Washing

[Dairymilkisminging]

Just wondering how a larger family deals with washing with no tumble dryer during winter. Sick of things getting shrunk.

Also how often do you do washing?
We are a family of 7. 5 kids range from 5 months to 15 years

We live in the arse end of Scotland so winter is basically a no go for hanging washing out.
Thanks 😊

My rule of thumb is if the ground is dry I’ll put washing out. It takes the worst of it and only really needs hung up to take the cold off it.
I double soon my washing to get more water out and shorten drying time.
I use a dehumidifier in a small room with the clothes horse and it can dry a full load fairly quickly.

Airer, fan and dehumidifier.

On racks in front of the log burner

I feel your pain. Me dh and 5 dc here too. We have something that is like a clothes horse in a tent with a hair dryer. Dries half a load in about 3 hours. Plus heated airer from Lakeland. I also put big stuff on the line when the ground is dry.

How often are yous washing? Feels like i do loads of washing everyday and there's still more to do. I run out of room quickly

We sort with great care whether clothes need to be washed or not.
Children (or ours) in particular throw all sorts of stuff in the wash after a short period of use.

That approach has helped a lot here on the amounts of laundry.

Over the winter I wouldn't do well without a dryer. I hang clothes outside in good weather. I don't want laundry indoors only things like woolen socks/jumpers. We don't have the room for drying indoors anyway so only once in a while overnight if it is really needed.

I wash once a week. I work full time. So that's life. We have clothes/bedding/towels enough for this.

For me, routine is key with washing. 4 children here from 8 down to 1. I do a wash 5 days of the week. My 6 year old’s job each day is to bring the dirty laundry basket downstairs. I put a load in before breakfast each day. At lunchtime on the days I work from home (3 days) I fold the previous day’s washing and hang the fresh load out on a heated airer. I listen to an audiobook whilst I do it so I actually enjoy the time. Clean washing goes into coloured boxes which each member of the family puts away themselves (except the 4 and 1 year olds).