What do you wash daily (clothing etc wise)

lordswood

No rules about how often things get washed in our house except that everyone has clean underwear and socks daily. Everything else gets washed when it needs it - results approx 2 dark washes, 1 white wash, 1 light wash for clothing and 1 load each of towels, bedding and teatowels. That's one load every night on economy 7 and these days at only 30 degrees. I'm doing my best to be green.

Vampgirl

Theres only the two of us, but we probably do 2 washes a week (or 4 a fortnight depending on how busy we are). We have a washer-dryer but only ever use the dryer if its something that we need urgently (very rare, maybe 6 times a year!), everything else either goes on the airer or is hung on hangers to avoid ironing as much as possible.

All underwear is changed daily, so are most tops. But trousers/skirts are re-hung and worn till they need washing. Same goes for cardigans/jumpers that aren't next to your skin. Jeans definately aren't washed weekly - its not good for the denim to be washed too frequently - so they get washed as and when needed. Towels and bedding are washed when we remember - usually after a week or two, night-wear isn't an issue We also both work from home a lot so often wear our never-seen-dead-outside-the-house things that we wear for up to a week - even these items don't smell, even after a week's wear! But I'd still never go out in them coz they look awful *lol*

We wash as much as we can at 30, but towels and bedding goes on a hot wash. We're not super-environmentally-friendly people, but we do like to do what we can. Its also about cost: we have a water meter so running the washing machine too much is going to cost us, never mind the electricity, hot water and detergents.

We definately don't smell (hubby is very sensitive about that) and after having lived in Egypt where many people DID smell we are even more careful than most people. But really, if something isn't directly next to your skin in an area where you sweat then it can last another wear or two.

sillysarah_2

My tip is to send a bin liner full of 'great big cotton things' to the launderette for a service wash (it's my treat and means the house doesn't look like a laundry) i do all the towels, bedding, tea towels flannels etc. basically all the household cotton junk, it comes back clean,dry and folded and just goes straight back into the airing cupboard, and costs less than a fiver a week.
Child has 3 school shirts and 2 jumpers/2 skirts for uniform- i wash all that at weekend, we change our beds weekly- i probably do maximum of 2 or 3 loads a week- and change my clothes daily- child changes out of uniform and into own clothes every night-these also get washed in the 2-3 loads a week.
I wouldn't have time to do anything else, and when i have the baby i shall be adding a couple of washes a week i guess with nappies and bibs and crap like that.

lil_me

£5 a week, wow, couldn't afford that or I would. Also the ones round here you wash/dry and fold your own (have to wait there) for about that price if not more than that, I remember taking a quilt and it cost me £7.

Counted last week and did 6 over the week which I suppose isn't bad considering we were at the quad tracks aswell.

rls1973

balmaiden wrote: »

I used to laugh at my Grandmother, she would never have a washing machine as they " washed holes into your clothes" Judging by the amount of washing some of you do I reckon she may well be right!!!!!!!

For goodness sake get a life, there are two of us and I do 3-4 loads a week. I do iron most things and certainly change underwear daily, but bedding every other day why??

Come and have a sniff of Oh and me we dont smell I can assure you and I have time to do allsorts of things instead of washing all day.

lol balmaiden, looking at your location i can see why you 've got better things to do than washing all day, you lucky person:D down to the beach is it ?I'm so jealous:D


well there are 4 of us and the washing machine is never off. i don't know why cos i think my standards are low unfortunately. . i only iron stuff that really really needs it to look decent, and i save it up until it 's worth the anger-inducing experience of trying to put the ironing board up.

if you fold stuff while it's still warm from the dryer it takes away the need to iron anyway, this is how i've convinced myself that a tumble dryer is enviromentally friendly

the main problem is where to put it all: there's always a clotheshorse in the bath or whatever, even though we've got a dryer, which is annoying, and the piles of folded clothes waiting to be put away seems to breed. i put it all away one minute, then i think it's had babies or something because i turn round and there's another 2 baskets full waiting for me.


currently trying to train the dd's to put away their own stuff (once i've folded it for them etc) they are quite liking it at the moment, and it counts towards earning pocket money, however the novelty will soon wear off:D when they realise it's a lifelong commitment:rotfl:

clothes/undies/teatowels/anything with food or other stains on it - daily

bathroom towels etc - weekly

anything that's been on the changing room floor of the gym or swimming - as soon as we get home it goes in the machine (because that would be other people's dirt, as opposed to our own dirt!:D )

bedding - when i remember

(bedding with accidents on it - immediately)

Ken68

Not so long ago I read on this forum about sterilising kitchen cloths in the microwave. Why couldn't this be done with laundry, small items, obviously and a dedicated microwave, free from FREECYCLE, or cheap as chips from a bootsale.
If it cooks a meal, it's gotta cook the bugs.
2 minutes in a 800W machine will cost about 1.25pence.

Zebedeee

pigpen wrote: »

Then the children eat their breakfast wearing their pj's so they don't dribble down their school clothes that are fresh on, so the pj's HAVE to be washed.. there is no way I would make them wear pj's with stale milk dribbles down them that is pure nastiness. So no it isn't ridiculous it is hygiene!

Why don't you put plastic bibs on the kids? I keep mine in their PJs for breakfast, but put bibs on them too, so the PJs last all week as no majors spills on them. The bibs just need a quick wash with the rest of the washing-up.

Tiger_greeneyes

in_the_red wrote: »

It's sad to say but there are only 3 of us in our house hold (no baby) and i do a minimum of 21 washes a week. (not including sofa covers, another story!)

If i dare take a day off from housework i end up with 8 piles of dirty washing lined up in my hall, the embrassesment of it when people arrive un announced to see it

And this will make you feel better i have even been sad enough to drive home at lunch time just to put washing in the dryer and a new load in the machine.

I would like a magic washing fairy, one that puts the washing away (to stop the jumble sale look in my bedroom), it would also be great if it ironed because i don't, with the exception of nights out, uniform and holidays.

Sorry i don't have and solution for your problem but my gran of 91yrs says we had a wash day and if it wasn't washed then it waited till next wash day.
Good for her
ok off to the washer AGAIN!!

In the red.

I'm just wondering how many times you all change your clothes every day! There's only two of us - I do two dark loads and one white load every week to two weeks - we've got loads of undies to last that long otherwise we only do half washes which is very uneconomical. On top of that, our bed gets changed weekly, and the towels are done in a big bundle weekly. If I do more than four loads a week, I begin to wonder where it all comes from!

Are you sure you can't cut down on what you wash? Even if you cut down by two thirds, you'd still be doing lots of laundry at a rate of one wash a day, but saving yourself a small fortune

Tiger_greeneyes

Ken68 wrote: »

Not so long ago I read on this forum about sterilising kitchen cloths in the microwave. Why couldn't this be done with laundry, small items, obviously and a dedicated microwave, free from FREECYCLE, or cheap as chips from a bootsale.
If it cooks a meal, it's gotta cook the bugs.
2 minutes in a 800W machine will cost about 1.25pence.

I'd be really wary of doing that Ken68 I was listening to Jeremy Vine a few weeks ago, apparently someone did it and it almost burnt his house down. From what I remember, they were saying that you had to have a specific wattage microwave, do it for the exact right amount of time and do it in exactly the right way for it to a) work properly and b) not burn your house to the ground

If anyone's going to give it a go, then make sure you look up exactly how to do it properly before you begin.

I use antibacterial washing up liquid and the dishcloths go into the wash and I've never killed anyone yet btw

Daisy_Bell

I wash once a week only. I still have a twin tub machine so I can do the delicates and whites, then return the suds to the tub to do the coloureds, towels, tea towels, etc., then still using the same sudsy water, the dark colours, jeans, etc. If there is anything really mucky, like dusters, after cleaning brass etc., they go in last. All using the same water and suds! Green or what? I sure as hell don't wash things just because they have been worn once, unless they are dirty; a spill or something, and my God, I only wash the blankets on the beds once a year! You must love work!
I know women who iron everything too! Even towels, tea towels, sheets, etc. Not me! I only iron struff that shows! I don't iron underwear either. Just underslips and stuff like that.
I always thought that when automatic washing machines came out, where you have whole cycles that have to go through wash, rinse and spin, so people had to wash different things every day, using separate water and detergent; not to mention extra energy, that it was a very wasteful way of doing the washing. With a twin tub, as I say, you can do it all at once, using the same suds and water, thus saving water, energy and using less detergent, with a very positive effect on the environment!