I don't even know how to respond. I just wash my clothes when the basket is over flowing or when i have no more clean underwear. It's not too complicated.

There are only two of you and you were using 21 towels/week?  And will still use 10-12?!?  The two of us use 2-4 towels/week.

We maybe do about 4-5 loads of laundry per week.  We just do laundry whenever we have enough dirty clothes for a full load instead of having a specific laundry day.  We separate everything into four baskets -- hot wash (delicates, undershirts, etc), darks, lights, and towels/sheets/blankets/rags and wash when the basket is full.

wow. Now your "My husband tells me that everything I do doesn't REALLY need to be done. He thinks I create all these chores" comment from the dividing chores post on C&O yesterday makes so much more sense... He's right.  You do.

ANyway, about your oddball items, I don't have a dog, so I can't speak to that stuff.  And I use cloth napkins only occasionally (company over, so every other month, maybe?)  Kitchen towels we probably toss in every other week. We'll use towels for a week to 10 days, and throw them in with other towels.  We also only wash THOSE every other week. 

Also, will 1 load of sheets really accomodate 4 sets?  I don't think mine would handle 8 sheets at once, plus pillow cases.  Did I misunderstand what you're doing with those?

That looks a lot better (but still excessive).

But, progress is good!

Wow.  I wash on average one load a week and I wear different clothes to work vs. at home vs. at the shelter.  So I pretty much wear three different things a day  (work or shelter, home, bedtime).  But I rewear the home clothes.

This is a big improvement and it might be better to do it in small steps than to completely change all at once.  For the oddball stuff, I would collect until you have a full load - we have lots of kitchen towels and rags so that we don't have to wash small loads each week.

Also, do you have guests each week or do you wash the guest towels weekly even if no one uses them?

To me, still pretty insane...

 

For me, I have two baskets in my bedroom.  Darks/colours go in one, whites/lights go in the other.  When they get 1/2 to 3/4 full, I do a load of wash.

 

Those baskets include bras, all my jeans, shirts, work clothes, workout clothes, bathroom towels (well, from the master bath - the spare bath/kitchen towels/rags get tossed on the laundry room floor to get added into the next appropriately coloured load).  I do about 2-3 loads a week.

 

Albeit, that is just for me.  When DH is home, he goes through three outfits a day - morning workout clothes (PT uniform), duty day outfit (ACU's), and evening wear (jeans/shorts and t-shirt).  Some of it he will wear more than one day, depending on what he did while in them.  (ie: PT uniforms never get worn twice, but the ACU's are kinda outerwear, and DH usually sits in an office for work, so they usually get worn twice or even occassionally three days...  it's DH's call on how often those need washing)

Having DH around adds in about one or two more loads per week - one load of ACU/tan/green, and sometimes a second darks/colours load.  (DH doesn't wear much in the way of light colours)  It never adds less than one more load, because I refuse to wash his ACU's with any of my clothes.  They have a bunch of velcro on them, and the velcro has torn up a couple of my shirts...

 

So, that puts us having about 3-5 loads of wash per week.  Generally, it trends toward the lower end of that range.

 

I think we just go through less clothes/sheets.  I only change the sheets once a week, and same with the towels.  (unless something warrants changing them more often, such as extra showers, a/c not working in warmer months, etc...)

13-15 loads sounds about right for a family of 5 or more. How many people are in your family?

Can running clothes be washed in color loads?

Kitchen towels, cloth napkins, placemats: throw in with towels or sheets or keep until you have enough for a big load. 

Dog stuff, I'd wash alone.

Cleaning rags--if they've been used in the bathroom, I'd wash them with dog stuff. For other uses, I'd wash with towels.

I missed this OP and yet I still think that you are insane.

Sort your running clothes into whites/lights or darks. They don't need their own load; your sweat that was on your running clothes will not spread to your other clothes.

Sort your undies, bras, and nice shirts into whites/lights or darks. Put your undies and bras in a mesh bag if you are worried about them.

If you wear sweaters often, save them for a load of their own once a month or so. If not, suck it up and put them in with your whites/lights or darks. I've always done the latter and had no issues.

Wash your kitchen towels, cloth napkins, and placemats with your whites/lights or darks.

I normally throw my cleaning rags in with my normal laundry too, but you could throw yours in with your doggie's stuff. I honestly have no clue how often doggy items need washed.

6 is still alot for 2 people.
H does a load on Tuesdays. I do a load on Saturdays/Sundays. Repeat for 3 weeks. H does a load on Tuesdays. I do a load on Saturdays/Sundays. We wash sheets on Thursday. Repeat cycle.

About the towel issue - DH and I use one large bath sheet each per week and one hand towel each per week.  We hang our towels on the back of the bathroom door with hooks.  We live in a fairly dry climate, so that might make a difference for you, but 10-12 towels just for the two of you still seems a lot per week.

kpow:

That looks a lot better (but still excessive).

But, progress is good!

Really? Still?

I cut it down from 15 loads to 4-5. And I thought I was doing good.LOL

kimi_brighteyes:

This is a big improvement and it might be better to do it in small steps than to completely change all at once.  For the oddball stuff, I would collect until you have a full load - we have lots of kitchen towels and rags so that we don't have to wash small loads each week.

Also, do you have guests each week or do you wash the guest towels weekly even if no one uses them?

Oh no. I take a shower in the guest bathroom couple of times a week, when I need to leave before my husband does.

I have about 25 white towels in the master bath and 5 black ones in the guest bath.

We have 5 standard loads that get washed every week - dark colors, medium colors, light colors, towels, whites.  

Some weeks I have a non-bleached whites load (t-shirts, etc.) and a jeans load, and every other week I have a load of sheets (2 sets).  I agree with the PPs that 4 sets of sheets probably won't fit in one load.  

I think we use 4 - 6 bath towels a week at most.  If you're reusing them, how would you go through 10 - 12?  How were you going through 21?  Then we usually have 5 - 6 hand towels in that load.

Dog blankets and towels get their own load, and I do it maybe every 3 weeks.  

Kitchen towels and cleaning rags are white, and go in with bleached whites.  

We don't use cloth napkins and placemats enough to have a normal load assignment. When we do use them, I just put them into whatever color load they go with best.  

I keep the odd ball stuff in a basket on top of the washer, as it is full, or if I have a smaller load I wash it.  There does not have to be a set schedule.  I still can't wrap my brain around changing the sheets that often. 

mrsbooboo:

kimi_brighteyes:

This is a big improvement and it might be better to do it in small steps than to completely change all at once.  For the oddball stuff, I would collect until you have a full load - we have lots of kitchen towels and rags so that we don't have to wash small loads each week.

Also, do you have guests each week or do you wash the guest towels weekly even if no one uses them?

Oh no. I take a shower in the guest bathroom couple of times a week, when I need to leave before my husband does.

I have about 25 white towels in the master bath and 5 black ones in the guest bath.

So if you have 1 towel in the guest bathroom + 1 towel in the master bathroom + 1 towel for your H + 2 extra if you which after ~3 uses that would = 5 towels. I can't imagine the 2 of us ever needing 10-12 towels in a week.

It's good progress but I'm a little intrigued that you change your sheets twice a week.

Maybe we're just dirty but I wouldn't change sheets more than once a week, unless something really grim happened.

I do a load every other day when there is enough to fill a load. WE sure don't use 10-12 towels a week for two of us. I dry myself with a towel and then hang it back up on the towel rail to dry. Again, maybe I'm just a dirty slob, but I figure it's only wiped off clean water, so it's damp, not dirty.

Anyhow...you've made good progress. Enjoy your rum and coke. 

cjeanette:

I keep the odd ball stuff in a basket on top of the washer, as it is full, or if I have a smaller load I wash it.  There does not have to be a set schedule.  I still can't wrap my brain around changing the sheets that often. 

OK, I get that some people don't like the actual process of changing the sheets and making of the bed, but don't you just love the way clean sheets feel the first day (sometimes the 2nd day too)?

Still pretty insane, sorry.  This blows my mind.  But you're welcome to come stay with me anytime!  

kris216

We got to 21 towels by using 2 per day (me)+1 for Mike. That's 21.

We'll see how the towel warmer works. I might just grab a new one every other day...

I missed your first post.  Holy crap.  I cannot imagine.

I think your new plan is definitely progress.  It's still excessive, but baby steps are still progress.

I think that you're really over thinking laundry.  In college I would do 2 loads -- lights and darks.  Lights were anything that could get washed on warm, darks were anything that needed to be washed in cold water.  Sheets, towels, etc. just got thrown in with whichever load they matched.  I divide things up a bit more now, but I still follow that basic principle.

Why are your running clothes separate?  Just throw them in with the load that they match (white or color). 

Do you actually wash your delicates on the delicate cycle?  If so, then I think it's fine to do them separately from everything else.  But why does that have to be done every week?  I wash all of my underwear on the delicate cycle, but I only wash it every 2 and a half weeks or so.  I just wait until I'm nearly out of underwear.

As for all of your "extras" -- just throw them in with whatever load they match (whites or colors).  They won't contaminate everything else, unless your cleaning rags have bleach on them or something.

I think that your towel and sheet usage is insane.  But, really, sheets and towels are easy laundry because the folding is so easy, so those loads probably don't take up as much of your time.

I'm scared to ask, but do you also iron practically everything?  Because that would add serious time to how long it takes to do laundry!

mrsbooboo:

kris216

We got to 21 towels by using 2 per day (me)+1 for Mike. That's 21.

We'll see how the towel warmer works. I might just grab a new one every other day...

If you shower twice a day (hence the two towels), the towel warmer will help you cut that drastically.   I think using one towel for 2 days (4 showers) is reasonable.

This makes my head hurt!

I do laundry every 7-10 days

1. whites (sheets go in here)
2. everything colored that can go into dryer
3. everything colored that has to be hung dry

and, sometimes, a separate load of towels if they don't fit in with something else, and sometimes a separate load of reds (DH has to wear a company polo and has a lot of red polos)

kitchen towels and dishcloths get thrown in with #1 or #2. Dog stuff gets washed separately but not that often, maybe once/month?

 

KateLouise:

It's good progress but I'm a little intrigued that you change your sheets twice a week.

Maybe we're just dirty but I wouldn't change sheets more than once a week, unless something really grim happened.

I do a load every other day when there is enough to fill a load. WE sure don't use 10-12 towels a week for two of us. I dry myself with a towel and then hang it back up on the towel rail to dry. Again, maybe I'm just a dirty slob, but I figure it's only wiped off clean water, so it's damp, not dirty.

Anyhow...you've made good progress. Enjoy your rum and coke. 

Can you give me an example of this "really grim" scenario you're speaking of?LOL

mrsbooboo:

cjeanette:

I keep the odd ball stuff in a basket on top of the washer, as it is full, or if I have a smaller load I wash it.  There does not have to be a set schedule.  I still can't wrap my brain around changing the sheets that often. 

OK, I get that some people don't like the actual process of changing the sheets and making of the bed, but don't you just love the way clean sheets feel the first day (sometimes the 2nd day too)?

ha!  I get the same feeling from crawling into a bed that is made.  I used to use a linen spray from Bath and Body to get that "fresh" feeling, it was lavender, loved it.  Just thinking about it makes me wonder if they still sell it....

DarcyLongfellow

Yeah...I would rather not discuss the ironing. That's a whole another bag of crazy

mrsbooboo:

kpow:

That looks a lot better (but still excessive).

But, progress is good!

Really? Still?

I cut it down from 15 loads to 4-5. And I thought I was doing good.LOL

i do 5-6 loads a week. i think you are making a huge improvement.

come on guys, give her some credit.

and kudos for just chillin' tonight. you definitely deserve it.

mrsbooboo:

DarcyLongfellow

Yeah...I would rather not discuss the ironing. That's a whole another bag of crazy

My grandma was insane about ironing.  She even ironed her underwear and socks.  Her drawers were sooo neat.  She found it relaxing.  I found her crazy :-)

I have not had ironed clothes since she died.  I bought a steamer for emergencies :-)

mrsbooboo:

DarcyLongfellow

Yeah...I would rather not discuss the ironing. That's a whole another bag of crazy

I figured as much.  More power to ya.

I don't iron.  Anything.  Ever.  If it has to be ironed, it gets dry cleaned.

cjeanette:

mrsbooboo:

DarcyLongfellow

Yeah...I would rather not discuss the ironing. That's a whole another bag of crazy

My grandma was insane about ironing.  She even ironed her underwear and socks.  Her drawers were sooo neat.  She found it relaxing.  I found her crazy :-)

I have not had ironed clothes since she died.  I bought a steamer for emergencies :-)

Yup...I used to iron underwear too. Sheets, towels, socks...everything. I don't do it anymore though. I swear.LOL