Can we talk about LAUNDRY?

[Chinese Pistache]

What are your systems? How do you keep it from overwhelming you?

Do you have laundry days? When do you do sheets and towels? How do you physically get the clothes from the bedrooms to the washer (do you have clothes hampers in the kids' rooms? Do you bring them to the laundry room daily or every wash day or what? etc.)

Where/when/how do you fold? In the laundry room? In front of the TV? Do you put away the clothes or do the kids or what?

If it appears I'm makign this too complicated, please forgive me. I've never been good at laundry and I want to establish some simple routines and good habits, so share with me what your laundry life looks like! Thanks:

[hopefulfaith]

Laundry. Close to my heart.

I do it every day, quite honestly, even if there isn't more than one load. That way, if I get it done in the morning I'm good to go for the rest of the day and am not tied to the house doing multiple loads in and out.

We use cloth, so I do a diaper load every other day, religiously.

I take a laundry basket each morning and gather all of the dirty clothes from upstairs. Down to the basement, wash, and back to the main floor where I fold, trying to escape the "help" of my 12 month old (who is learning 'in' and 'out' and likes to practice with clothes). Then upstairs to put it all away.

I fold while Adam is playing in the living room, our main "toy room". Our TV doesn't come on during the day at all, only at night when A is in bed, so that's not an issue for us.

I guess that's it. Pretty basic and boring!

[webjefita]

Do you have laundry days? When do you do sheets and towels?

Yes, I do laundry on Mondays. I strip the beds in the morning and let them air. Then I stay near the laundry room as much as I can during the day so I can keep the laundry moving. I like to have a laundry day because 1) I have enough clothes to sort into appropriate loads, and 2)I don't forget a load in the wash and leave wet clothes sitting in there all day.

How do you physically get the clothes from the bedrooms to the washer (do you have clothes hampers in the kids' rooms? Do you bring them to the laundry room daily or every wash day or what? etc.)

We all have our clothes in the master closet, and we have a set of hampers in there (whites, towels, colors, and delicates). On laundry day, I take it all out and sort it further.

We have a dry diaper pail and a hamper for baby clothes next to the changing table in the bedroom.

I love our laundry room, it is upstairs right next to our closet! So easy!

Where/when/how do you fold? In the laundry room? In front of the TV? Do you put away the clothes or do the kids or what?

We hang out upstairs in our den our in the bedroom a lot on Monday. When a load is finished, I hang it on two drying racks. I fold some stuff as it comes out of the dryer (towels). Diapers I fold sitting on the floor in front of the baby.

I put everything away... I wish we could each be responsible for our clothes, but I don't know when/if that will happen.

I like doing laundry. I guess I like talking about it too! I recommend the book Home Comforts! She gives lots of details for laundry and housekeeping, and also why these tasks are important in the making of a home.

[Potty Diva]

I do a load every day. In the wash in the morning and in the dryer in the evening while we eat dinner.

I always have a small load to do, of colors or towels. The whites can wait 3-4 days.

We have one laundry hakmper in the bathroom. We all have managed to put our laundry there so i don't have to search hte house for it. Even kailey puts her clothes in the hamper

I wash sheets bi-weekly and on a Saturday.

[MaddieMay]

Our system (two adults, one dog):

Our closet has two small laundry baskets-the small square ones that Wal-Mart : sells for $5.00. (I think the brand is Sterilite or something.) One for lights, one for darks. Our laundry room has another small basket for dirty rags. We don't make enough laundry to do a load each day, but I only do one load at a time: wash, dry, fold, put away. I take the basket down the hall to the laundry room, dump it in the washer, and march the basket back to the closet. I wash and dry, my husband folds (he does it while watching TV), and we both put away. We have a seperate larger basket for "put aways." We have tons of towels (got so many as wedding gifts) that I wait until we have a full load to do those. Cleaning rags/kitchen rags are done about once every two weeks-again, we have plenty of those. Dog stuff (pillows, blankets, stuffed animals) is done as needed. I put my rugs in the washer on days I feel like doing laundry, but am caught up with everything (usually once a month).

We used to do laundry once every two weeks when we were first married (and had to use an apartment complex washer) and it was a nightmare. Having our own helps, but more than that, breaking it down to one load at a time does wonders. We don't do a load everyday, but once we have kids I'm sure we will and it will be nice to have a good routine established.

[Zach'smom]

We are a family of 3, but I still do quite a bit of laundry. Ds is a total dirt magnet.

I don't have a laundry day because DS and I are too busy to be stuck home doing laundry all day one day a week.

I usually do a load or two every other day. Whites, towels and bed linens I wash once a week. Colors I have a lot of, so I wash as soon as I have a loads worth. Most of my clothes are air dryed either outside or in the laundry room. I sit on the family room floor and fold. Either DS helps me or plays and chats with me while I fold. No TV on. Usually the satellite radio is tuned to a station appropriate for Ds.

[SRHS]

We have a clothes basket in the MB and everyone puts their dirty clothes in there, in the am, I take it down and sort it into loads...Just got a new Bosch front loader, so I"m sure that is going to alter my laundry habits a bit. But for sheets and towels, do them on Mondays...I alternate our bed with the kid's beds.

For those of you in the northern climates...how do you hang dry clothes in the winter?

Sus

[LaLaLuna]

Our laundry habits are a bit hit and miss because I work F/T but I try to do some every day. Our bedrooms are on the second story so one thing I try to do is to never move from one story to the other without carrying something. That way the stuff never piles up in one place or the other. I dry on a clothes line because it dries the clothes much faster and better than dryer (our dryer bites) plus if I just concientiously straighten out seams as I hang it it saves much ironing later. (DH has to look somewhat put together for work; I just wear scrubs which is the career equivilant of wearing pajamas to work and no one cares if they're not perfect )

I fold as I go when I take them down later, and I always take down one family member's at a time so that then I just have a stack each. DS's are responsible for putting theirs away- I just put the stacks on their dressers or hand them to them. When the clothes are folded and stacked in the basket I put the basket at the bottom of the stairs, ready to go next time I go up. DS's are also responsible for getting their laundry down to the washer; they each have a small pop-up hamper. If they don't get the clothes to me, they don't get washed. This sometimes creates problems for them when they don't bother to bring them down but I figure it's good practise for learning to think ahead. (they are 6 & 9)

So that's what works for us; constant small bites. I think after reading everyone else's posts I will designate a bedding day when everyone's sheets get washed; it's a bit hit and miss right now. I have to do towels every day because we live in a damp climate (wintertime anyway) and they smell mildewy if they don't get washed right away.

[SoggyGranolaMomma]

I love doing laundry. Crazy, but true.

Anyway, I wash everyday, sometimes 2 loads a day. If I miss ONE day, somehow rather than the logical 2+2=4, it ends up being 2+2=5 :

Our laundry closet is on the first floor. Each night before bed I wash what's in there, collected from the day. We don't have hampers or bags, as we take clothes off, we put them in their washer or in a basket on top of the washer.

I will cue the kids to bring their clothes down from upstairs.

I fold at a table next to the laundry and usually will watch TV or listen to music while I do it.

DH, mine and the baby's room are downstairs, so I will put those away right away. Everything goes into a specific drawer.

The clothes to go upstairs (towels, older kids) get put into a basket and I take them up each morning when I go up to shower. I put them all away and gather any stray dirty clothes into the basket and bring them down.

We CD too, so I do diaper laundry every other day as well.

I also cull the clothes frequently getting rid of most things with stains, out of season, or outgrown. I have labeled bins with clothes that will be handed down. I only hand down PERFECT clothing, the rest get donated.

We have so many people who buy clothes for the kids that we rarely have to. I see no need for more than 8 outfits in the rotation though, so that cuts back on the amount of laundry I have.

I have always found that the more clothes I had, the less frequently I would wash, which would lead to the overwhelming piles of clothes.

I am REALLY streamlining our household right now. Since we are trying to sell our home, a lot of stuff was put away in storage back in April and I've managed to live without most of it to this point. Certain necessities have made themselves apparen, but not nearly as much as I had.

Oh and sheets are done once a week on Thursday. I wash all the sheets and the slipcovers on the couches, the rugs in the entry and bathroom, the shower curtain. I wish I had more than one set of sheets for each bed, but I don't yet.

[Alkenny]

I do laundry about twice a week. There is one hamper and it's in our bedroom which is right next to the bathroom, so the kids just toss their clothes in there when they shower.

I hang everything to dry outside right now, but bring it all in and fold it at once in front of the tv.

When it gets colder and I use the dryer, I fold each load as it comes out of the dryer.

DH/me/babe I put away right away and the big kids' go into a basket that they put away later on, unless I'm feeling generous and I do it for them right away too.

[Om Girl]

I do laundry when the hamper gets full! Sometimes that's every other day, sometimes that's once a week : It all depends upon when it fills up! Then I'll do it all in one day, usually 4 loads: whites, darks, colors and towels/bedding. Then I have CD so that's usually a load every other day. I try and keep all of our laundry to a minimum, and I just wash baby clothes with ours using natural detergent for all of us. (saves money and time!)

[accountclosed3]

Originally Posted by Chinese Pistache

What are your systems? How do you keep it from overwhelming you? Do you have laundry days?

i do laundry every day. this is possible because we have a washer/dryer in our home. before we had a washer/dryer in our home, i would go to the laundry mat twice a week.

each day, i do one load of laundry.

When do you do sheets and towels?

Monday: in the morning, i strip the bedding and grab the towels. i put them in the hallway while i make the bed with clean bedding and put out fresh towels. Then, i take the laundry down to the washer, then when it's time, put it in the dryer.

once out of the dryer, i let it 'sit' until 4. (see why later)

How do you physically get the clothes from the bedrooms to the washer (do you have clothes hampers in the kids' rooms? Do you bring them to the laundry room daily or every wash day or what? etc.)

i have a hamper, but i tend to carry the laundry in my arms.

Where/when/how do you fold? In the laundry room? In front of the TV?

my laundry room is very small and certainly not large enough for my to fold in there. my living room is right next to my laundry. after the clothes come out of the dryer, i put them in a basket by a chair in my living room.

Usually, i do laundry in the morning, but i dislike folding. I do other chores during the day--and other activities--and then i'll come back to fold at 4. Typically, i'll watch Oprah (for the 10-15 minutes it takes to fold) or i'll just listen to music while folding the stuff.

Do you put away the clothes or do the kids or what?

i dont' have kids yet, but my husband comes home around 4:30 and then he puts his laundry away and i put mine away (either right then or the next time i'm going up stairs). Typically, my husband is going up stairs right when he gets home to change and get comfortable, so he takes his laundry up right away. I may not go up stairs after i fold the laundry for a few more hours, so i'll 'let it sit' until i go up for bed or something. Sometimes, i take it up right away.

my mother put away our clothes until we were five or six or so. we helped fold laundry starting around 6 or 7 when mom taught us the different folding techniques. we would sit in a group and chat about things while folding laundry. we didn't just fold our own, we would grab something from the pile, fold it, and then place it in that person's pile (mom, dad, sister, me). Then, we would take and put it away right away--my mom usually putting away my dad's unless he was home from work.

i've never been good at laundry and I want to establish some simple routines and good habits, so share with me what your laundry life looks like! Thanks:

i find the most simple routine is daily washing. it decreases volumn considerably. weekly or biweekly always piled things up and made me crazy.

i am very, very, very thankful that i have an in-home washer and dryer. going to the laundry once or twice a week makes me nutsy.

[MotherWhimsey]

Originally Posted by Chinese Pistache

Do you have laundry days? When do you do sheets and towels? How do you physically get the clothes from the bedrooms to the washer (do you have clothes hampers in the kids' rooms? Do you bring them to the laundry room daily or every wash day or what? etc.)

I just take all the dirt clothes from their various hampers about once a day, and throw them into the washer. When it gets full, I put in my TTO and BS and run it. I don't seperate dark and light clothes, cause we don't have any newer clothes so nothing bleeds.

Originally Posted by Chinese Pistache

Where/when/how do you fold? In the laundry room? In front of the TV? Do you put away the clothes or do the kids or what?

Hmmmm.... you're supposed to fold laundry? Well we are basket people, if we try hanging clothes or anything else, it just never happens. So everyone has a shirt basket, pant basket, and undies basket. I just sort them into the proper basket when I'm done.

[kathirynne]

subbing

:
Mount Washmore is taking over my hallway! In need some advice, as well.

[mommajb]

I am not very organized but I manage to stay on top of this one.

Diapers are done every other day. When I do the diapers I will generally collect the laundry and do the largest load and then the next if it is full. OUr clothes do not tend to bleen so I have a dark and light/white load. I love summer because the clothes are smaller. In the winter I have white, light, dark, denim, reds, swim stuff (two kids are on the team), etc.

Our laundry closet is in the family room near the door to head out. I hang things out as much as possible, including towels and diapers.

I joke that you have to pee or vomit (or leak milk like crazy!) in your bed to get clean sheets but I probably do them every other week on average. this is where co-sleeping really pays off. We have a crib but I do those sheets only when I am about 8 months pregnant.

One of the older two is to help with laundry and family room pick up while the other helps in the kitchen. This eliminates some moaning about the litle help I ask for, such as bringing me hangars or the like outside. The assigned person helps tote folded laundry around the house and attempts to put it where it belongs. I am the only person that seems to know which socks and unders belongs to whom : unless somebody finds the wrong stuff in their drawer then they know it isn't theirs.

[captain crunchy]

Well, the clothes pile up in our bedroom closet until dh takes them to the laundry mat, usually once a week -- I cross my fingers and hope he doesn't wash the family/house cloth with the other clothes and that a red sock doesn't wind up in the whites Seriously though, dh does the laundry, and pretty well too.

Sheets usually get washed when all our sheet sets are used up (we have about 5) or when someone says "hey when was the last time we washed the sheets???" lol



He sometimes folds, but usually not, he does lay all the clothes flat though so they usually don't get wrinkled. I fold them and put them away (usually) when he gets home, but a clean basket has been known to sit a few days ...

I usually handwash dd's clothing because she doesn't have much and it cuts down on $$ for an extra load and it is easy to hang dry.

ETA: wow, could I use the word *usually* more in one post??

[accountclosed3]

Originally Posted by SRHS

For those of you in the northern climates...how do you hang dry clothes in the winter?

my husband and i live in a neighborhood with a HOA that doesn't allow clothes lines! it's so sad.

so, we have a drying rack that sits on top of our dryer and we use that all year round. loads have to be smaller.

we found a rack that you can hang from the ceiling--you use a crank to bring it down so that you can load it, then crank it back up toward the ceiling.

[pumpkin]

I was going to respond by saying that we have 3 laundry bins and I just wash whenever one of them is full, but then I thought about it a little more, I have the following bins

1) darks
2) whites
3) colors - mostly pastels
4) special - dry cleaning, handwash, needs a stain treated, needs mending, anything that requires more attention than just dumping in the wash with the rest of the laundry in the bin
5) towels and sheets
6) kitchen laundry - washrags, towels, etc.
7) moon cloth

Since everything is sorted in advance its really easy to see when we have enough for a full load. DP works from home so I generally remind him to run whatever is ready while I'm at work. Then we generally fold and put away together in the evening. Its one load or two at most so it doesn't take long.

[AngelBee]

:

[my2girlz]

Here's my routine.

Dirty clothes get put into laundry baskets in my room. whites, darks, and light colors. The kids are in charge of putting their clothes in my room (not necessarily in right baskets ) When a basket is full I throw it in the wash. I try to do this in the mornings. Sheets are washed on Fridays. Cloth diapers are washed every 3-4 days. Usually I fold on my bed and put away right away. If the kids are in the house I have them put away their own laundry.