Judging by the comments, emails, facebook messages and DTA viewings overall you guys really loved Wednesday’s post about having Less Laundry.
Because you asked I will now address the guidelines I use for general household laundry. You might not agree. That’s ok. We’re all friends here.
I change the bed sheets at DTA manor once a week. I heard the Queen of England gets fresh sheets everyday but um let’s face it, she has staff.
The placemats and napkins also get traded out once a week. Usually on Saturday. If an issue of spilt milk arises they are of course changed out before then.
Bath towels and kitchen towels get washed twice a week unless again there is a spill, spot or they are downright dirty.
I know using a bath towel more than once creeps some people out. All I can say is that I myself am clean when I finish bathing.
Yes, my family does follow the same guidelines, but more on that later.
The dogs gets a weekly bath and I use a used bath towel to dry them off and it goes right into the wash.
I love slipcovers. I even have a Pinterest board that features nothing but slipcovers. I have several slipcovered pieces of furniture. Mr. Décor says I would slipcover him if he would let me. 🙂 As a rule the furniture slipcovers get washed about once a month. Sooner if they are dirty, later if they are not.
While I mentioned that undergarments are changed everyday, pajama’s are changed twice a week. Robes are washed about once a month. As for slippers, well truly it happens only when I think about it.
Ok, many of you mentioned that you would like to have less laundry but your kids won’t do it. If I am honest that statement makes me feel like this:
I know this next statement won’t win me any popularity awards but “Children learn what they live.” So I give you permission to take your power back. The Fashionista for a time changed her clothes like three times a day and each time the clothes went into the hamper because it was easier than hanging them back up.
After several heated arguments I got a hamper with her name on it.
Not only did she learn how to do her own laundry but surprise, the contents going into her hamper were drastically reduced. We laugh about it today and she is thankful that she acquired the useful skill.
Sweet boy at age 10 can separate and wash laundry like nobody’s business. I’ll admit that his folding skills are a bit…interesting. We are still battling working on learning how to create hospital corners on his bed.
“Fluff and fold, buddy. Soon as I make it really big, I’m going fluff and fold.” ~Kirby Keger
Laura
Linking to:
Teenaged girls are a tough one as far as laundry is concerned. I think she reuses bath towels but has several outfits a day!
As soon as a child learns their colours or even light and dark, they are old enough to start sorting their own laundry and cleaning out their pockets. Once you have washed a phone or wallet enough times, they learn! ;I
Thank you for all the lovely tips. 🙂
ps, I heard Oprah say the same thing about fresh sheets every day. How can these people even pretend to care about the environment? Shame on them!
We do shower towels once a week and PJ's once a week too! Loving this post Laura! I always love your ideas!!!!!
Laura,
I enjoyed reading your posts on laundry and happy to report we have a very similar routine. I remember when I was younger my Da would tell people that “Deborah doesn't do laundry, she just buys a new clothes when the ones she has get dirty.” I am a laundry snob. It has to be done just so and isn't finished until everything is folded/hung and put away. I know too many women that live out of the dryer.
Your Friend,
Deborah
FairfieldHouseNJ.com
One a week for sheets and towels..dogs once a month! Daughter number 4 is a laundry snob..so much so she wsa doing her own laundry at 8! Fine with me with 5 girls any help was appreciated!
chris
I am in complete agreement with you!
Sheets – once a week. Towels – once a week. All of our towels are white, so I can always toss them in with a load of whites if needed.
And I love to hang things out on the line to dry, especially in the summer.
Lisa
Because we homeschooled our children, we taught them to do their own laundry at a pretty young age. Like you said, it is amazing how they can use a towel over if they have to wash it themselves 🙂 Great post.
Jocelyn @
http://justalittlesouthernhospitality.blogspot.com/
I have a friend and when she had all of them at home..well, you can imagine the laundry at that house. One day I saw her go through the hamper, examining the pieces, some went right into the washer and some went right into the 'dryer'. She saw my shocked look and said the same thing as you did about the hamper being easier than the hanger. Anyway, the clothes stayed in the dryer long enough to De-wrinkle and where promptly folded and put in the basket. xo
Have really enjoyed your laundry post! Such a wealth of info. Hugs and blessings, Cindy
Another great post. As another reader commented, teaching my kids to do their own laundry at around age 10 was one of the best things I've ever done!
My children (all three of them!) thought that the laundry chute was where you put clothes when took them off. I emphatically stated, “I don't do laundry as a hobby!” When they were little and had 'jobs on Saturday' it was someone's assignment to sort the pile into dark, white and colors. That helped, making them do their own laundry at age 14 helped some more!
Tammy
I love to hang my sheets out on the line after they are laundered. In fact ~ that's one of the things I will be doing today!
Hugs,
Susan and Bentley
One of my daughters did the same thing with putting clean clothes in the hamper. She used 3 bath towels for every shower. Now that she is keeping house, she's a tyrant about everyone NOT creating more work for her! I should have been more strict on this issue! ~ Maureen
You are spot on with the kids! One of the first things I did when my son was about 6 or 7 was teach him how to wash and dry clothes. My hubby also does his own laundry – this was because when he did mine too, things tended to shrink because they should have been hung to dry LOL Next I taught my son how to cook – beginning with scrambled eggs and simple things. Today he can cook with the best of them! And he's about to turn 40. I firmly believe you need to give kids the ability to “live” out in the real world. You go girl!
Great post.
I do wash all bath linens every other day… I have a compromised immune system and my doc said frequent washing of bath linens is a must!
My kitchen towels (and dishcloth) get changed everyday.
I throw in the towels with a small load of clothes. I find if I do at least 1 load of laundry per day than I can keep up.
I taught my son how to do his own laundry pretty early but I do have to remind him to that the floor is not his laundry basket.
If someone is sick in my family I change the pillowcases every day until they are better…. a trick that my nurse taught me in the hospital. Causes more laundry but less germ “sharing”.
Oh my, I feel quite inadequate! But this gives me lots to think about. I've always love the feel of line dried linens, but in FL it is nearly impossible. I do line dry a good bit of clothes in my laundry room as I feel, as you do, that the dryer really reeks havoc on clothing and ages it. Just catching up with you Laura! Ann
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The pajamas is where we could drastically reduce our laundry. We all, yes ALL FIVE OF US, wear clean jammies every night. And I hate to make the girls wear theirs more when I love having a clean pair every night!
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Great post! And that's exactly what I did with my daughter. She hoarded up clothes in her room until she didn't have anything else to wear before she did laundry. But a wise woman told me, she's a teenager. Shut the door to her room and quit worrying. I made her clean up if we had company but otherwise left it alone. I was worried she might grow up to be a slob, but surprise, surprise, she's now a neat freak! lol
Your laundry schedule is almost exactly the same as mine, except for washing the dog once a week. Our dog is 90 lbs. large and not that easy to wash. My children learned to do laundry for the entire household as I believe it is more economical to wash larger loads rather than a bunch of little ones. They never got away without doing their fair share. Thanks for sharing. I admire you!
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I'm about on the same schedule as you are…though I try to do less washes if I can..I do a lot of kitchen towels is seems….too many free flats of berries? Will phone you this weekend….xxoo's from the household here~
New towel gets used with each shower. In the summer that can add up with dips in the pool and outdoor activities.
Thank goodness I have lots of towels so we don't run out.