Can’t seem to keep on top of the washing!! Help and advice please

[CosyDreamer]

Hi, first time poster so please bear with me.
As the title says I can’t keep on top of the laundry my family creates.
I’ll give abit of an insight, family of 7.
2 adults, 4 teens 2 in high school and 2 working (who do help out when not in school/working) and a 3 year old who attends nursery while me and DH work during the week.

No matter what I do I just can’t seem to get on top of the washing. I put a load on a timer last thing at night so when I get up at 6am I can put what can be tumble dried in the drier and the rest on an airer. Then I put another one in the wash so when me or DH get home from work it can be taken out and sorted and the dry clothes are folded by DC and taken to their rooms to be put away. Little ones nursery uniform needs to be changed after each wear as she comes home covered in paint/pens etc. All uniforms are washed and hung to be dried on hangers on a Friday night. Bedding changed weekly. Towels are washed every 10 or so days and we all have 3 towels that we use for a few days before throwing in the wash basket. I’m obviously going wrong somewhere and no matter what I do my washing basket is always full. The only time I seen the bottom of it was when it was new and I picked it up in the shop 😆
Any tips on how you keep on top of your laundry please share as this basket just resembles a mini Mount Everest often and never seems to go down 🙈

Stretch out the towel washing!!!
If you all used a towel for 5 days instead of 3, you'd instantly go from washing 35 towels a fortnight to 21.

What clothing are you saying can't be put in the tumble dryer?

Do you have room for an extra washing machine so you can double up?

Our local launderette does one large service wash & dry and she folds it all for about £20. I pay for home collection & delivery too,

This is equivalent to 4 of my washing machine loads. The working kids can each give you £10 pw and you can send their stuff (and other bits) to launderette. It’s been a game changer for me.

The son in engineering/dirty job should wear the same clothes to work all week and put his load in machine on a Friday night, as did my son. Then all DCs could do their own separate loads of towels and bedding in one hot wash plus their own pants.

Jumpers, some hoodies, some named jeans, my tailored suits for the office, my knitted cardigans and the girls school skirts can’t be tumble dried due to the pleats etc

Things like jumpers and jeans shouldn’t be washed that often at all

No they aren’t but when you have 7 people it soon builds up 🙈

Research tells us that towels should be washed after 3 uses.

Or what? I don't and I'm not ill or dead yet.

Does it? What's the citation for this?

Declaration of interest: been washing mine weekly for the last 30 years and I'm still alive.

Only wash bedding once every couple of weeks. Three towels each?? Why not two?? Hand towel and bath towel.

But, really, you just have a lot of people in your house! The older ones could certainly have their own baskets, and do their own washing. If it's not done, then it's on them.

It really doesn't. Was this research by a cleaning manufacturer perchance??

I do mind once a weekish, sniff them..... If they are fresh, fine. If they are musty, wash.

Any person over the age of 10 has their own washing basket and does their own washing, hangs it to dry and puts it away. We have a drying rack over the bath so tshirts etc go onto hangers and straight into wardrobes.

Home to young adults now but actually only 1 left now.
We have colour co-ordinated towels - everyone is responsible for their colour bath towels, and I don't expect 'one shower old' towels in the wash basket, given you're supposedly clean after a shower, they can dry off on the heated towel rail for next time. That's saved LOADS Of washing alone.. .

Each teen is responsible to change their own bed linen, and when they change it they must fill the rest of the machine with anything (usually it's their own stuff they pick) from the wash basket. We don't do min loads unless it's a few pristine white tshirts that can't be done with coloureds!
Similarly each teen when they want that favourite hoodie washed etc - no min loads, they must fill the machine and do a wash.
Means I rarely actually need to do washing when they're all home, it's great!

Drying in summer goes out on the line, and indoors we have an airer by the Rayburn with stove top fans so it all gets dried pretty quickly.
When dry each teen is responsible for salvaging their washing from the line / airer (must bring the lot indoors and sort it all by bedroom, spare bedding towels go in the airing cupboard)