I recently read an article filled with tips about how to do laundry better. I decided to ignore most of them.
Why? Because they were just too fussy for me. If I followed the advice, I’d have many more loads to do and spend a lot more time doing them.
Over the years, I’ve thought a lot about how I do laundry, and today I have a system that might strike some of you as lazy, but that works great for my family. This relaxed system is easy for everyone to follow, saves time, and gets the job done.
I’ve written before about some of the ways I make laundry easier. My small wardrobe is a huge help. But there are other ways I lighten the laundry load. A lot of my solutions break laundry “rules,” but in this case, I’m pretty comfortable being a rebel.
- I don’t wash often. Unless our clothes are visibly dirty or smell bad, we wear a lot of them more than once. (I usually air the clothes out a bit before rehanging them or putting them back in a drawer.) Of course, there are limits. We wash shirts more often than pants, for instance, and some items (underwear, socks) do get the wear-once-and-wash treatment. But wearing clothes multiple times really slows the time it takes for our hamper to get full, and that means fewer loads of laundry each week.
- I don’t separate. OK, don’t separate much. I know, I know: you’re supposed to separate by color, and by type of fabric, and by lots of other categories I keep finding out about. To which I say: No way. I divide my clothes into two categories, white and dark, and to be honest, I’ve been thinking about just throwing them all together. I wash my dark knit tops with my husband’s light button-front shirts. Disaster does not ensue. I don’t care if our whites gradually get dingy; it’s not that noticeable (at least not for a long time), and I see no need for items like socks or underwear to stay bright anyway. Now, I do wash very dark items (like jeans) separately once or twice when they’re new, and I wash towels, sheets, and kitchen linens separately too. But when it comes to clothes, I haven’t found much harm in throwing things together, and it definitely saves me time and trouble.
- I don’t iron. I hate to iron and I’m terrible at it. But even if I were good at pressing my clothes, I’d still avoid it, because it takes time I’d rather spend doing something else. So I never buy clothes that require ironing. And I’m diligent about removing clothes as soon as the dryer buzzes, and giving them a good shake. (Hmm, I guess that’s one laundry rule I do follow.) I’ll admit it: a few of our clothes might not look as crisp as they would if they’d been ironed, but it’s nothing any of us minds.
- I don’t baby my delicates. It might surprise you that a lazy laundry washer like me did a lot of hand washing, but it’s true. For years I cleaned my bras and sweaters by hand, and for a long time this was the one part of my system that did not function well. I hated all the swishing and rinsing in the sink, so I’d let those items pile up. Then my sister told me she used her washing machine’s handwash setting all the time. I’d never trusted my delicates to the machine, but I decided to try. Success! Everything came out fine, and as a bonus, the clothes dried faster afterwards. This setting works so well that I’ve allowed my daughter to purchase numerous handwash-only items, now that I know how easy it is to take care of them. I’ve used the handwash setting in my old, low-end washer and in my fancy new model, and all of my clothes survived. In fact, I think they get cleaner in the machine.
- I don’t fold. At some point I realized that many items I had always folded didn’t need it. Why fold pajamas, for instance, or undershirts? Today I don’t bother folding much of my laundry. When I recommend this, people sometimes object that they won’t be able to see everything they have. Honestly, this has never been an issue for me. Either it doesn’t matter (I don’t need to see all my dishtowels; I just need to grab the nearest clean one) or I’m able to sort through items easily. I think I’ve halved the time it takes for me to put away clean laundry by limiting the amount I fold.
I realize that the kinds of clothes you wear really might need separate treatment, or that you might find it worthwhile to spend time ironing to get a nice smooth look for your shirts. But if you’re feeling overwhelmed by laundry, it might be worth evaluating whether you can break a few laundry rules. Look for ways to simplify the process. You might gain some time—and lose some piles of laundry.
Which laundry rules do you always follow, and which do you ignore?
I love this! I throw all our clothes in together and run them through a cold wash. I do separate really dark things (and sheets and towels) but that is it. I do fold (my son does not – he is content to throw his clothes in his dresser and who am I to argue? have at it I say). I try and do a load every day so I don’t have much to do. I don’t iron. The only things that need ironing are my husband’s business shirts but he only wears them when he travels for business (he works from home otherwise) so they get crushed in his luggage and he has to re-iron them in his hotel room anyway. I made the small realisation long ago that we, as adults, are totally free to choose what ‘rules’ we follow and those we don’t. Ah, freedom!
Yes, that realization has helped me a lot too–but of course it depends on your comfort level, the types of clothes you wear (in this case), and a lot of other factors. I just think it makes sense for a household to evaluate what rules need to be followed because sometimes that can make your life more efficient or organized.
Ummmm this is crazy….the only ones I can get on board with is no ironing and using the delicate cycle on my washer. You don’t separate? Different clothes need different temperatures. Socks and undies should always be washed in hot (or warm water at least). Do you just wash everything in cold?
My tip would be do a little everyday. I do towels, sheets, etc and Mondays, then spread the rest of our clothes out Tuesday-Thursday. My goal is no laundry on the weekends!
I use warm for my clothes. Maybe it’s just the kind of clothes we wear in my family, but I really haven’t seen ill effects from throwing them in together and it saves a lot of time and is easier. (My understanding is that most detergents don’t need hot water the way they used to to get your clothes clean, although for me that’s not really the point.)
I don’t follow a regular schedule because I wait till my hamper is full to do laundry. I do this for environmental reasons (energy efficiency), which is a separate issue, but also because I would just rather do fewer, bigger loads less frequently–which is just a personal preference. However, I know many, many people who do small loads often and feel that is the best way for them to stay on top of their laundry–and it would certainly make it easier to sort. If it is meeting your goal of no-laundry weekends, then I say it’s a great system for you!
Because I only do laundry once a week, I have fairly good sized loads and yes, I do separate. I also fold. The idea of throwing things in a drawer willy-nilly doesn’t appeal to me. But I don’t iron, I don’t baby my delicates, and I don’t wash often. We wear a lot of our clothes more than once and we use the same towels more than once. It generally takes me one morning a week to do all of our laundry- that’s washed, folded, and put away- then I don’t have to think about laundry until the next time!
These comments are so interesting to me because it shows how we all have our own systems. Which I think is great. I think we should all do what works best for us–which sometimes means we should break free from the “standard” procedures, as I’ve decided to do with my laundry, and have found liberating. Other times it might mean following them to a T. It really depends. I used to work with someone who ironed her jeans. She really liked how that looked, so it was worth it to her to spend the time & effort.
Don’t you think it’s interesting how Jennifer C, above, prefers to do a little laundry most days, but you do a lot on one day? I think both systems work, because they both meet the particular needs and preferences of the writers. To me, that’s the key.
I sort dark and light color, white, and towels…and i do not put delicate in the dryer.
Since a few weeks i stopped ironing clothes such as tee shirts ( i have twin boys aged 11, that makes a lot of clothes). That last thing changed my life! I fold and put away immediately, the boys are now helping putting everything away, with a basket each when folding is finished.
Hugs from France
Haha, laundry is an international issue! I’m glad you found a way to reduce your laundry burden.
I don’t put delicates in the dryer either–I hang those to dry. But I love letting the machine do the washing!
My pet peeve isn’t the washing – it’s the putting away. I am completely happy doing 3 loads in a day as long as they don’t need to go to 5 different places. That’s why I have assigned a day of the week to each bedroom (2 kids or adults in each one) plus a day for whites and one for sheets and towels. Somehow for me, it’s all easy until you have to put everything away. To each his own 🙂
That’s how I feel about grocery shopping too. I don’t mind the actual shopping part at all, but I really hate putting everything away.
I think you came up with a great solution!
Nancy, you rebel you! ;-)).
I do whites, lights and darks. Towels get mixed in with one of those loads, depending on their colour. I do about 5 loads every 2 weeks, we are 2 in our household. Whites are thrown in the dryer, lights and darks are hung on a dryingrack. The duvet cover I take out after a low spin cycle, I fold it twice and then hang it over a railing so it sort of smoothes out. After about an hour or so I refold to have another side out.
If I do have to iron something I usually just iron the item I want to wear that day (or the next, depending on how well I prepare for the nex day). Exception: my uniform blouses. I take those out of the dryer when they are still damp and then iron all 6 in one go. But I simplify a lot here: I only iron the collar, top of the front and the sleeves. The rest won’t be visible anyway since we wear a vest with the uniform. When they are still damp, ironing is a breeze…
DH does his own ironing, yay!
I don´t know exactly what you mean by cold. Lights and darks I wash on a cooler setting than the whites, usually at about 85 degrees Fahrenheit (30 Celsius). Whites usually 140F (60C) and sometimes at 195F (90C).
I definitely fold! I like the clean look. I may be a little OCD here since I even made some sort of size-thingie, a laminated half-letter-size paper. The longer side is the width I fold DH’s t-shirts, the shorter side my own t-shirts. That way they best fit the slots/drawer I keep them in. I even fold underwear…
I don’t baby my delicates though… I use those meshbags and throw them in the machine.
As I said, it’s so interesting to see all of our different routines. And it’s funny–one thing I always do separate is towels.
I like how you’ve made the ironing easy for yourself–all at once, while damp, and only what’s needed. And I have no idea what I mean by warm either–all I know is, it’s somewhere between cold & hot. 🙂
If folding is your preference, I say, go for it! You obviously like the way things look in your drawer, and their overall look, when they’re folded, so I would never say to stop. But since I don’t care about either (& just to be clear: no one in my family is walking around all rumpled! I guess we are lucky in the type of clothes we wear), that’s an area where for me it makes sense to take a shortcut. And I think the folding aid you made is a great idea!
We moved to England a couple years ago, and went from a large oversized washer, to a miniature one! Now, I do at least one load every day. I don’t separate much (darks, lights, jeans). Kids school & husbands work uniforms go in their own loads, as do towels and sheets. I do towels on Monday and Thursday (in addition to my one load of clothes) and sheets every other Friday. School & work uniforms gets washed every Friday afternoon or Saturday morning.
Because our dryer is a condenser dryer (no vent), it takes 2.5hrs to dry the average load, so almost everything gets hung to dry and then fluffed in the dryer for
Doh. Seems I lost part of that! ^
…for 20 minutes, and folded! Kids put them away after school!
I feel like I am ALWAYS in the laundry room, but it’s usually only for 10-15min a day!
I can not wait to get full sized machines again!!! *That being said, anyone have recommendations? We’ll be buying new ones next July!*
It must be hard to go to a small washer when you’re used to a bigger one. I love
having a big one because (as we have established, ahem!) I don’t like to do laundry often. In fact, my new washer does not have an agitator so it has a much bigger capacity, so I’m happy about that!
But it seems that you’ve worked out a good system for yourself. I’m glad you’re not in the laundry room quite as long as it feels like. 🙂
As far as a recommendation: my new machine is a Maytag toploader. It’s a high-efficiency model, so it uses much less water. The clothes are not immersed, and for many cycles they are only spray rinsed. I cannot really understand how this gets clothes clean, but it seems to work. It also spins them much dryer, which cuts down drying time. However, this seems to make the clothes a lot more wrinkled–a potential issue if you will be hanging your clothes dry again. But a dryer gets the wrinkles out fine.
2.5 hours? That’s indeed very long. We have a condenser as well but a full load takes about 1 hr. How much can you put in yours( how many kg)?
I do all the same as you! The other biggest time saver: I taught my kids early to do their own dang laundry!!
Yay! Getting my kids to do more than putting the laundry away is my next frontier. It doesn’t happen now because of the time we tend to do laundry in my household, which makes me the logical person to do it. But I really think we need to change that!
I tried not sorting our whites and darks, but I found the whites became quite dingy; maybe part of the issue is that I wash everything on cold using a cold water formulated detergent, but it works just fine when colours are separated. My son wears a lot of athletic wear that I used to just throw in the dryer with everything else, but when they started to shrink and the colour designs on the front started to overheat and stick to itself, I started to sort those out and dry them on the perma press setting. An added bonus is that that setting is half the time of the regular setting.
I hang all shirts as they come out of the dryer and fold and sort everything else. Everyone has their own laundry basket on a shelf in the laundry room that everything goes into as soon as it comes out of the dryer and everyone is responsible for putting away their own clothes. Even the dish cloths, face cloths and the rags have their own wire shelves next to the dryer so I only have to handle them once. I found that if I didn’t sort and hang everything right away, I hated having to dig through an overflowing laundry basket that was always in the way.
The next challenge is getting my boys to do their own laundry!
It sounds like you have worked out the best system for you. I particularly like how you have figured out a good way to deal with the clothes coming out of the dryer so efficiently. For a long time, I would be sure to fold (well, the things I did fold) or shake out all the laundry, then put it all in the same basket because sorting was one of my children’s jobs. (I started them on this chore when they were little.) But often the basket wound up off on the side somewhere, so they’d forget and sometimes days would go by with that laundry still in the basket. Then I got another basket and assigned one to each kid, and one to my husband and me. Now I do what you do: sort as soon as it comes out of the dryer. Then the baskets go on everyone’s beds. That does mean more up-front sorting for me, but it’s not really that much. More important: the clothes are always put away that day. Yay!
One tip I didn’t see mentioned was using the delay timer on the washer. I get the load ready and can set it to start at 4:00 a.m. and then throw it in the dryer before I go to work. Or, sometimes I set it to wash while I am at work and then they are ready to throw in the dryer when I get home. Either way it helps!
Also, my kids have been doing their own laundry now for two years (they are now 14 and 12). I met a lot of resistance at first, but I just stopped doing it and told them they had to (this happened when I went from part time work to full time work). After about two weeks they realized I was not joking, I was not going to do it for them anymore and if they wanted something clean to wear they’d better get it done themselves! I tried to make it easy – in a cabinet above the washer I created a sheet of instructions and I made the laundry items like soap, pre-wash, etc. easy to see and reach. There are still times when I have to get on them to wash their clothes, and that is mostly my 14 year old son, but my 12 year old daughter thinks nothing of having to do her own laundry.
Yes, you’re right–using the timer is a great tip! And even if you don’t have a timer, doing the wash when you’re at work (or overnight) so all you have to do is the dryer when you get home (or wake up) is a great idea! Thanks.
I like how you made it easy for the kids to fulfill their laundry responsibilities too.
Great tips! I do most of these except the don’t fold. I did minimize the need to fold though, by having a smaller wardrobe and by hanging all my shirts (including t-shirts) on hangers. I found they are much easier to access when hanging. Also, since I hang them all the same direction, I can get dressed in the dark and know that my shirt is on the right way, with the front side in the front. 🙂
I love how your system works so well for you that you can get dressed in the dark!
It’s funny how there are hangers in the world and folders. I personally like to hang a lot of my clothes, but I know others who strongly prefer to keep things in drawers.
Getting the whole family involved and spreading out the workload is the key to a well-run household, in my opinion. My 2 boys (now 28 and 31) started doing their own laundry when they were young–elementary school, as I recall. Sure, I was there to help and advise but it was their responsibility. If they didn’t fold after drying, they wore wrinkled clothes to school. My biggest tip in this process? Have an assigned laundry basket for each family member!
Great points. I like how you made it their responsibility, even if they wound up wearing wrinkled clothes to school. And I agree–a dedicated laundry basket for each family member makes a huge difference! I remember the change when I started doing that.