good steam action. Get an ironing board cover which is mettalic, it irons most of your clothes on both sides. It transfers the heat back to the clothes making ironing a little more effortless.

Oranges - I do sympathise, it's too easy to let the laundry get on top of you. If it makes you feel any better our bedroom looks like a jumble sale and the ironing pile is as tall as ds (he's 3).

My mum's tip (which I rarely follow) is to tumble dry all socks, knickers, vests etc because they are too fiddly to hang on airers

She also folds washing as soon as it comes out of the machine.

I think that a service wash at a launderette may be your best bet to clear the backlog.

berolina - you are a genius - we have a long bedroom that we are about to redo and something behind the bed is a great idea.

okay, have looked at my washer drier and there is nothing there that needs defluffing! did find a toy car in there though.

i also like the idea of a little laundry man.

DO you all have dirty laundry in one place only or in each bedroom?
We all have our own laundry bin, partly as I never do enough washing or not often enough to keep on top of it anyway.
But I find it hard to get it all sorted that way.
Not sure where I would put a large divided laundry bin though.
mmmm

I have one laundry basket - and that's it! It's the only way I can keep an eye on what's going on (have tried mini ones in kids rooms = dirty clothes put back on again, hidden down back of bed etc)

Why on earth can't you get a cleaner to do your laundry for you?!

Do you have a cleaner? If not, I suggest you get one immediately and make part of their duties at least some of the laundry. Ours does all our ironing and it has transformed my life.

She doesn't do the washing, but DH does all that

Divided laundry bin on landing

One wash a day unless there is nthing in it(rare)

Sheets / towels on Saturday

Tumble dry everything except bedding, DH shirts & all our jeans if nice weather hang out

Fold stuff straight out of TD (5 mins in evening)

Pile up in laundry basket through week then blitz putting away session on Sat morning (a good job for DH I always find)

How much is a service wash?

I wash nearly every day, you have to get into a rota of doing it, before I sit down at night I put a washing on, in the morning either hang it out or put it in the bathroom upstairs on an airer. If dry put away immediately, if not tumble dry the next day because they have been hanging for a day it takes about 40 minutes. Only iron what is necessary, I only iron once a week and only for DDs and I, DP does his own.

Have a blitz one day do 5 washing and dryings in the one day to catch up then just do a bit a day.

i've asked my cleaner, and she will put my silk shirts to tumble dry at 90 along with the bathroom mat.
she'll iron dh's work shirts but always 'forgets' to do mine.
feel its a conspiracy to smother me in grubby clothes.

WHy dont you get your ironing done at a local laundrette? I get our bedlinen and DHs shirts ironed and its a £1 per item so not too bad really and takes the hassle out of sorting/folding these things.
Many dry cleaners/laundrettes also do a shirt service where they will wash, dry and iron shirts for a good price (£1.25 locally).

Pecka - I haven't done one for years but it used to be anything from £2 + per laundry bag.

It should include washing, drying and folding clothes into a bag by the end of the day (or wahtever set timescale is offered)

Pannacotta - are you not Pan, then??

I use the same method as sweetkitty - daily loads are the way to go

Mercy - no