I’m drowning in laundry this winter

[Anonymous]

I had a young teen neighbor help me fold my laundry. She would come after school before I got home from work twice a week. She liked getting $25 a pop, and I had peace of mind. Also get your kids helping (age appropriately) as soon as they are old enough.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote: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.

Why would you need to wash blankets after fort-making???? Do they puke on them???

Some of you people have more time and money than sense!

[Anonymous]

I do laundry every single day
Mon- my son clothes and sheets including blanket
Tues- my clothes and couch blankets
Wed- master sheets and both bathroom towels (hand towels plus washing rags plus towel floor mat)
Thurs- weekly rotate through kid duvet cover, kid duvet insert, master duvet cover, master insert. On weeks the cover is washed the insert gets hung outside in cold air/sun.
Fri- kitchen towels, kitchen washable runner, one jacket per person plus gloves (rotated)
Sat- DH does his laundry
Sun- miscellaneous/whatever is left over or from sports that weekend
I do shower curtains monthly. Winter is rough because of extra layers and blankets/duvets. Summer is rough because we can't re-wear clothing so I usually do more clothes during the warmer months and more winter-related stuff in winter.

[Anonymous]

As we added kids to the household my DH had to do more laundry. I still do a bit more than him, but I outsourced more of the linens to him. Keeping up all the sheets and towels was taking up way more mental energy than I wanted. He does sheets, I do towels and all kitchen items. I do my own laundry and both kids. He does his own and all sheets in the house.

It works out pretty well. He also helps fold and out thing away even if it’s not “his” bc sometimes we just have to.

If you are drowning, you need more help from him.

[Anonymous]

+1 to checking your washer for mold and/or running it through a cleaning cycle. And/or use the timer function so that the wash finishes shortly before you'll be free to move it to the dryer.

[Anonymous]

I only wash sheets every other week, i tell people to reuse bath towels for a few days, and I don’t mind putting in a load in the morning and drying it in PM - I don’t think it’s borderline musty. But I also fairly frequently do the delay wash feature at night - and set it to start the next morning.

[Anonymous]

OP, I find of all the household duties that doing the laundry 🧺 to be the easiest overall.

I was a single, working Mother of two & we always lived in apartments so we never had the convenience of having a washer + a dryer in our home.

1x/week I had to take two young kids w/me to the local laundromat.

So in my personal opinion - as long as you have laundry equipment inside the home > laundry is really not too big of a deal.

I would recommend that everyone wash their bed linens every wk however.
Because of sweating (yes, even in the winter!) plus drooling, etc.
Personal towels can also stretch to a wk as well.

I think it is excessive to change clothing 3x per day.
Maybe change into PJs upon returning home or if you bathe at night, perhaps wearing your day clothes until after showering.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote: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.

What?? Of course you can!

[Anonymous]

Wow.

Some people don't go outside in 10 degree weather, some people wash their blankets all the time, some people do not reuse their towels, some people do several loads of unnecessary laundry every single dammed day...

Please realize that no one outside of America has those highly polluting and wasteful habits. And luckily, not everyone in America.

Only the people with more money than sense.

Is this why there are so many threads complaining about being too busy? You're just making work for yourselves all the live-long day?

The mind boggles.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I do laundry every single day
Mon- my son clothes and sheets including blanket
Tues- my clothes and couch blankets
Wed- master sheets and both bathroom towels (hand towels plus washing rags plus towel floor mat)
Thurs- weekly rotate through kid duvet cover, kid duvet insert, master duvet cover, master insert. On weeks the cover is washed the insert gets hung outside in cold air/sun.
Fri- kitchen towels, kitchen washable runner, one jacket per person plus gloves (rotated)
Sat- DH does his laundry
Sun- miscellaneous/whatever is left over or from sports that weekend
I do shower curtains monthly. Winter is rough because of extra layers and blankets/duvets. Summer is rough because we can't re-wear clothing so I usually do more clothes during the warmer months and more winter-related stuff in winter.

Why are you washing duvet covers and inserts weekly? That’s crazy.

[Anonymous]

Clothes that are worn in the house and pjs can be worn more than one time unless soiled.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I do laundry every single day
Mon- my son clothes and sheets including blanket
Tues- my clothes and couch blankets
Wed- master sheets and both bathroom towels (hand towels plus washing rags plus towel floor mat)
Thurs- weekly rotate through kid duvet cover, kid duvet insert, master duvet cover, master insert. On weeks the cover is washed the insert gets hung outside in cold air/sun.
Fri- kitchen towels, kitchen washable runner, one jacket per person plus gloves (rotated)
Sat- DH does his laundry
Sun- miscellaneous/whatever is left over or from sports that weekend
I do shower curtains monthly. Winter is rough because of extra layers and blankets/duvets. Summer is rough because we can't re-wear clothing so I usually do more clothes during the warmer months and more winter-related stuff in winter.

Why are you washing duvet covers and inserts weekly? That’s crazy.

OCD

[Anonymous]

Laundry is one of the things most relieved by WFH, because it doesn’t take long but it’s much easier if you can do it in 3 minute chunks throughout the day.

If I ever have to deal with two office jobs and kids, I want two washers. I think that would make a huge difference. I have too many things that need to be separated. I don’t care if it’s in an unfinished basement. I also think this will insulate against being without one when they inevitably break.

Especially in winter with all the wool. And with sports uniforms.