How I Do Laundry For 6 People Once A Week

I hear it all the time: women who are sick of the endless cycle of laundry; tired of the piles of clothes on their couches and floors.  I have never had such piles.  And when I tell them I only do 4-5 loads total!?...I get quite the look!  A few people have asked about my laundry schedule, so I thought I would share every detail (#sorrynotsorry) of how I do laundry for 6 people (mom, dad, 4 kids) once a week.  This method has worked great for me for years!  I have never felt overwhelmed by the thought of laundry.

Some disclaimers/tips to preface:

• It is an all day process for me.  I am not doing it constantly, but I start as soon as my kids wake up, and usually end right before I get into bed at night.  To me, it's worth it to get it done in one day.  I know others who don't mind spreading it out through the week.
• I have an HE washer and dryer, so they can hold quite a bit of laundry.
• Choose a day that will work best for you.  My day is Thursday because it's my least-busy day.  There aren't many holidays on Thursdays, so I don't usually have to re-schedule.  Also, whenever we go out of town, we tend to do so on Fridays, so it's nice to get it all done the day before, so clothes are ready to pack up.
• Make sure you have enough clothes, specifically underwear and socks, to last over 7 days.  This is so you won't have to do little loads of laundry throughout the week.  My kids all have at least 10 pair of underwear, excluding the youngest who has about 20, because he was recently potty trained.  Be sure you have enough jeans, church pants, etc.  This ensures you only have to do laundry once a week!
• Putting the loads of laundry away is one of my most dreaded chores.  But, it only takes about 15 minutes per load (less for non-clothing), so if I remember that, it seems doable.

The very first thing I do Thursday morning, is make sure my kids are all dressed (so their pajamas and underwear they were wearing are in the hamper ready to go.)  I take the hamper that my 2 youngest share, and collect the clothes of ALL 4 of my children.  I take that hamper to the laundry room, and it all goes in the first load.

When that load is in the dryer, next in is all of the clothes from my husband and I (excluding delicates.)  Shirts, workout clothes, jeans, work pants, socks, etc.

As soon as the kids load is done drying, I put it back in the boys hamper (no, I don't think the hamper that was holding their soiled clothing is now spreading cooties to the newly washed clothes.  Deal.)  I immediately take the hamper up to my youngest boy's bedroom (they share.)  Here is where I sort.  I open all the drawers and closet, and put the clothes away as soon as I pull them from the hamper.  For my oldest 2, I make separate piles on the floor.  When I'm done, I take their piles and put them on their beds for them to put away.

Kids Load: Done!

When I got the kids clothes out of the dryer, I transferred mom and dad's to the dryer.  Now it is done drying.  Again, I put the clothes back in our hamper, and take it upstairs.  Don't leave it there-it will wrinkle.  Immediately, I sort.  Shirts and pants I lay nicely on the bed-this is in case I can't finish and now they won't be wrinkled.  Socks, work-out clothes, etc. are put away.  Then, I take the pile on the bed and hang it all up.  

 Mom & Dad's Load: Done!

Next, I take our delicates (which have their own hamper), and put them in the washer.

When they are in the dryer, I start my next load.  Now, this part depends on where I am in my monthly rotation.  This schedule excludes all the loads that have already been mentioned, which are done every week.

I think it is pretty self-explanatory.  I do ALL the towels in one load.  However, this does not include hand towels and washcloths which I think need to be cleaned every week.  With those small items, I just throw them in with my clothes.

Next, I put the delicates back into the hamper.  I usually wait until before bed to put these away, as I'm not as worried about them getting wrinkled.  Again, as soon as the towels/sheets are done drying, I fold them up and put them away.

All Laundry: Done!

There you have it.  Thursday night, and all the laundry is clean and put away!