On Average, How many loads of laundry do you do?

[micki7337]

We are a family of 5 with 2 little Dogs. In the winter we do more laundry tha in the summer. our winter average is about 6 loads weekly summer average is about 4 weekly because of the sheer volume of clothes my children use in the winter. Lucky we have a large washer and dryer or it would be much more, speaking of this I am doing the weekly wash today so far 3 loads( 55 min wash time min) and 60-80 min dry time thats a long day of wash.

 

[tzolkin]

Why do i seem to do ~5 loads a day with just 4 people???
so at least 35 full loads a week!

It always seems crazy to me that people do this much laundry. We are a family of 5-- kids are 11, 5, and 3. I do maybe 5 loads a week in the winter, a few more in the summer (I wash sheets more often and everything is line-dried). I do not wash anything less than a full load.

My aunt is the only person I know who does this much, but her biggest issue is towels. They all use two towels (one for body, one for hair) per shower and usually shower twice per day. So that's 4 towels per person per day. It just seems like a ridiculous waste to me.

The size of the people may also affect the laundry a bit. DH and I are not large people and our kids are small. My brother and his wife are both well over 6 feet tall-- they do not fit nearly as many items into a load as we do. I might do 10 pants and 10 shirts in 2 loads, but 10 pants and 10 shirts is 5 loads for them.

We have 4 people and I do about 4-5 loads per week. Of those 5, I only use the dryer for my DHs dress clothes for about 20 minutes, the rest goes on a drying rack. So, I do a load about every other day or so. I'm really big on not running laundry more than we have to, so we'll wear jammies for a few nights before washing them. Towels get used all week. I have "comfy clothes" that I wear in the evenings (when I'm not going anywhere, they don't always match) and I'll wear them for about 4 nights. Jeans are worn 2 times, unless they actually get dirty.

This is similar to our family.

Kids will re-wear pjs a few nights (we all bathe right before bed so they are clean getting into them), we re-use our towels (so only 1 load of them per week), we will re-wear jeans/hoodies/etc if they are still clean. My DH works in an OR, so he will wear the same pair of jeans all week since he wears scrubs at work and only wears the jeans to/from work.

 

[preschoolmom]

I do not wash anything less than a full load.

Kids will re-wear pjs a few nights (we all bathe right before bed so they are clean getting into them), we re-use our towels (so only 1 load of them per week), we will re-wear jeans/hoodies/etc if they are still clean. My DH works in an OR, so he will wear the same pair of jeans all week since he wears scrubs at work and only wears the jeans to/from work.

These two sentences cover us. We're a family of five. I don't work outside the home. We all wear jeans multiple times. Sweatshirts/sweaters/hoodies are worn several times before washing. Pajamas a few nights. Bath towels are hung up and reused (except for hand towels - I go through those every day - but they aren't that big).

I do about five loads a week.

 

[kmvand1]

Why do i seem to do ~5 loads a day with just 4 people???
so at least 35 full loads a week!

You are not alone! We are a family of 4 and I do around 4 loads a day as well. My husband comes home from work, changes clothes, my son comes home from school, changes into his basketball uniform, we each take at least one shower a day, yeah, 4 to 5 loads a day is about right!

 

[mizzoumom]

I tend to stay caught up. When the assigned basket is full then its time to do that basket. I average about 2 loads a day. But like today there is not enough for a full load so it will be tomorrow before I do laundry again.

 

[mjkacmom]

I do 2 A DAY in my large front loaders, 365 days of the year! I blame it on a lot of kids, who have a lot of sports/activities, so multiple clothing changes in a day.

 

[mjkacmom]

I do 2 A DAY in my large front loaders, 365 days of the year! I blame it on a lot of kids, who have a lot of sports/activities, so multiple clothing changes in a day.

 

[Goofy'slady]

We're a family of 4; me, DH, DD11 and DD4. Each one of the girls has their own clothes hamper while my husband and I share and then there's the hall laundry where the towles and sheets have their own. But depending on the week/season there are times where I do laundry on a weekly basis and there are times where I can go as long as a week and a half to two weeks. So, with that being said I do -

Me & DH - 3 loads, 1-2weeks (1 color, 1 dark and 1 white)
DD11 - 2, 1-2weeks (1 dark and since most of her colors are light we combine the colors and whites)

DD4 - 2, 1-2weeks (we just split her hamper in half - since she's just 4 most of her clothes don't need to be seperated except for a few pieces and those I just add to one of ours)

Towles and sheets - 2 loads each week (we go thru a lot of towels and sheets)

Total 9 loads

T.

 

[Goofy'slady]

As others have mentioned we do re-wear a lot of our clothing as well. My husband wears a uniform to work and his jobs handles his work laundry. We wear jeans and jammies a few times before they end up in the washer - unless there's a stain or something gross on it. Towels get used 2-3 times before being washed, so all of that helps in cutting down how often I do laundry a week. Not to mention, we just have a lot of clothes we can go thru before someone says "mom, can you do my laundry?".

T.

 

[Tinker'n'Fun]

We are a family of 4 (2 teenagers), have school uniforms that bottoms can be re-worn, same with pj's and some outer outfits, and I still do between 35-40 loads of wash per week.

I can't even imagine only having 10 loads per week?? There is always something extra no matter what, pillowcases, pillow, blankets, jackets, etc...

I manage it by doing around 5 loads per day. My worse nightmare is when I get backed up and have around 7-10 to do in a single day... It totally wipes me out.

 

[marcyinPA]

I do laundry on Wed. and Saturdays. I usually do three loads of darks, one load of whites on both days, and a load of towels and a load of sheets on Saturdays. So, 10 loads a week? We are a family of four...

 

[deerhart]

We have about 5 loads of laundry a week at my house (my family of 4 and then my MIL brings her laundry over). So about 1 load per person per week.

Usually laundry is done when the hampers are full (1 for DH and I one for the two kids). Those hampers are usually 1.5-2 loads each and its done once a week.

We go through about 4 towels a weeks (for all of us and I use two of them) as they are hung up to dry and then tossed in the hamper at the end of each week. We have several sets of sheets for each bed so the ones taken off just get worked in when there is a smaller load.

When the kids weren't here, we did 2 loads of laundry that week.

 

[tlh0726]

OP here
WOW I could not imagine doing 4-5 loads a day every day.

We re-use our bath towels and hang them up to dry
Since we are clean when we go to bed each night only change the sheets once a week. (love the feel of line dryed sheets)
Comforters and pillows get done approx. once a month or when needed if something gets on them.
Coats and jackets whenever they need it.
We do not re-wear clothes or pj's.
Curtains get done in the spring and fall.

 

[ilovejack02]

Why do i seem to do ~5 loads a day with just 4 people???
so at least 35 full loads a week!

LOL we only have 3, plus 1 dog and 2 cats.

I seem to do at least two a day.

DS7 and I sleep in new pjs each night.. he is a sweaty sleeper and I am in menopause .. so clean pjs each night are a must lol.

We dont reuse towels , grosses me out, plus I hate the wet towels hanging over my shower curtains .. looks messy to me .

I swear I am always washing or folding something.

 

[8gr8mouseketeers]

We are a family of 8 and I do 4-6 loads per day.

 

[mrsbornkuntry]

Family of 7 here. I do more laundry during the winter than in summer because of jeans taking up more room in the washer and all of us layering, but I average about 20 loads a week, mostly darks because of 4 boys and DH. One or two loads of lights for DD, one load of whites, and two loads of sheets/towels. Plus I rotate washing comforters, I do one bedroom each week, then when they're all done I start over again.

 

[JamesMom]

Family of 4.

1 - load of large sheets (yes, everyweek. Nothing like a fresh set a sheets. I'd do them daily if I wasn't lazy,lol)
2 - loads of kids sheets (blankets & sheets - kids still have occassional 'accidents' so wash the whole kit and kaboddle)
2 - loads of towels
3 - loads of 'clothes'. Kids & mine. Don't bother to separate. When the basket is full - do a load
2 - loads of hubby's clothes. He likes his clothes washed in cold - mostly dark clothes.

So that is what - 10 loads a week? Usually 2-3 loads on Monday, linens on Tuesday, another clothes load on Wed or thur and a load or two on Sat. I leave them folded, laying out on the formal dinning table for a week (or two ...) before putting them away. I;m great about washing - slow about putting away...

Plus once a month (or two) I'll do the comforters. And in summer? Towels & suits every other a day.

 

[QVCshopper]

We have 4 people and I do about 4-5 loads per week. Of those 5, I only use the dryer for my DHs dress clothes for about 20 minutes, the rest goes on a drying rack. So, I do a load about every other day or so. I'm really big on not running laundry more than we have to, so we'll wear jammies for a few nights before washing them. Towels get used all week. I have "comfy clothes" that I wear in the evenings (when I'm not going anywhere, they don't always match) and I'll wear them for about 4 nights. Jeans are worn 2 times, unless they actually get dirty.

This is what I do as well. But, I've gotten lazy on the hanging clothes part in Dec and have been using the dryer as a treat. Have to start back up soon.

 

[neatokimmo]

I do 4 or so now that DD is out of cloth diapers.

I am anal about hanging my towels to dry after showering/bathing so we use 4-ish a week. I have like 30 towels so I put them in the hamper dry and wait for a full load. We got through a lot of washcloths and we use cloth napkins and "paper" towels.

Sheets & blankets are a full load, we co-sleep. Then I normally do one white and one dark load. I have a front loader that holds a ton and now that DD isn't as messy, she is using one outfit a day instead of like 3.

Now when DD2 arrives, I'll have two loads of cloth diapers a week plus all the stuff she decides to puke on. I'm dreading it a little lol I'm actually considering putting a second washer in my laundry area, I have two identical machines (one was in my rental) so they'll even match!

 

[delmar411]

family of 6 and I do around 30 loads per week. I have a bed wetter though so I get an extra 5-10loads of laundry from him each week.