How much Laundry???

[jdr250]

I was just wondering how my laundry techniques differ from other people and if there is a way to do less and therefore save on water and electric.
We are a family of four. I do 4 loads a week of bedclothes and 3 a month of comforters. I do about 10 loads of laundry a week not counting bed clothes.
I seperate into towels (towels, washrags, dishrags, and kitchen towels), whites, school clothes, and regular clothes. Totaling about 59 loads a month.
I only wash when I have a full load except socks because we would run out of socks long before I got enough for a full large load, I hang everything to dry except socks and towels (I like my towels to be really soft).
What are your laundry habits? How many loads do you seperate into? How many loads a week? etc?

[missyali]

I do sheets once a week, towels 2-3 times per week and clothes are just on-going. I do about 2 loads per day, some days three. My blankets get done 2-3 times per year and my comforter is simply for decorative purposes and that gets done mostly because my kids have spilled something on it while making a fort. Is it gross that I do [U]my[U]blankets only 2-3 times per year? My kids' get done more....

[Buc-O-Mama]

We have a family of 5 and do 2-3 loads of laundry on most days, that includes everything. I hang as much on drying racks and hangers as possible. That way I can wash 2 loads, drying only one and get it all done in a timely fashion.

[FrugalFive]

I have two small children...soon to be three, plus I babysit 4 more, so blankets are just as ongoing as the clothes and towels. Everything is on an as needed basis. No schedule whatsoever. The bed that keeps it's sheets the longest is my youngest son's and that's cause he sleeps in my 6 yr old's full size bed w/him quite a bit.

Right now I refuse to go to the basement to do laundry (steep stairs w/no railing and 39 weeks pregnant sound like trouble when mixed) so my bf does all the laundry. I know he's using way too much soap, probably washing on warm, and is drying EVERYTHING. But I can't complain, it all gets done and he never complains about it. (And atleast he sorts them, so we're on track there!)

[quiltingmommy]

We do about 6 loads a week here. sheets (1x per week), towels - 1-2 loads and then clothes. I only have quilts on my bed and down-alternative comforters. the quilts get washed 2-3 x per year and put on the line backwards. the down-alt comforters are new and will probably get washed 2x this winter.
I am very lucky though! DH loves to do laundry and has been taking care of it for 2 years now. He got in the habit at the end of '05 when he quit his job and was home doing 'home stuff' while looking for a new job. (not the best decision financially, but the best for his health...the vp at his job was making his life miserable for years and he just couldn't be there anymore.) Even though he was only home for a few months, the habit of doing the laundry (including hanging it on the line!) stuck! Yay for me!!! now if he would just load the dishwasher correctly.....

[Starlight9803]

I wash a load of sheets weekly (all three beds worth fit fine in my super capacity washer, and comforters monthly, or as needed (each in their own load) and furniture covers/throws as needed (usually once every 2 weeks). For regular laundry, I wash 2 loads every third day or so. I'm lazy though, I only separate lights from darks and then wash. Towels end up with the regular clothes. I've never had a problem with anything getting messed up or linty though. I hang dry everything unless there is extended periods of rain or snow. Oh, and we're a family of 4, with 1 indoor dog and 3 indoor cats (so lots of hair to wash off stuff).

[redhead68]

About six loads a week, including sheets and towels. Towels and sheets are washed once a week, throw rugs about once a month, and comforters & blankets about once a season. We hang some clothes, but mostly use our drier. My husband and I share laundry duty: he does the clothes on the weekend, while I do the towels, sheets, rugs, & miscellaneous things like table cloths, etc. during the week. And, yes I know how lucky I am to have him!

[jdr250]

I must be a pig. I only do bed clothes, (sheets, pillowcases) once a week and my blankets and quilts twice a year.

I have animals so tons of hair on everything, so comforters have to be washed that often. I'm guilty of not making my beds everyday so blankets get hair on them too.

[IntlMom]

I do bedsheets evey other week or so.....that's mine and hubbys, the kids get done every other time...once a month or so.....GUESS I'M THE PIG! Blankets and quilts get done a few times a year - MAYBE....come to think of it, I don;t think I have EVER washed mine, and I've had a couple years.

Clothes....oh well, that's just ongoing. I do probably 5 or 6 loads a week. We use towels more than a few times, and often, the same towel gets used by all three kids a few times. We wear our jeans more than once......

Wow, I don;t sound very clean, do I? Actually, I have a VERY clean home.........just some things have different proirities than others!

[madhen]

I try to do sheets once a week, but it sometimes slips to every other week. My main source of laundry is my critters! I have a room full of birds, and towels under their cages. The towels get washed weekly. The dogs have their own blankets. Again, weekly. I'm weird with my own towels. I don't like using them more than once, so they get tossed into the dirty clothes basket after use. Probably comes out to 4-6 loads per week, depending on whether I spent the week in the office or out in the field.

I typically dry in the dryer, but I have started experimenting with air-drying just today!

[kittykatstrong]

It really depends. I think I do about maybe 3-4 loads a week. More when we were potty-training. I do dry them in the dryer. I would love to have something set up outside but no space.

[khjmom]

I do a load or two every day. That includes a load of whites, darks and then towels. Sheets are done Saturday morning with comforters being done as needed. I use towels more than once, but my boys and dh don't. As stinky as teenagers can be and my dh is a mechanic, well I just prefer washing their towels every day. I average 10 loads a week. I don't air dry as much as I prefer right now, because I hate picking all of the falling things out of my clothes and such (leaves, seeds, twigs) when I hang them outsid, and I don't have air or heat going right now in the house so it takes forever for stuff to dry inside. Once we turn on the heat, I love sitting my drying racks on top of the vents. Clothes dry so fast that way, and my house isn't too dry that way.

[3tomboys]

We are a family of 5. I say we do around 10 - 12 loads of laundry a week. I have caught my teenage dd's washing just a shirt or a pair of jeans. This has been curbed. I seperate the towels and sheets and balnkets out of the regular laundry. I do a load of towels every other day. Sheets are suppose to be done weekly, but occasionally this is skipped (depends on schedule). Blankets and comforters are done 2 times a year unless there is a need for washing ib between. The clothes are seperated darks, lights, whites and a red load. I due 2 - 3 loads a day. I only hang a load or 2 each week. I'm working on that one. If I don't get as much done during the week as I should then it is an all day event on the weekend.

[Libby]

I know my dad does one load per week but that includes his own laundry and towel. He uses warm wash, cold rinse and the dryer.

As for me - I always wash & rinse in cold water and and hang 95% of it to dry. Maybe its out of fear for my clothes shrinking on me? I only dry one load per week and thats a combination of socks, undies, jammies and towels. If one wash one group ahead of the other, they sit in a basket until I am ready to turn the dryer on.

I wash my bedsheets every 2nd or 3rd week as it is only myself in the bed and I shower before bed so my linens aren't as dirty as they could possibly be. Towels get done on this cycle as well. I am only one person. I re-use my towel a few times before tossing it into the hamper. This includes my gym showering and pool towels. I do have plenty of them so by the end of 2 weeks I have one full load.

I typically re-use towels & wear clothes numerous times unless I've been somewhere stinky - in a restaurant or cooking at home where the food smells really sticks to them, to the point where Febreeze can not help.

A neat trick, I Febreeze them and hang them out in the sun to dry off and they not only smell purdy like Febreeze but 'clean' from being hung to dry outdoors.

Then my regular washing is about 2-3 loads/wk (1) darks and work clothes, (2)casual and coloured clothes and (3)socks, undies & jammies. If I do not have enough to run a medium or large load, it gets shoved in with another category or waits until next round of washings.

So I guess I wash 3 loads twice a month and then 4 loads twice a month which works out to be about 14 loads/month - give or take a load. (so approx 168 loads/yr LOL)

I guess my money savings comes from washing in cold only, using as little detergent as possible before its not effective at cleaning, use vinegar to 'brighten' my load and to 'soften' it or dishsoap to pre-treat & remove stains vs using the brand name stuff. I split the dryer sheet in 1/2 for the one load that gets dried and I hang the rest to air dry. I only fluff them in the dryer when I'm ready to remove from rack and put them away.

[monkeywrangler71]

We are a family of five, think I do about 4 or 5 loads a week now that I've stopped cloth diapering. I change the sheets every other week and wash the blankets when they seem to need it. We reuse our towels and wear our clothes until they are dirty - except for my teenager, who drops her towels on the floor and dumps half her clean clothes right back into the dirty hamper. I only separate into light and dark - I don't care if its a sheet, towel or clothing. I wash the dark in cold, the light in warm or hot, and hang outside year round unless we have an extended period of rain.