How many loads of laundry do you do each week?

[tzolkin]

1 load every 1-2 weeks?!? Nevermind the amount of clothes you'd need to go six weeks without doing Landry, but if you're only doing a single load every 1-2 weeks you have to be wearing the same clothes multiple times?

I just don't see how towels and 7days worth of fresh clothes would fit a single load in the wash...

This thread is so interesting!

But some people don't use a bunch of towels plus seven complete outfits each week. I think that's part of the thread. That people have different habits. It's entirely possible that a single guy will only use one towel, one pair of jeans, a few shirts, underwear, and socks during the course of a week. You could easily fit double that in one load.

What a co-winky-dink!! The local news just had a feature about washing pajamas. A reporter was in a pajama/sleepwear only store in SoHo in NYC. A poll (who knows how accurate or scientifically valid it was) stated that men wash their sleepwear on average once every 17 days. Women waited longer. A dermatologist suggested wearing pj's no more than a week before washing, but she said daily washing is definitely unnecessary.

You don't have to wash pajamas very often if you sleep naked

 

[luvsJack]

Even in cold water, our jeans give off dye...which is why the darks have their own load.

Yeah, that's what I was thinking. My and dd's jeans are a really dark wash and it makes the water really dark so I can only think that all of that would get on the other clothes.

Even without the little decorations on the pockets that snag, some of our blouses are delicate enough that jeans or other rough clothing would snag on them or just be too rough for the material.

 

[LBIJim]

but, but, but wouldn't they be all dirty and sandy If we are swimming at a pool or the beach towels and suits get thrown into he washing machine as soon as we get home. I even do a load of laundry every day when we are on vacation, partly for this reason.

As for sleepwear we never wear more then once.

Shrug...I shake the beach towel around to get off the sand, then it gets folded and packed into the pocket on the back of my beach chair. Unless soda gets spilled on it, or a seagull drops a present on it, or it gets rained on, I see no reason to wash it frequently. Twice a summer is fine.

 

[chrissy92972]

Family of 6.....2 adults, 16yr old ds, and 12 yr old triplets.

I do at least 14 loads per week on average of 2 per day. We do not reuse towels so right there that is at least 49 per week. Plus swim towels and swim suits from school.

figure on 42 or more outfits per week, pants, shirts, socks, underwear, plus pj's, sheets etc.

Our water bill is on average $45 per month in NE PA.

Chrissy

 

[Andtototoo]

We have three people and we do about 3-4 loads per week. We have a large capacity washer.

Personal whites: 1/2 load

Towels: 1 1/2 loads (Includes 4 bath towels -- which we reuse daily for one week, hand towels, kitchen towels, misc washcloths)

Colors: 1 load

Sheets: 1 load

Most of the laundry is from my dh -- he wears pants multiple times between washes, but everything else is worn once and washed (and he changes his socks twice per day). My dd and I do not wash our shirts so often.

 

[TAX GUY]

You don't have to wash pajamas very often if you sleep naked

Yeah, but now the sheets need to washed more often.

 

[MomofKatie]

When it is just DH and I, we do 2 or 3 loads a week, depending on if we do sheets. Usually one full load of darks (DH has to wear black shirt and dark pants at work), one full load of colors, and a load of whites/towels every other week.

When DD is home from school, she does her own laundry- usually a load each 10 days or so. She does everything together except for whites. I usually add the few things she has to our small load.

 

[ReneeA]

I wash about a dozen loads a week. 1 load of sheets, 2 loads of towels, 5 loads of darks, 1 load of lights, one load of red/pink/purple, one load of scrubs.

My DH works in the coLD all winter with dusty, caustic material. He wears jeans, tees, a long sleeve shirt, a sweatshirt, a flannel pullover everyday so he can pull clothes off when he's inside and put them on when he's outside. It's a lot of clothing. Summer is better - just a pair of shorts & tee plus a couple pair of socks everyday for him. I work as a RN in an environment with highly contagious, antibiotic resistant diseases. My uniform is disgusting after a 12 hour shift. My work shoes stay in the garage, I keep a separate basket for my scrubs and wash them on hot by themselves once a week.

Football season is extra loads between practice gear & uniforms, that's 2 extra loads a week. Track & volleyball for DD adds an extra load a week as well. I feel like all I do is laundry!

 

[pixiewings71]

DW does about 15 loads a week for 4 people. It's completely ridiculous - would be less than half that if she combined colors better.

And before anyone suggests I help, I've been banned from the laundry room for committing the sin of making blue, green, purple, black, and brown 1 load instead of 5.


Edit: We have our own well, so no water bill.

LOL that's how I sort mine too....all dark colors in a load, jeans, sweatshirts, and heavy jackets in a load, whites and light colors in a load and then a load of gentle wash clothes. I do all towels, sheets, and blankets in their own loads as well, oh and throw rugs have their own loads as well. I don't always have sheets, blankets, and throw rugs but I always have 1-2 of darks,1 of light, and 1 of gentle wash. I usually do a couple loads of towels every couple of weeks as well. The girls do their own laundry, DD18 has a job that requires her to wear nice clothes (my job is more casual so I can wear jeans and DBF doesn't change when he gets home from work so we don't wear 2 outfits per day), she does 2 or 3 loads, DD15 has a lot of clothes and she's a runner so she also has her track clothes to wash, she usually does 2-3 per week as well. So, in an average week we do 10 loads, that doesn't count the towels, etc.

 

[pooh4evr]

family of 5 - DDs, 13, 11, & 8.-
I would say 2 loads a day easily, everyday.
Dh wears shirt and tie everyday, I wash his shirts everyday (he is a doctor and who knows what is on those things! I wish I could wash his ties! ick! ) We don't reuse towels either and wash sheets (and mattress pads weekly) rugs about every 2 weeks. DDs have at least 1 sports practice every evening (track/ cross country, soccer, basketball) so those get washed, plus their school clothes. I wash their coats about every 2 weeks too. I don't mind laundry it takes 2 minutes to throw a load in. folding is OK- now getting the girls to put their clothes away is a struggle!

 

[indimom]

Family of Four with two teens.

Like ReneeA above, my husband wears layers for work and his work clothes get very dirty, and I work in a hospital.
No way are we re-wearing our work clothes. Also, DH's work clothes are heavier and filthy, they require two loads a week. My scrubs can all go in one load.

Add workout wear which can't be re-worn, linens, and street clothes, for the four of us: we easily have 10 loads a week, probably more.

DD17 has a lot of delicate tops and skirts, and quite a few pairs of jeans in bright colors. We usually have a full load of brights and a not-so-full load of delicates each week.


I do wonder if the size of the washer/dryer might make a difference in some of these responses. I own a small, older (with the agitator) top-load washer. You just can't fit all that much in a load.

 

[Kathryn Merteuil]

Wow if I count, I would estimate it to be 5-6. I used to do it all on Saturday. Now I kind of break it up into about 3X a week. It is just the two of us live here.

 

[Jedana]

Family of Four with two teens.

Like ReneeA above, my husband wears layers for work and his work clothes get very dirty, and I work in a hospital.
No way are we re-wearing our work clothes. Also, DH's work clothes are heavier and filthy, they require two loads a week. My scrubs can all go in one load.

Add workout wear which can't be re-worn, linens, and street clothes, for the four of us: we easily have 10 loads a week, probably more.

DD17 has a lot of delicate tops and skirts, and quite a few pairs of jeans in bright colors. We usually have a full load of brights and a not-so-full load of delicates each week.


I do wonder if the size of the washer/dryer might make a difference in some of these responses. I own a small, older (with the agitator) top-load washer. You just can't fit all that much in a load.

Re the bolded:
When we went from an agitator top loader to a non agitator top loader, I had to decrease the size of the loads. The dryer (bought a month before the washer, same brand and type) can't handle more than 6 or 7 towels (heavy) without taking a long time to dry.

 

[nkereina]

We're two adults and have a new construction home in the Niagara Falls, NY area. I feel we use TONS of water but our water bill typically averages around $25 for the quarter. Only once it got to $40 for the quarter, and that was after we first moved in and ran the sprinklers constantly to grow in our yard. I guess we have cheap water - these other water bills sound high to me!

I do a load of wash about 5 days out of the week. Sometimes more. We then each shower daily and run the dishwasher sometimes daily - at least every other day.

 

[smiths02]

Probably about 4-5 a week for 5 people.
Basically 2 loads of general clothes
2 loads of workout clothes/towels
sometimes a load of whites (although we don't really have a lot of whites that need separating)

I am not good about washing sheets (except the guest room, those are always clean). Other sheets/blankets get washed when someone does something unsanitary (wets bed, gets sick, etc.) or if I remember. I feel dirty now

 

[DISNEYD14]

22 loads of laundry each week....ugh!

5 people, 6 pets

 

[DISNEYD14]

Probably about 4-5 a week for 5 people.
Basically 2 loads of general clothes
2 loads of workout clothes/towels
sometimes a load of whites (although we don't really have a lot of whites that need separating)

I am not good about washing sheets (except the guest room, those are always clean). Other sheets/blankets get washed when someone does something unsanitary (wets bed, gets sick, etc.) or if I remember. I feel dirty now

 

[aprilgail2]

We're two adults and have a new construction home in the Niagara Falls, NY area. I feel we use TONS of water but our water bill typically averages around $25 for the quarter. Only once it got to $40 for the quarter, and that was after we first moved in and ran the sprinklers constantly to grow in our yard. I guess we have cheap water - these other water bills sound high to me! I do a load of wash about 5 days out of the week. Sometimes more. We then each shower daily and run the dishwasher sometimes daily - at least every other day.

My non summer water bill averages 50 a quarter. Summer is more like 150 for that quarter between filling the pool and then watering two and a half hours every morning we use a lot of water. Plus way more towels- at least a pool towel per day added in the wash.

 

[tzolkin]

I know this is starting to go off topic, but I will comment on the water cost.

Ours is $40 per month (not quarter like others are mentioning). I'm one of the posters who mentioned only doing two loads of laundry per week. No outdoor irrigation, brief showers, family of 5 using under 2000 gallons. Those doing 15-20 loads of laundry must be using significantly more.

We just moved here last year, and have never paid for water/sewer before (had well/septic).

I didn't use any more water before when it was "free". We have always been conservative. I just find it interesting that many have mentioned what they pay for water and am curious if that affects some people's habits.

 

[nkereina]

I know this is starting to go off topic, but I will comment on the water cost.

Ours is $40 per month (not quarter like others are mentioning). I'm one of the posters who mentioned only doing two loads of laundry per week. No outdoor irrigation, brief showers, family of 5 using under 2000 gallons. Those doing 15-20 loads of laundry must be using significantly more.

We just moved here last year, and have never paid for water/sewer before (had well/septic).

I didn't use any more water before when it was "free". We have always been conservative. I just find it interesting that many have mentioned what they pay for water and am curious if that affects some people's habits.

I guess I never realized how lucky we are in Upsate NY to have such cheap water. I guess it makes up for our gas prices which are still averaging $2.75/gallon Maybe because we are on the great lakes? I'm about 5 miles from Lake Ontario and about 30 miles from Lake Erie. Anyway, we are not conscious at all of our water usage and don't bat an eye about throwing in a small load of laundry, running a small load in the dishwasher, etc. The fact that our bill rarely changes does impact us not being more aware of it.