Any naturally organised people - help me get to grips with my laundry!!!

[Gillian76]

It's everywhere and I never seem to get to the bottom of the basket.

I need a "system"

HELP!

I do most things at 40 degrees, towels and sometimes bedlinen (it's all cotton) at 60 tho the man on the ad tells me I shouldn't. Need to get it clean tho!

I suppose some of it could do another day. Most of what they wear just gets chucked in at the end of the day.

How many nights can children wear pjs before they get washed? I make them do 2 nights unless there's Weetabix spilt on them or something!

Avalon, I use vanish on anything that looks as though it might be a bit tricky before I stuff it in. I have never, ever washed anything on a setting higher than 40 degs and only use non-bio but my whites seem to remain fairly white and my laundry seems to be clean. Additional heat won't necessarily shift alot of stains anyway, it just bakes it in. (Sad Good Housekeeping reader, that I am!!!!)
Gillian, it is hard to know how long your children could wear their pjs as I don't know their ages. Mine (6&3) get fresh pjs twice a week, which means they wear them for 3 or 4 days each time. I check for poo or wee stains and as they are not sweaty children who have a bath most days and the pjs don't smell I think that is ok. Mine have fresh pants and socks every day, vests every second day and the rest of their clothes for as long as they look respectable.

Well mine have pjs for two days if they have weetabix on and for longer otherwise. Although they do get clean ones if staying at Grandma's or on a sleepover (both infrequent occurences).

Children are (almost)6, 4 and 2.5

I use a non-bio and find that a lot of stains don't come out. Might have to try the Vanish thing.

Well, [amazed emoticon], I could save a lot of time by only washing at 40.

I put a load on every night before bed and hang it out while making the tea in the morning
I do towels and linens at the weekend
Clothes are either dark, white or mixed
I do not iron anything
All shirts are hung straight from the machine onto hangers

I stick that vanish in wash stuff in with most of kids stuff if stained, which I know prob defeats the object of using non bio but hey ho!

I now have 4 baskets - one for lights, one for darks and one for whites (which is most of our towels and bed linen and one for handwash things. I tend to do a wash every other day of whichever basket is full (but then I do have a 7.5kg machine so a load is huge).

There are 4 of us in our house. I do usually 3 loads a day. I have a tumble and basically there is always washing on the go. I used to stand and iron for 2 to 3 hours every couple of days but now I just put everything away and iron for 10 mins in the morning or at night (the stuff for that day).
There is no method to my madness.

One tip my mum gave me is to tumble dry all underwear, especially the childrens. Saves time trying to balance little socks on the clothes airer or pegging them on the line. She also folds clothes as soon they come out of the washing machine if they are not going to be hung up straight away - minimise ironing.

I cannot believe how much washing all of you have!!

3 loads A DAY for 4 of you!!!!

I do about 4 - 5 loads a week with 4 of us.

at least 2 darks and deep colours mixed (eg red and black go in together)

about 1 or 2 whites (2 includes t-towels and kids bedding)

1 x towels

1 x our bedlinen.

Everything is washed at 40, vanish on stains I know about, all is tumbled, nothing is ironed. Iron comes out about once a month if necessary, in the morning when I need something.

However DH lives in jeans and t-shirts, kids are in uniform that does at least 2 days, 5 days for cardis, pjs I try for 2 or 3 days but they get out new sets all the time!!

I do it all at the weekend, one load after the other

BlondeinLondon, I'm with you!
except I don't save towels/linen for the weekend - they require less effort to hang / fold than clothes on a work morning.

I have two airers which take about 5 loads of washing. I rarely tumble anything straight from the washing machine, but when I am sorting out the dry clothes, I put the ones that need ironing into the tumble dryer for 20 mins with a piece of paper towel that has been dampened with fabric conditioner (I never use it in the wash). When they come out I fold them and most don't need ironing. This has transformed a 2 and a half hour weekly task into a 20 mins every fortnight one.

Crunchie - I agree that 3 loads a day for 4 sounds excessive but how do you get your DDs to wear a cardigan for 5 days. I can't get more than two out of DS's sweatshirts - he routinely spills his school dinner on them. He's worse than at home so I assume he is distracted and chatting.

Oh another tip - if you do bed sheets at the weekend you can get your DP to change the beds - one less job for you

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I have a cleaner and when I remember wash the bedding that day and leave it folded on the bed - she then puts it on for me! Did not do this on purpose, just left it there one day and came home to feshly made beds as well as a clean house!!

I tend to blitz the washing on certain days. I've got some of those pop up baskets that fold flat. I sort the different colours into the different baskets. Anything that can be tumbled is tumbled, the rest gets hung out in the "futility room" (which used to be the larder and is more of a cupboard).

What I appear to be really bad at is not folding stuff once it's dried. It all gets slung into another pop up basket (the ones that are supposed to be for garden waste) and it all gets really creased and needs ironing, so once a fortnight dh will watch Star Wars or similar and do the lot!

Do 2-3 loads a day everyday. Do you have somewhere to fold & allocate it? I either put the clothes into one basket per person (we're 6)& then take these to each room to put away or put it into a huge bag & sit on the bed to fold it & put in piles.

I am flabbergasted at how much washing you do especially people with small familes!! Maybe we're just smelly hippies but we don't change our bedding every week and towels just get thrown in to fill washes up. Probably do two loads a week, one dark and one night nappies/sheets etc. Obviously more with full time nappies.
Nappies at 60 and everything else at 40. My old machine had a quick wash and I used that all the time and it worked just as well.
Agree with no ironing - don't even know where the iron is BUT I am very thorough at hanging clothes out on the line or radiators so they are perfectly crease free! Top tip - in summer turn down your spin speed and then hang them on the line a bit wetter.
Occasionally give the nappies a 20 min tumble in winter before the airer. Some of your electric and water bills must be HUGE!