A few months ago, I went on vacation with my husband for one week. We loved our snowy stay, but when we came back, I had to do the laundry. Let me tell you, it was epic. We had a small washer, no drier, and 11 loads of laundry to do. For some, it’s usual but not for me. But, the good news is that, with my laundry schedule, I was able to get on top of it all in only a week.
Want to learn more? I explain everything below.
The laundry schedule 101
When it comes to laundry schedule, there are two behaviors. Some do the laundry once a week, like Dana K. White, while others swear by a daily load of laundry.
Once a week
The main advantage of this solution is that you only have to think about laundry once a week. You spend a large part of your day doing it, but then, you’re good for 6 days
But this method can be difficult to apply if you don’t have a drier. Plus, our domestic washers are not made for intensive use like this one. And if you want to wear again the shirt you wore at the beginning of the week, you have to wait until the next laundry day.
A load of laundry daily
Once you create the habit of putting a load of laundry daily, it becomes part of your routine. And you’ll less likely to forget the clothes in the washer. It also works great when you don’t have lots of clothes.
But creating a habit takes time, and you’ll have washing around the house more often.
My laundry routine
When I lived alone, I did my laundry approximately weekly. I had 2 loads of laundry per week. It was doable in a day, even without drier.
Now, I live with my husband, who is a big man, our bedding is larger, and we have more bath towels. But we still don’t have a drier. So the best solution for us is to clean our clothes about every other day. I rarely separate light and dark coloreds because we have almost only dark ones. But if you have enough of both to have separate loads, I encourage you to do so to avoid the darker colors bleeding on. I also wash sweaters with a gentler cycle.
As I change the towels and the bedding on Fridays, I clean them during weekends. That way, the hamper doesn’t overflow for too long.
So, to summarize, Mondays are for half the bedding and half the towels. Tuesdays are for clothes, and on Wednesdays, I don’t use the washer. Thursdays are for clothes. Fridays are laundryless. Saturdays are for the other part of the bedding and towels, and on Sundays, I clean the clothes to have a fresh start on Monday.
And to remind me to take care of the laundry, I added it to my morning and my evening routine.
Define your own laundry schedule
First, choose between the laundry day and the daily load of laundry. The first work better if you can dedicate one whole day to the laundry and are able to dry so much washing at the same time. The second is better when you often wear the same clothes and are able to create and stick to habits.
If you prefer the second option, note for 2 weeks how many loads of each type of laundry you do:
- bedding and towels
- dark coloreds
- light coloreds
- sweaters, and other wool items
Then, choose the day you’ll do each load. As you can see above, I tend to alternate bedding and towels with clothes as the firsts are more difficult to handle by the washer.
Once you have your laundry schedule, test it for two other weeks and adapt it if needed. All you have to do next is to write it somewhere visible, so you can easily follow it!
Laundry essentials
Big brands love to sell to us many products: the detergent for black clothes, the one for other coloreds, the one that washes whiter than white, and so many sheets.
I don’t have all of these. What I consider laundry essentials are a detergent for sweaters and other wool, or wool-like items, a stain remover, and a detergent for everything else. The detergents I use are gentle for the colors but still effective. I use 2 other items: a cup to measure the soap as putting too much can make the clothes smell bad, cost more and pollute more than necessary. I also use laundry bags: the smaller ones for underwear and the bigger ones for my sweaters. Be careful not to pack them too much, or the clothes won’t be cleaned correctly.
The ADHD laundry
Since recently, I didn’t know some of my struggles were caused by ADHD. It seems that it can be the cause when I’m so overwhelmed by the different steps involved in the laundry that I can’t start it.
At this moment, I manage to wash the clothes regularly. To do so, I put the task on my to-do list, splitting it into different steps: sort the clothes, put the soap and put the washer on, then, put the clothes to dry, then fold them, and finally put them away. To avoid having to remember too many times that the laundry needs me, I try to do everything at the same time. I fold and put away the first load of laundry, then put the second to dry and schedule the third for the next day.
Dealing with the laundry is part of my morning routine, so I often remember to do it, but if you tend to forget, you can put an alarm to remind you to do the next step.
And when the hamper is as empty as possible, I give myself a pat on the back because I finished it, at least for the moment! To be honest, I even tell my husband to look a the empty hamper, and he congratulates me.
I left clothes in the washer for 2 days
It happens to everyone. You want to put in a load of laundry when you find out that the washer is already full. Oops, you left clothes in the washer for too long.
First, check that mold hasn’t grown on the clothes. If it has, put stain remover on it.
Then, rewash the laundry with the quantity of soap for dirty clothes. Finally, put an alarm to remind you to put them to dry, and not 2 days later this time!
A laundry schedule isn’t one-size-fits-all, and you’ll have to find yours. But, if you start by choosing between the laundry day and the daily load of laundry, and then, define your laundry days, you’ll soon know how to stay on top of your laundry.
As with other cleaning schedules, this is something you may not have learned when you were younger, but it’s not too late, and it will help you in your trip toward a cleaner home.
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