Laundry, Laundry and more Laundry

[Anonymous]

Family of four, I would say a load every other day at minimum. More often in colder weather because of the bulk of the clothing but the folding is a lot quicker!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Read the book by Patric Richardson, the laundry guy. He makes a very persuasive case for using the express cycle (like 20-22 minutes max), warm water always, and a very small amount of soap without all of the additives.

I find all of that advice to work great and 20 minute laundry cycles makes the whole process so much faster.

I was coming here to post this!

That book changed the way I do laundry, and it seems less onerous now.

The vodka tip alone was worth the price of the book.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Family of 5. Usually 3 loads a day. It's never ending.

WTF?

How does one family generate this much laundry? Do you wash towels after every use? Change multiple times a day?

I do not understand people who constantly complain about drowning in laundry.

Family of 4 and we do 3 loads a week. 4 of we are washing sheets.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Read the book by Patric Richardson, the laundry guy. He makes a very persuasive case for using the express cycle (like 20-22 minutes max), warm water always, and a very small amount of soap without all of the additives.

I find all of that advice to work great and 20 minute laundry cycles makes the whole process so much faster.

I was coming here to post this!

That book changed the way I do laundry, and it seems less onerous now.

The vodka tip alone was worth the price of the book.

Please share the vodka tip. I hoping it involves drinking it at some point?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Read the book by Patric Richardson, the laundry guy. He makes a very persuasive case for using the express cycle (like 20-22 minutes max), warm water always, and a very small amount of soap without all of the additives.

I find all of that advice to work great and 20 minute laundry cycles makes the whole process so much faster.

I was coming here to post this!

That book changed the way I do laundry, and it seems less onerous now.

The vodka tip alone was worth the price of the book.

Please share the vodka tip. I hoping it involves drinking it at some point?

Sadly, no. You put it in a spray bottle. Vodka removes smells and dries odorless. So if you hugged someone and now smell like their cologne, you don't have to wash what you are wearing. Just spray it with vodka. I swear it works.

[Anonymous]

Or you drink it and you don’t care anymore.

[Anonymous]

OP, I hear you. Start getting your older kids used to putting away some laundry. Help them figure out where things go and let them put it away. They can help fold dish towels, wash cloths, etc and put those away, too. It may take longer for now, but it will really pay off in the long run!

We are also a family of 5, but kids are older -- 11, 13, and 16. I usually do two loads per day (morning and night) and kids are used to putting their things away when they get home from school/practice. DS16 sweats thru his deodorant every day (!!!) and swims daily. DS 13 plays on three different teams and has at least two practices per day, plus a school uniform. DS11 is a Pigpen personified. Everything he puts on his body comes home covered in filth, which he tracks through the house. Add in DH, me, and the dog and we are running that machine a TON.

I usually save the bigger things like sheets, towels, coats for the weekends. DS16 is the best partner for folding sheets! We bought a Speed Queen washer not long ago. It is a dream and I can just run it over and over and over... I do find it helpful to put in a load as soon as I get up in the morning, but that may not be everyone's thing. Also, if you wash something like dishtowels or bathroom towels late, you can fold them first thing in the morning and it won't matter.

Simplfy whatever you can. Buy each kid a different type of sock/underwear so anyone can tell what goes to whom. Make them re-use towels as well as clothes that they didn't wear for long.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Family of 5. Usually 3 loads a day. It's never ending.

WTF?

How does one family generate this much laundry? Do you wash towels after every use? Change multiple times a day?

I do not understand people who constantly complain about drowning in laundry.

Family of 4 and we do 3 loads a week. 4 of we are washing sheets.

We are a family of 5 and I’m at 2 loads/day. Maybe bordering 3. It is easy to reach that with older kids. We wash adult sheets once/wk, kid sheets every other week, towels are changed twice/wk. The added laundry is mostly due to kid sports and our dog who sheds. We do 3 loads a week of sports clothing alone (1 baseball, 1 softball, 1 soccer). One load a week for our dog who sheds (the blanket that protects the couch, crate blanket, car blanket). Also my DH dresses rather formally for work (we don’t use a dry cleaner for most things) and coaches one of the kids’ sports so wears at least 2 full sets of clothing per day. Sometimes 3. And he rewears things when he can. Add in exercise clothes for both of us. We do a ton of laundry.

When the kids were small it was far far less. And their clothes were so tiny anyway- could fit a lot in one load.

Fortunately the kids help a ton with laundry now. Our tweens mostly do their own unless they need help with a major stain or something last minute

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:How many loads of laundry do you do every week? We are a family of 5 with 3 kids 6 years old and younger and I swear I do at a minimum 1 load of laundry daily. If I miss a day I end up having 2-5 loads to do depending on if its time to change sheets and towels. How do you keep up?!? I currently have 2 baskets to fold and put away upstairs and another load in the laundry that needs to be finished.

Family of 3 plus 4 animals. Dust mite allergies so wash a lot.

2 -3 loads each week for clothes but 4 loads for sheets, bedding, towels, blankets, soft toys, dog beds.the latter has helped reduce DC’s dust mite allergies.

We do as needed during week but one day of multiple loads for bedding, towels etc. like someone else said, the LG washer and dryer is great. I often put on laundry loads on before sleeping and put them in dryer in morning.

Do you have a closet where you can hang stuff when it first comes out of the dryer? I hang shirts, school attire, dresses and pants on hangers as soon as they come out of dryer as that helps get wrinkles out. I fold underwear and pair Sox straight away and place on table in laundry. I only put everything away in right rooms and cupboards once a week and let clean folded and hung items accumulate in laundry.

Like someone else said I try to just be zen about it because it us just something that has to be done.

[Anonymous]

Family of 5. At least one laundry load per day. DD 7 does her own laundry. I started having her do it when she was 5. Several of you have older kids and I am surprised they are only in the helping with laundry stage. Those kids need to pull their weight.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Family of 5. At least one laundry load per day. DD 7 does her own laundry. I started having her do it when she was 5. Several of you have older kids and I am surprised they are only in the helping with laundry stage. Those kids need to pull their weight.

I do less loads by combining. If everyone did their own there would be many more small loads.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How do I keep up? I don't. And it stresses me out.

Ditto. Having the washer dryer in the basement doesn’t help

Family of 5. We spent $$$ to carve out bedroom level washer dryer. We do a load a day and still seem nonstop

But in the basement I think would end me.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Read the book by Patric Richardson, the laundry guy. He makes a very persuasive case for using the express cycle (like 20-22 minutes max), warm water always, and a very small amount of soap without all of the additives.

I find all of that advice to work great and 20 minute laundry cycles makes the whole process so much faster.

We wash most things on hot now. Front loader uses so little water it’s only way I feel things get clean.

[Anonymous]

I do four loads a week: DH & my clothing (light & dark), sheets, and towels. Kids are responsible for theirs. (Kids are 12 & 14). I started them doing laundry in about 3rd grade. I’m all for off-loading chores. No child of mine will go to college without knowing how to do laundry.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:How many loads of laundry do you do every week? We are a family of 5 with 3 kids 6 years old and younger and I swear I do at a minimum 1 load of laundry daily. If I miss a day I end up having 2-5 loads to do depending on if its time to change sheets and towels. How do you keep up?!? I currently have 2 baskets to fold and put away upstairs and another load in the laundry that needs to be finished.

That's the case for us too, family of five.