I’m drowning in laundry this winter

[Anonymous]

This is going to sound a little crazy but I read a book on laundry that actually helped a lot- the book is called laundry love. His approach is basically you don’t do all these constant loads. You separate everything and do it all one day. This sounds terrible if you haven’t read the book so I do recommend skimming it.

Basically if you have one day a week you work from home that is laundry day - in the morning before work you gather everything -everything! Sheets (we do this every two weeks at most not going to lie), towels, all kid and adult clothes. Then you separate by blacks, blues/greens, purples/reds/browns, and whites. Then you use speed wash (he goes into why this is best) then dry. So throughout workday then I just throw in load, throw in dryer, throughout the day repeat.

Then after I put the kids to bed that night I fold it all and put it away THAT NIGHT. At the latest I do this the next night. One of his KEYS is you have to get out of the cycle of CONSTANT laundry because it makes it feel awful instead of like a completed task you can move on from.

Having the set day has really helped. We get off on weeks we are sick or things like that but generally it works wayyy better than before when I hated laundry with a passion.

[Anonymous]

Oh and he does talk about how you can wear clothes over more than you think, minus the kids get hooks and start hanging more things up for second and third uses.

[Anonymous]

And he also says you can dry much more than you think in the dryer. Lots of great tips that help you simplify and get on this one day system.

[Anonymous]

Me too. I also have kids who keep building forts. Because they have cabin fever so badly. We can’t get outdoors safely in 10 degrees. Even the 25 with wind we had.. not ok.

So I try to put those blankets last. The fort building blankets. I keep thinking, they’re done with forts. They don’t need to do it again. I wash them, I put them away. A few days later, they ask me for ONE blanket. I say yes. And then suddenly another kids grabs 4 more.

[Anonymous]

I feel ur pain

[Anonymous]

Rewear things. Also I am a big fan of all the adults in the house doing their own laundry. It cuts down on putting the “mostly still clean stuff” in the laundry out of laziness. Which I guarantee is what your DH is doing bc he doesn’t have to do the laundry.

Lounge clothes you only wear for 2-4 hours after work to sit on your couch can be worn for 2-4 days easily. Pjs for 2 nights. Things you wear to work will vary wildly.

[Anonymous]

How long is each machine cycle? My washer is 40 minutes, dryer is 45. It's not hard to toss a load in right when I wake up and switch to the dryer before I leave for the day. Or pop a load in when I get home and switch before I go up for the night.

[Anonymous]

Like others said, stop washing the adult clothes after every wear if they don’t get dirty! It will help your clothing last longer, will make less laundry for you, and will use less water and electricity and/or gas.

[Anonymous]

OP, you are washing way too much stuff. If you and DH change into clothes after work, you have those clothes on for just a few hours around the house. Why do they need to be washed after a few hours of wear?

You are killing our environment with all the energy and water usage. Unless you sweat at night, PJs can be worn 2-3 times. If you have an office job, work clothes can be reworn 2-3 times.

Little kid clothes can’t be reworn (but *why* are they changing clothes 3x a day?) and I wouldn’t skip on weekly linens and towels, but there is a lot of oppy to reduce elsewhere.

[Anonymous]

I have the same problem, 3 kids who wear school uniforms that change to different clothes when they get home, then take a bath at night and wear new pjs. They usually can’t rewear the pjs because I have them eat breakfast in them so they don’t get their uniforms dirty before school. My oldest can sometimes rewear a uniform skirt because it’s over leggings and she doesn’t get stuff that dirty but my younger ones clothes come home looking very dirty.
I usually just do a load after school and another after the kids go to sleep.

[Anonymous]

OP use the delay cycle on your washer if you have it. Pop your clothes in but have the wash load start early the next morning, and finish in time for you to transfer it to the dryer.

[Anonymous]

1. We wear pants/skirts twice.
2. Tops get sweat odors, so those plus socks and underwear are washed after every use. Anything close to stinky anatomy, basically
3. Anything over a top, like a sweater or shawl or cardigan, gets washed if stained. They're all wool and cashmere, so we're careful with them. If yours are acrylic or polyester, you can wash them more often.
4. I rotate bras so as not to stretch out the elastics, but they're not dirty after every use, so I have a separate hamper for those and when it's full I wash them on delicate. Same for tights. I have mesh bags for these items.
5. We shower before bed, so cotton sheets and cotton pyjamas don't get stinky. We throw our PJs into the general laundry, which gets done every few days.
6. Sheets gets washed every two weeks, but sometimes I forget! Same for towels and dishcloths.

I refuse to wear clothes that are not machine washable. Some delicates with tags that say "hand wash" are actually washable on delicate cycles. We have no dry cleaning to send out.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Rewear things. Also I am a big fan of all the adults in the house doing their own laundry. It cuts down on putting the “mostly still clean stuff” in the laundry out of laziness. Which I guarantee is what your DH is doing bc he doesn’t have to do the laundry.

Lounge clothes you only wear for 2-4 hours after work to sit on your couch can be worn for 2-4 days easily. Pjs for 2 nights. Things you wear to work will vary wildly.

I wish this would help my husband with the default dump everything in the laundry. Any clothes he sees go in the hamper, but the kids have clean clothes everywhere. Changes of clothes that have been pulled out of backpacks, clothes pulled out of drawers with deciding what to wear, clothes not worn at sleepovers… it adds at least a load a week. (I know I need to train the kids better.)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I have the same problem, 3 kids who wear school uniforms that change to different clothes when they get home, then take a bath at night and wear new pjs. They usually can’t rewear the pjs because I have them eat breakfast in them so they don’t get their uniforms dirty before school. My oldest can sometimes rewear a uniform skirt because it’s over leggings and she doesn’t get stuff that dirty but my younger ones clothes come home looking very dirty.
I usually just do a load after school and another after the kids go to sleep.

I'd rather the uniforms get a little dirty, honestly. Or have them tuck in large napkins, like in the old days

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Rewear things. Also I am a big fan of all the adults in the house doing their own laundry. It cuts down on putting the “mostly still clean stuff” in the laundry out of laziness. Which I guarantee is what your DH is doing bc he doesn’t have to do the laundry.

Lounge clothes you only wear for 2-4 hours after work to sit on your couch can be worn for 2-4 days easily. Pjs for 2 nights. Things you wear to work will vary wildly.

I wish this would help my husband with the default dump everything in the laundry. Any clothes he sees go in the hamper, but the kids have clean clothes everywhere. Changes of clothes that have been pulled out of backpacks, clothes pulled out of drawers with deciding what to wear, clothes not worn at sleepovers… it adds at least a load a week. (I know I need to train the kids better.)

No, you need to train the husband, who is wasting precious water and energy.