Airing my Dirty Laundry

A recent discussion about laundry came up on an online Mom's group I participate in. One mom asked for tips on how to cut back on the amount of weekly laundry she has for her family. The first response came from a mother of 5 - she said that she gets away with only 2-3 loads of laundry per week! That's for 7 people!! Now, I find that hard to believe (although I have no reason not to trust that she's telling the truth). With our family of 4, I can easily do 2-3 loads of laundry per day, and still not be caught up! Now, of course, I am usually behind, playing catch-up. All it takes is two days in a row of not doing laundry, and all of a sudden there's Mt. Washmore. But to keep up with it all, at the very least I would need to do one load a day, and I'm not sure if that would cut it. And that still brings me to 7 loads per week!

In an effort to cut down on laundry (because really, it's a lot of work for me, and that time could be spent doing something I enjoy, such as reading for myself or reading to my kids - not to mention the price of water and electricity!), I read some follow-up comments and did some brainstorming with Chris. When I stopped and thought about what the bulk of the loads are, it comes down to kid stuff: clothes, bedding, towels, bibs, etc. I wash everything, often. Chris will wear something to the point of it smelling (which takes a while, because he has no odor), and I will re-wear outer clothing (sweatshirts and pants) as long as they don't have any stains or odors. But, with the kids clothes, I wash everything, every time. For some reason I feel like I have to, regardless of the appearance, for them to be clean. So that's where I'm going to start first: re-using bibs until they are actually dirty/gross (which may be only 1 time, or maybe it will be good for a few uses); having Cameron wear his pants and sweatshirts more than once, as long as they aren't stained (which may or may not happen, haha); having both boys wear their pajamas more than just one night, as long as it's not sweaty when they wake up. Simple things that should cut down on at least one load per week. I think we do pretty well with towels, but I got the idea from the posting, that after a few uses (which is typical for us), then to use the towel to wipe down the tub or bathroom floor before laundering. I like that idea.

I already caught myself once today, almost throwing something that for all intents and purposes, was clean. Ian wore his footy pajamas last night and was changed first thing in the morning. I almost threw them in with the laundry, but thought about it, and instead hung it up on his closet to air out (even though it didn't smell or anything). Then, tonight, I was about to change him into those pjs, when I realized that he was wearing comfy clothes and that they would be fine and warm enough to sleep in. So that's another outfit getting used twice before washing. So, baby steps, quite literally. :)

Side note: I also hope to dry more laundry outside this summer. I always try to dry blankets, comforters, bath mats, etc. on the deck if the weather is favorable. I would love to figure out how to rig a clothing line on our back deck (we don't have any trees), so I could also hang clothes. :)