A commenter made a great point on an earlier post I did about laundry. She said this:
Towels must be used 3 or 4 times before being put in the hamper at our house; they are hung up to dry after each use. And I wash clothes when they're dirty or smelly, not necessarily every time they've been worn.
So true! How much laundry we have to do completely depends on our definition of dirty.
Now hopefully we all agreed that stained or smelly is dirty. But what about the rest?
I know people who wash pants after each wearing. I've never really understood this, because in general adult pants don't get that dirty, and the more you wash, the more wear and tear you get on the clothing. Besides, that's a whole lot more work for you!
One problem I had when the kids were little and liked playing dress up was that they would stick their clothes in the laundry every time they took any off (which was often 4 or 5 times a day) because it was easier to put them in the laundry basket than to put them away. We had to train them out of that bad habit!
I think many kids just stick everything in the laundry out of laziness, but then once jeans have been in the basket with a bunch of wet towels, you have to wash them.
So what do you do? How often do you do laundry? Let us know!
I was directed to your blog a couple of weeks ago by a friend who thought I should be doing a ministry blog. What fun I've had reading yours. I'm thrilled that your post today is on laundry...one of the things I'm acutally pretty good at. =] Laundry, in my home, is done religiously every Monday. My teenaged girls sort their own, (and have since they were toddlers), on Sunday evening before bed. If it isn't sorted it doesn't get washed until the following Mon. They wear their jeans more than once and air out their towles after each use. I start when I get up at 5 am and it's an all day project...and the only day of the week that I feel truely accomplished! =] When I traded in my office 'in-basket' for a stay-at-home 'mom career' 16 years ago my laundry basket became my new 'in-basket'. I love it when it's empty at the end of Monday...until every one dresses for bed. But hey, a full laundry basket is like job security, right!?! =]
At this point, with Samuel so small, I just do his wash when his little basket is full. For us adults, sheets and towels once a week, pants get 2-3 washes unless stained or muddy etc...but tops usually go in the hamper every day. So when our hamper is full I wash, usually every other day.
I *love* laundry. I have to hold back and not put anything that drops on the floor into the wash! I love hanging everything on the line, air fluffing (no heat) in the dryer afterwards to soften them, and for years I did this with six children. I do one load every day, or catch up with more if it has been raining. My children can all do the laundry (four of them ages 12-16 left at home) so sometimes I have to give in and share. We use our towels for several days, everyone is responsible to emptying their own pockets, etc. Laundry is a sweet smelling, quick, easy job. I hate mopping.
Laundry - what a chore it is for me, but you have to have clean clothes, towels and sheets right? I wish I enjoyed it, but...
We only do laundry when the clothes are truly dirty. This will depend on whose it is. My son is 13 and all boy, so most days his clothes need to be washed, unless he was stuck inside because of weather. Mine and my husbands clothes are worn at least twice unless we were working in the yard or doing some heavy cleaning. I did my 19 year old daughters laundry until about a month ago. I can tell you that most of our laundry was hers! LOL
As for sheets, we take showers in the evening, so I wait for about 2 weeks to do them, but towels are washed after about 4 uses.
I have been amazed at how much laundry (or washing as we call it down under!) some families do! I agree that we need only wash stuff that is truly dirty - and also that it can be a hard job to train our kids not to just drop everything in the wash! I do a load every day (except Sunday), which is hung on the line to dry (actually, my 14 yrold daughter does it most days). I have a pattern which goes: monday -regular mixed clothes, tuesday - sheets (mine every week, plus alternating girls/boys each week), wednesday - regular clothes, thursday - towels (so they are used by each person for one week), friday - whites, saturday - regular clothes. the washing gets brought in and folded every afternoon. my battle is to try to get it all sorted into piles and put away each day - don't always get to that! i also love the smell and ease of line drying. but then I don't live in Canada!! siminoz (mum to 3 boys and 3 girls)
I *SHOULD* do laundry everyday. BUT it is such a chore for me!! I also have 2 girls who love to play dress up and I am constantly doing all sorts of laundry!! I need to get a schedule, but I haven't. I enjoy reading your posts! I have also enjoyed reading your books!
I try to do one load each day of the week with weekends off. I have yo confess, my husband does a lot better job at wearing his clothes multiple times.
My biggest challenge is remembering to keep the loads going, so only doing one load helps a lot. I am hoping to get a clothes line up this spring.
I do 4-6 loads of laundry every day, we have a very large family, and keeping up is key.. I wash all bedding weekly except for the crib which i change 2-3 times a week.
I wash the towels after each use, because I think they smell "funky" I do wear my jeans or slacks more than once, but my shirts tend to be extremely dirty due to little hands and little noses.
At my house it works best to do each load start to finish each time. I am trying to hand off some of my laundry chores to my 16 year old daughter, but I do so much while they are at school. The laundry goes pretty smoothly as long as I don't get sick, except for the socks... How come I can never seem to get that sock basket empty?
I am almost hesitant to answer! So many good comments. I try for daily and it seems like I end up doing towels more than needed. I guess that it why I need to get busy reading your book :-) With a couple of little ones and 2 older it feels like I have ton of laundry!
I am not a stay at home mom, in fact I don't even have children, but it seems like Laundry is a never ending puzzle for me and my husband. I would love to do a load every day, but I work full time and drive an hour each way back and forth. As soon as I get home, eat something for dinner and get out of my work clothes, it is time for bed. I suppose I am doing well to have clean clothes at all. One thing I have heard ove and over is that it is more motivating to scale down on the towels and undies so that you have to do laundry more often instead of letting it pile up. Keeping up with it is key, and I have to admit, I have gotten alot better about not letting it get out of hand.
About Me: I'm a Christian author of a bunch of books, and a frequent speaker to women's groups and marriage conferences. Best of all, I love homeschooling my daughters, Rebecca and Katie. And I love to knit. Preferably simultaneously.
Stumble It!
I was directed to your blog a couple of weeks ago by a friend who thought I should be doing a ministry blog. What fun I've had reading yours. I'm thrilled that your post today is on laundry...one of the things I'm acutally pretty good at. =] Laundry, in my home, is done religiously every Monday. My teenaged girls sort their own, (and have since they were toddlers), on Sunday evening before bed. If it isn't sorted it doesn't get washed until the following Mon. They wear their jeans more than once and air out their towles after each use. I start when I get up at 5 am and it's an all day project...and the only day of the week that I feel truely accomplished! =] When I traded in my office 'in-basket' for a stay-at-home 'mom career' 16 years ago my laundry basket became my new 'in-basket'. I love it when it's empty at the end of Monday...until every one dresses for bed. But hey, a full laundry basket is like job security, right!?! =]