What’s the laundry routine in your household? Share with Fairy Non Bio - chance to win £300 voucher! NOW CLOSED

[JustineBMumsnet]

Doing the laundry is one of those chores that can seem never ending; every time you think you’ve completed the load, the cycle begins all over again. Cue the laundry routine. With that in mind, Fairy Non Bio want to know what the laundry routine is in your household.

Here’s what Fairy Non Bio have to say: “We know how laundry piles up, especially with little ones running around, spilling food and playing outside. At Fairy Non Bio, we design our products so that you can keep washing simple, easy and quick; making sure your clothes are beautifully clean and gentle on skin with our fabric conditioner designed to enhance their snuggly softness. We would love to know what you do to get your washing under control and give it that extra boost!”

Do you have a laundry bag/basket for each member of your family? Perhaps you do all the whites on one day and colours on another? Do you iron as and when or all at the same time? Or maybe you pride yourself on not having a set routine?

However you organise the laundry routine in your household, share it on the thread below and you will be entered into a prize draw where one MNer will win a £300 voucher of their choice (from a list).

Thanks and good luck.

MNHQ

Standard Insight T&Cs apply

There are only two of us at home now, me and Dd (11). We use one laundry basket but, that will be changing soon to one each.

Recently, as soon as we are home on a Friday I put a load in, whether it's darks or lights. Everything goes in on a 40' wash. Once that load is done, it gets put on a clothes rack to dry and the next load goes in. Once done it too is put on the rack to dry. We don't go through many towels but, they will usually go in with the whites and lights. Sheets and bedding go in separately or with towels. Everything on a 40' wash though.

Anything that needs to go without fabric softener goes in together and on a quick wash @ 30' - things like my trousers, any jeans and any microfibre items go in on a Saturday as do our onesies - they dry really quickly hanging from a door or at a doorway. I have a new washing machine and love the 1200 spin speed which I use all the time so they are dryer before they hit the rack.

I have started using Surf for dark colours in the dark loads. I use whiteners when necessary in with Ariel for the lights and whites and normal stuff for anything else.

I love using the washing line in good weather.

I rarely iron anything these days.

We have 6 people in our family and I hate washing everyday so I do all ours on one day or sometimes a bit of the next.
We have an energy tarriff with free electric on a Saturday so tend to be the day I do the washing. Then it goes on all day washing straight to tumbler / airer.
In the summer all on the line . The bed linen is done every 2 weeks

Do you have a laundry bag/basket for each member of your family?

We have one per bedroom which the kids are responsible for bringing down on a Saturday morning

Do you iron as and when or all at the same time?

Ironing isOn a need to iron basis which isn’t very much . If folded straight from the dryer most things are ok.
Dh is in charge of all his own ironing.

I commented on this thread on Thursday with my laundry regime and on Friday my washing machine broke! Sods law so nothing as been done this weekend!

Meant to say that my new machine is a 10kg load and has made a massive difference to laundry washing. If I only have small loads I mix them and use colour catchers.

Three DC here, all teenagers. Youngest does a lot of sport.

DH does his own laundry. I then do: roses on a Monday, our white bedlinen Weds, kids' bedlinen and school stuff (four loads, 2white, 2 colour) Sat. In between a load of DD's stuff (has to be non bio) and maybe another load of colours.

Baskets in bathroom and downstairs. Ironing done as is washed (in theory!). Clothes on line if at all possible, even in December.

Ds (17) has to get his washing down beside the wash basket in our bedroom before 12 on a Saturday if he wants it washed that weekend. (if he doesn't, then he's been shown how to do it himself ). I'll do one or two coloured washes on a Saturday and if I have time, a white wash.

If I haven't done it on Saturday, on Sunday I'll change the bed linen on our bed (bottom sheet and top pillow cases once a week, king size duvet cover every fortnight) and do one or two white washes. The three white bath sheets get washed in rotation when there is space and/or to make up a load.

Ds often has rugby stuff he wants washed in time for a game on Saturday - in which case it is up to him to ask nicely

I'll try and do the ironing on a Sunday night, so everyone is ready for the following week (I'm a strange person who actually quite likes ironing ). Ds usually has one set of school trousers and shirt still ironed from the previous week so is ok for Monday. (I'll check how many trousers and shirts went into the wash, so that I know how urgent the ironing is).

Aaargh I should preview!! TOWELS on a Monday, not roses!?

One big laundry basket that everything goes in.

I do a dark wash everyday.

Then a hot wash for towels and sheets probably every other day.

Whites twice a week

Colours 2/3 times a week... sometimes more.

I hate washing building up so really try to stay on top of it.

DS 6 is not dry at night and we are trialling no PJ pants. I'm washing 2 duvets and full change of sheets every day, I'm on week 3. Please give me a 2nd washing machine!!

I do whites first, after soaking overnight in stain remover. Then I do first duvet, with cover still on. Life's too short to separate them! 2nd duvet goes in while 1st gets moved to tumble drier. Whites get checked over to ensure stains have gone, some might get returned to the pile for round 2.

3rd load is sheets and pillow cases along with any whites that need another go. 60 degree wash. Takes 1hr 45mins. Duvet takes 3 hrs in tumble dryer so 2nd duvet goes on the radiator upstairs and will be dry by the time it's needed.

After tea I will put on one more wash with clothes, mixed wash at 40 degrees with a colour catcher sheet. Tumble dry overnight.

Ironing? I Facebook a lady who collects and delivers. £35 for 90 items. Life's too short.

My laundry system is very easy.

1. Don't do any laundry until you have no clean clothes left.
2. Consider doing laundry. Ultimately decide not to.
3. Go and buy new clothes.

Mines a fairly simple process
Everything in the basket all week, Friday night I sort into three loads generally as I use colour catches, so can do less separation.
Washer on, once done straight into tumble dryer. I'll either manage all three loads or just two on the Friday night. If only two, set the timer on the washer for sat morning. Then final load into tumble. Fold all clothes as soon as they come out, iron Saturday afternoon or Sunday morning.
I never mid week wash. There's not enough laundry to justify it.

I just wash when the basket looks full. Whites separated, dark colour and light colours in together sometimes with a colour catcher sheet.
Always dry on the line outside if possible.
I never iron - most things don’t need it if dried nicely. My cleaner does the other things.
Actually I enjoy laundry, it’s quite satisfying.

I load the washing machine at night and set it to time for 5am. That way my wash load is finished by the time I get up and ready to be hung out to dry

Laundry basket for adults, laundry basket for kids. Clothes in there when need to. Monday is laundry day - wash, dry, fold/iron, put away. Works well for us. Then the only laundry that needs doing in the week is my disabled brothers, the swimming kit and the washable nappies...wait, that's a lot!

I have to wash clothes daily. I do have to have a couple of days apart for big items such as towels or bedding, as our dryer is on the fritz and they have to radiator dry. I wash mixed colours and darks through the week, one load of whites on the weekend and then dog bedding last....it never ends!!!

Laundry is my least favourite house job! We have two baskets - one for my husband and I and one for our 7mo DD. I tend to let what needs doing for DD dictate what we wash and when - e.g. if she needs whites washing then I’ll fill the machine with her stuff and then make up to a full load with ours. Am constantly trying to get purée/poo stains out of her clothes 🤢 Have no real routine to it and tbh am always running out of clean stuff - I hate laundry so always leave it as long as I can between loads! Tend to live from the airer too - loathe ironing and putting it all away!

We have one basket (plus the floor!), and it all goes in the machine together when it gets full. I don't worry too much about whites in with darks. The only whites we have are baby grows (which will probably end up covered in poo at some point anyway). Baby socks/mits/ other tiny things that like to get stuck in the seal around the door now go in a wash bag.

I have to put a load on every day. Gym kit/swim kit/baby clothes makes a lot of laundry. Whites and colours go in together on a daily cycle with a colour catcher sheet. I add soda crystals/limescale prevention powder with every wash because it's a hard water area.

If I do get enough whites together to make a load then I put them in with a whitening sheet and this tends to brighten them up.

Everything gets hung up to dry and only work clothes get ironed (by dh on a Sunday).

Any bedsheets/bath mats/towels get put on a longer,hotter cycle as and when needed.

I regularly have to remove stains and tend to soak items in vanish first. If that doesn't work then vanish gets put in along with washing powder. I use fairy non-bio as we have sensitive skin so it all has to be put on a wash again after. Long process!!

I have a laundry basket with 4 sections: handwash/ dry clean; darks; lights; whites.

Whichever is the fullest gets washed, save for the handwash one; they get done pretty much straight away.

One in real nappies, they get washed then the bucket is full, usually every 3 days.

I do a wash every day except Mothers Day, Christmas Day and my birthday

I do washing everyday especially with two teenagers who wear something for half an hour then it's in the wash!
We also do lots of sports so with football kits, running stuff and swimming costumes our washing machine gets a good work out.
One basket and the separate it into darks, reds and whites. Sheets changed every week ( my favourite thing is a clean bed)

We have a white& colour basket. DH is in charge of the washing& drying ( although dd has mentioned many times she would like to take over the drying).
I clear the racks and fold away mine&dh clothes. The DC clothes are placed on the chaise to be tidied by them.( hear the nag nag nagging)

We wash every day and on Fridays nag the kids for school uniform& pe kit.

We have lots of dirty sporting kits as 3 runners and 2 footballers who like it muddy!!

I do the ironing for the adults and kids to their own.

In our house each child has a small laundry basket, when I go in there rooms to wake up/ open curtains I take the laundry with me and put it in the main basket in my room, when I separate into whites and non whites. When I have enough to do a load it goes on. I don’t use conditioner but do extra rinse as family have sensitive skin, if dry I hang washing out if cold/ wet I have a small, walk in box room with the boiler a dehumidifier a clothes rail and 2 clothes horses. Washing dries in a few hours normally and I rarely have to iron as things are not creased.

Am astounded at some of the levels of organisation on this thread and impressed/jealous .

My general rule is wait until the laundry basket (single) is 3/4 full which usually signifies there's enough to justify a coloured load.

Finally (after about 4 washes) I end up with a basket that's 3/4 full of white stuff and then I bung that in.

I put delicate items/woollens in a secret place (in the utility room) so that on the rare occasion DH attempts to launder anything other than his gym kit, he doesn't ruin another cashmere sweater or silk blouse....we have a brilliant Miele machine that has loads of settings (eg waterproofing, allergy wash, silks, duvets etc) but he only uses the quick power wash setting - for everything.

Overall I like to do a number of washes through the week. Fold it nicely, ready to put away or iron on a Sunday.

We have no laundry routine. Wash daily. Iron often, with occasional crisis points being reached. Laundry basket is always full..

I seem to do endless laundry, and need to find a more efficient way of organising it.
Basically, everything gets put into the laundry basket upstairs, which gets periodically transferred to the laundry basket in the utility room downstairs. I put washing on when the lid is bulging, which is most of the time, because my daughters seem to think everything needs washing after one wear, and towels after one use (oh, the wet towels...).
Coloured and lights washed separately, everything done at 40 deg, with non-bio. Bedding washed fortnightly, on a random rotation.
Tumble dried in winter, line dried in summer.
Iron as little as we can get away with (and thankfully DH does all the ironing).
That's it. Not what I'd call a 'system'.
Think I need to train the DDs to doing the laundry more often...