Keeping on top of the washing!

Slinky

I use my tumble drier for towels at this time of year otherwise they simply wont dry properly before going musty.

I have a condensing drier which empties into a container in the machine rather than being connected to the drain.

I use the water from the drier to flush a toilet, so at least I'm doing something to offset the cost of running it, even if ever so slightly!

marisco_2

Wash, dry then iron as you go. Isn't that what big cupboards are for, storing a mountain of clothes to be ironed?

I hate ironing so much I dont even bother when we go on holiday. I just pack and take a travel iron, then do it on a day to day basis. My reasoning is that it will all get creased and messed up in the case anyway.

I cant think of anything more boring or tedious than standing by an ironing board for an hour or two and clearing a massive load.

embob74

Washing - the bane of my life!! We have 2 adults, a messy teen and 2 LO's. I wash every day usually twice. We do have a tumble drier but don't use it that often as it tends to shrink clothes. I use an airer and hang tops above the heaters so they dry really quickly.
I would love not to have a wash pile but it's an impossibility!!
I do like the launderette driers. They dry stuff in minutes and the launderette lady is always telling me they don't shrink clothes as much due to them being gas powered.
A few loads of washing and a stop off at the launderette and fold as it's dried - job done :-)
Of course then there's the ironing pile........

KxMx

I always wash towels, sheets and clothes together, even then it's a case of 2-3 towels and 2-3 sheets per week ish, not enough to make up a whole load so it gets done with the clothes.

I would look at how often you are washing things and why.

Uniforms I can understand need regular washing, but if you're wearing those then surely you don't get through many clothes on top?

Mum works full time without a uniform and only needs to do 1-2 loads per weekend.

Ironing is done only if something is badly creased and is going to be on show. If it can go on a hanger for a few days for the wrinkles to drop out up it goes.

If it's dirty or smells then wash by all means, but otherwise it doesn't need to be.

System

Living alone if i waited to let the washing build up enough to split it into darks, coloureds etc I'd be waiting forever, so i just chuck it all in with a colour catcher and then tumble dry it. And i don't iron anything (except occasionally shirts. I'm the worst woman ever...

YORKSHIRELASS

Before I found this website I used to do more washing than I do now. We all have our own towels so these dont have to be washed after every use. Similarly clothes dont have to be washed after every wear - and your clothes last longer too.

I hate having washing hanging about on the airer but sometimes in winter its inevitable. I use the tumble dryer for finishing things off and rarely dry anything from wet. Mind you I am lucky because we have a woodburning stove so the airer goes in front of that before bed then the washing gets 15 minutes in the dryer in the morning.

If the weather is bad in winter I might leave sheets two weeks then you can usually find a day when you can at least get them outside for a bit.

mrcow

Seriously - get a tumble dryer.

All yourproblems will be solved. Mine dries a full load to cuddle-soft in 60-90 minutes and it's folded and away in the cupboards before you know it.

Life is too short.

zaxdog

I really don't like tumble driers but I'm lucky enough to have an open fire so just dry in front of that in the winter (with the added advantage of a back boiler so loads of hot water for baths) and outside in the summer :j

pulliptears

When the kids were small I refused to have a tumble drier, always said I didn't need one. Then about 5 years ago I rented a holiday home for a week which had a drier. On the friday evening before we came home I washed, dried and packed everything we'd bought with us. It was a revelation.

I'd bought a dryer within days of getting home and I wouldn't be without it now.

I can wash, dry and put away on a Saturday morning within 2 hours. I have very little ironing because when things come out of a tumble dryer they are reasonably crease free so my ironing pile now consists mainly of OH's 5 work shirts a week.
I've got no damp washing hanging around the house on radiators and airers and I've got a lot more time now than I had before. Something thats important as OH works long hours in the week.

j.e.j.

Slinky wrote: »

I use the water from the drier to flush a toilet, so at least I'm doing something to offset the cost of running it, even if ever so slightly!

Tumble-drier water is great for watering plants, and you can also put it in your iron, I think.

I feel a bit guilty using the tumble drier, wondering what the leccy bill's going to be like when it comes, but honestly at this time of year it's hard to do without it, especially for towels and bedding.

OP if you've got room for one I'd suggest getting a condenser dryer, too. I know not everything can be tumble-dried but even if you just do the bedding and towels it'll ease the stress of having to look at laundry hanging up around the house 24/7