Laundry. Laundry. Laundry.
It’s the stuff of nightmares …
… the triffid like pile growing out of the basket, shrunk woolens, sealed in stains, grotty whites gone grey and no clean clothes for school/work/the big day!
And it’s never, never ending 🙁
When you’re young & childless, you might just be able to wing it, but once you’ve got kids I’m convinced the only way to stop it beating you is to have an easy laundry routine.
AND to stick to it. Ruthlessly.
But a laundry routine that works for one family is a complete disaster for another. To find your perfect routine you need to do some thinking about your family, work patterns & clothes.
Luckily … being the kind hearted soul that I am 😉 … I have done the thinking for you. Just use these guidelines to pick the routine that’s right for you.
AND then write it down somewhere so you stick to it!
I have mine set up as a schedule in Cozi which is a totally fab … and FREE! … family calendar designed specifically for hapless mums like me who struggle to keep on top of everything!
To give it a go DO check it out here … it’s got meal planning, lists the lot!
4 Easy Laundry Routines
All the laundry routines in the world basically boil down to these four …
- Wash everything in one day
- Wash whatever in laundry basket every day
- Wash one type of laundry every day
- Wash one person’s clothes daily
I have outlined below the pros & cons of each routine & how to follow it.
1. Wash Everything in One Day
Great if you’ve got a big drier & have a day at home on your own
| Pros | Cons |
| Only have to think about it once a week | Must have a tumble drier or dry climate |
| Don’t have washing hanging around all week | Need a whole day with nothing else to do |
| Easy to sort by temperature / fabric needs | Need a whole day in the house |
| Ideally need a child free house | |
| Back breaking | |
| Can be mind numbingly boring |
The Routine
- Pick a day when you can be in the whole & the rest of the family ideally out!
- Grab all the laundry & sort by colour, fabric & temperature … as follows:
- Coloured cottons 104f/40c
- White & light cottons 104f/40c
- Woolens & delicates 86f/30c
- Bed linen & towels 140f/60c
- Tea towels, cleaning cloths 140f/60c or 203f/95c
- Anything needing hand washing
- Throw in first a pile that doesn’t need stain treatment
- Treat stains particularly on whites & lights
- As soon as first load done get it in dryer & next in washer
- As soon as dryer done fold or hang sorting by the room they need to go to
- Put aside anything you really must iron … much, much less than you think
- Repeat, repeat etc
- Take each pile to appropriate room & put straight away
- Treat yourself! It’s ALL done for the week. Hurrah!
2. Wash Whatever in Laundry Basket Every Day
An easy routine if you work or have a small baby & or potty training toddler and don’t have delicates or mixed light & dark clothes
| Pros | Cons |
| Very simple to load up | Risks colour run in mixed colours |
| Easy to do a load before or after work | Risks shrinkage of delicates & woolens |
| Nothing stays in the basket getting icky | Doesn’t get towels & sheets really clean |
| Good if have soiled baby stuff daily | Uses same detergent for different fabrics |
| Good when potty training | Hard to get whites really white |
The Routine
- Just throw everything in when you’ve got a few minutes spare
- But use timer on washing machine so laundry finishes when will be free to put straight in drier or on an airer or line as this will mean you don’t have to iron it
- As soon as it’s dry put away … DON’T put in ironing basket to get crumpled
- Just iron essentials on an as needs basis
3. Wash One Type of Laundry Every Day
Best if you’ve got mix of darks & lights plus delicates & woolens
| Pros | Cons |
| Prevents colour runs between dark & lights | Hard to get family to sort by washing label |
| Prevents shrinkage of delicates & woolens | Can result in non-full & extra loads |
| Gets things that need a hot wash really clean | Easy to miss something |
| Gets whites really white | |
| Can use specialist detergent on each wash |
The Routine
- Allocate a day to 1 or 2 types of washing
- This is the routine I use and I do the following …
- Mon :
- Woolens & delicates 86f/30c
- White & light cottons 104f/40c … attack stains whilst woolens in
- Tue : Coloured cottons 104f/40c
- Wed: Bed linen 140f/60c
- Thu: Towels 140f/60c
- Fri:: Tea towels, cleaning cloths 140f/60c or 203f/95c
- Mon :
- I put the washing on timer to finish over lunch time so washing can be hung straight up to dry, as this will mean I don’t have to iron anything
- Make sure you leave yourself 15 minutes to fold and put away when dry else you’ll end up with piles of washing everywhere getting crumpled
4. Wash One Person’s Clothes Daily
Great if you’ve got a large family where the biggest challenge is post wash sorting
| Pros | Cons |
| Reduces post wash sorting for a big family | Risks colour run in mixed clothes |
| Easy for family to load up on “their” day | Risks shrinkage of delicates & woolens |
| Easy for family to put away on “their” day | Uses same detergent for different fabrics |
| Hard to get whites really white |
The Routine
- Just throw everything in when you’ve got a few minutes spare
- But use timer on washing machine so laundry finishes when you will be free to put straight in drier or on airer or line as this will mean you don’t have to iron it
- As soon as it’s dry put away … DON’T put in ironing basket to get crumpled and mixed up with everyone else’s which is the key thing you’re trying avoid
- Just iron essentials on an as needs basis
Awesome post and I love the linky after it for even more laundry tips! I’m a one load a day girl though I’ve tried all four methods. Looking forward to exploring your site!
It’s just relentless isn’t it Corrine – doing laundry every single day. And when you go on holiday it’s even worse because you then have 2 weeks worth to catch up on 🙁
Thanks so much for the laundry tips! I have tried all different ways and with my large family of 6, I do wash after wash after wash and then more washes- whenever I can! 🙂
Think the only real answer Shannon is for us all to wear less clothes 😉
We have 3 hampers and everyone sorts their dirty clothes whites-colors-sheets & towels. Which ever hamper is most full gets washed 1 load a day. I have 4 baskets in the laundry room whites, jeans, towels and 2 for colored clothes. The clothes get sorted straight out of the dryer. I only fold 2x a month. If you want something…go find it.
I’m trying to get my little one trained up early to put stuff in the laundry basket and to help put away. Can I ask do you bother with ironing?
Laundry is one of those never ending chores ……..thank you for breaking it down into possibilities……..not everything works the same for everyone. Thank you for sharing this…………Gentle Joy
I think you’re so right not everything works the same for everyone … you have to try out a number of routines before you find the one that works for you, Alice x
OH YES! You MUST be ruthless when it comes to laundry! UGH! Great tips! Thanks!
Ruthless definitely the only way forward with laundry 😉
I wash everything in one day, usually Sunday, and make the kids put everything away too. I do this to make sure I have full loads of laundry to save on using too much water and electricity.
Great to get the kids trained up early … I am just starting with mine, she does try to fold which takes us longer but I don’t want to put her off 🙂
I used to do the “toss in a load as soon as there’s enough to fill a batch” method, but then I felt like I was ALWAYS doing laundry. Recently I switched to doing it all in one day, and I love it. I have one obnoxiously long laundry day, but then I get to be done for an entire week. I don’t feel like laundry is constantly hanging over my head because I only have to worry about it once a week. Love it!
I don’t have a drier so all in one day not an option but if I did would definitely try to compress so haven’t got to do it EVERY single day!
Laundry drives me mad! I feel like I am forever wandering around with piles of clothes to put away. I usually do one or two loads every day and sort them by colour. They take an age to dry, so I’m always moving them from clothes horse to radiator before finally putting them away. I think I should try one of your suggestions (but not the everything in one day suggestion!). Popping over from PoCoLo.
Oh it’s such a pain without a drier … the thing I find works best for getting stuff dry inside is pegging with no fold at all and putting the airer in a room with the radiator whacked up and the door shut but not too close to the radiator so you don’t block the heat. Everything also goes crispy if too close to the radiator xx
Wow you are so organised!!! I check the basket(s) in the morning and then wash whatever *type* I have a full load of that day, though it also depends how much time I am going to be around the house wool washes take a bit more time to sort after the machine wash so try and do that on a day when i am going to be in more. Whereas a load of Monkey’s clothes than can go straight from washing to machine to tumble dryer is an easy one that can be done any day. Interesting to see the different ways of doing it, and the pros and cons! When I was on my own it was definitely a wash everything all on one day. So much changes when you have kids! #pocolo
Pre-child I was so disorganised Caroline … it would just pile up and get shoved in any old how when we ran out of clothes. Now we’ve got into the routine it is actually so much easier and even my 4 year old can do a pretty good job sorting darks and lights 🙂
I fall into the Wash it all in one day!… I detest doing it!, but I think id rather get it over and done with in the shortest time possible!. But I have a huge washer, huge dryer and a huge south facing garden, where I can get 4 loads of washing on my lines :)… I hate putting it away though 🙂 #POCOLO http://www.suggys.co.uk/Leanne
I know they are not v planet friendly but I would love a drier. I did actually manage to get the tea towels out on the line today but I’ve still got the towels from yesterday drying in my room … grrr x
I do mine twice a week and usually end up with three or four washes each day. I used to iron everything, but you are right, so much stuff doesn’t need ironing if you fold it straight from the tumble dryer and put it away, it saves me hours only ironing what really needs ironing. #PoCoLo
The ironing thing was such a revelation to me – if you give everything a good “laundress” “shake & snap” as it comes out of the washer / drier so little needs ironing.
Great post! I vary in my routines. One thing I have found is so effective…empty the dryer and PUT THE CLOTHES AWAY right then. Do not delay. If you do, they may stay in the basket forever!
Oh completely with you Sinea – putting away straight away is essential. I used to have an ironing basket which was just a pit of crumpled mess into which things went and never came out!
Great post – will definitely be printing this out and re-reading it – my ironing pile is currently taller than my son!!! #pocolo
Oh I just don’t iron 🙂 Except for the odd shirt I reckon as long as you hang things straight away you can avoid it.
Even after all these years I can never have too many laundry tips! This is great 🙂 thank you for linking to PoCoLo x
Oh totally agree – can never have too many x
Laundry is a nightmare in my house with a large family. It also doesn’t help that i have an aversion to putting said laundry away but I like all of these routine ideas.
Putting away is definitely the key I reckon Jen … I used to have piles everywhere getting crumpled. Best of all it saves you from the dreaded ironing 🙂
I’ve done most of these routines and the one saving grace in my routine is that I have a laundry basket for whites and one for colors. I just pull the towels off of the racks and sheets off of the beds when they need cleaning. Yesterday I did just one load and emptied half of a basket so then the load would be smaller and more manageable (still sitting in the dryer though) but still clean some of the clothes we need for this week.
I would just love to have a laundry room with separate baskets to prevent all the sorting xx
girl i need to adopt this! my laundry currently forms a ramp out of our closet. lol. Thanks so much for linking up at Creativity Unleashed last week! You were our most clicked link and will be featured on the blog tomorrow. Hope to see you back! xoxo
I have found a routine to get the clothes washed and dried, but the putting away is always the problem! My kids have three baths a week, usually Sunday, Tuesday and Thursday. (More if needed) So, I make sure to put the laundry in and have it dried before their baths. The girls are 3 and 4, so I put a towel on the floor next to the tub, sit in a chair, and fold while they splash around. They like it when there is lots of folding because I start washing their hair when I am done. Needless to say, the putting away gets put on hold while we dry, comb and dress for bed. It’s not a perfect routine, but it works! Oh, and my husband has a bit of an obsession for washing the towels, so he does those any time the mood strikes him.
My daughter goes to school two days a week so on Tuesdays I do all the clothes (two loads: colors and darks), then on Thursdays I do another two loads sheets/blankets and towels(/rugs, if needed). Right now it works for us, but we’re expecting a baby in a couple of months so I’m sure it’ll change! Glad I stumbled across these tips to keep in mind. Thank you!
I’m a laundry all in one day girl (sometimes 2 if you count folding and putting away). I saw your comment about hanging to dry so all in one day wasn’t an option for you. I live in Texas. Most of the year by the time the next load is washed the previous load is ready to take in. During the summer, it is practically dry by the time you get a load on the line! I do have a dryer though and use it some (I need more line space).
I combine 2 methods. :). With 3 kids and 1 on the way I find it easiest for me to do laundry for one room each day. (Master bedroom, girls room, boy room.). Makes folding easier – not having 30 piles. :). Then on other days I do towels, sheets, and a load of whites. Everyones whites get put into one basket and those get washed together. Not perfect but it works.
Good idea Celena about making it easier to fold up so you don’t have so many piles of different stuff for different rooms.