Figuring out how to do less laundry is everyone’s dream, right? Laundry feels like my natural nemesis at this point. I’ve got three kids and a husband to wash for, as well as myself. Then when you add in hobbies, work, school, and just generally getting messy, it creates a rather large laundry pile.
I’m all about finding hacks and shortcuts in life. I can’t be doing with missing out on time-saving short cuts. If there’s an easy way to do something, then I want to know it.
Let’s face it, doing less laundry has loads of benefits.
Less laundry means you save money on your bills, don’t use as much water, and frees up more time. It has a positive effect on your energy bill and the planet. Win-win!
How to Do Less Laundry – My Tips as a Busy Mum of 3
I’ve managed do a bit less laundry since I started implementing these tips.
Do Bigger Loads
It doesn’t make sense to overload the washer, but if you can do a full load every time, then you’ll benefit from doing fewer loads.
So if you’ve only got a handful of whites to wash, wait until you’ve got a lot more to make the wash load worthwhile. Sometimes it’s unavoidable to do small load. For example you might have 5 white school shirts and no other white clothing at all. You need to wash the shirts for your child, so you have no choice but to wash a small load. In these circumstances, if your washer doesn’t have a “half load” option, run the fastest cycle possible (if they’re only lightly soiled).
The “do bigger washing loads” advice comes with the caveat that you need to check what your washer can handle. If you overload it, there’s a good chance you’ll break your washing machine. Even if it doesn’t break, there comes a point where too many clothes makes the wash inefficient.
Stain Treat Your Clothes Prior to Washing
If you’ve not properly been taught how to wash clothes by a grandma (or someone who remembers a time prior to modern washing machines) you might not have been taught about pre-wash stain removal.
I’ve noticed in recent years, most detergents get out most stains, so everyone tends to throw their clothes in the laundry in any old state. This will be fine around 80% of the time, but stubborn stains won’t always respond to a traditional wash.
My advice for dealing with stained clothes – especially stained baby clothes, is that you should stain treat them before washing them. Having to rewash something that hasn’t even been warn will increase your wash loads – so why risk it?
For anyone who prefers the chemical-free option, I’ve heard baking soda and percarbonate of soda are great places to start. If you don’t mind a few chemicals if they get the job done, I tend to use Vanish or Oxy depending on what the supermarket has on offer.
If you start regularly stain treating clothes before putting them through the washing machine, you’ll notice they come out much cleaner and your laundry loads reduce.
Get More Wear Out of Your Clothes
I know there can be a fine line between wanting to wear your clothes more so you can wash them less, and smelling for the sake of reducing laundry.
Below, I’ve listed how often you should be washing normal clothing and fabric items. This comes as a guide, so adapt it accordingly. For example, if you’ve been pretty sweaty, you need to wash whatever you were wearing. If you’ve spilled something, then that could go either way – you might be able to spot clean or a full wash might be needed.
How Often to Wash Clothes and Textiles
Underwear and socks – every day. Every time. Not negotiable.
Bras – bras are good for 2-3 days.
Trousers and sweatpants – you can get 3 or 4 wears out these before they need a wash (providing you’re wearing underwear and not sweating excessively)
Tops, shirts and T-shirts – anything that touches your arm pits needs to be washed after every wear.
Jeans – jeans causes so much controversy because experts say they are meant to be “warn-in” and some people even advise to wash them every 3-4 months! I don’t agree, I think you can probably get a week’s wear out of them, if you push it.
Bedding – wash bedding once a week. To help keep it fresh, pull it back every morning and let sunlight hit it for a few hours. Making the bed before you get into can also help it feel a bit less crusty.
Towels – this is another controversy-causer, but towels can go 2-3 days if you can hang them up to air between uses. If they’re sopping wet, then they’re just going to harbour bacteria, but if you’ve used the towel like a normal person, then airing it should dry it every day. Don’t share towels though. Yuck.
PJs – if you’re wearing underwear with them and showering regularly, PJs can go 3-4 days.
Children’s clothing – this one can be difficult to judge, because children aren’t sweaty – but they are messy. I go by the rule that if nothing has been spilt, the outfit will go another day. If it’s soiled, it gets washed.
Don’t Let Washed Loads Sit
It’s not uncommon to forget a load in the washing machine, and leave it to sit festering. The busy mum community often find this happens to them. The advice not to do it is silly because I understand no one does it on purpose.
What you need to do is implement something that’ll help remind you. I find it to be incredibly annoying if I’ve left a clean load to get musty and then I have to re-wash it. Such a waste!
If you know you’re guilty of this, set your phone alarm to go off 15 minutes after the load is due to finish. That way, you’ll get a reminder from the washing machine beeping when it’s done, and another 15 minutes later, your phone will remind you. If that isn’t sufficient, schedule an email to yourself to tell you to do it (around 20 mins after the load is due to finish) and don’t open that email to clear the notification until you’ve done the job!
Don’t Make Unnecessary Work for Yourself
Part of doing less laundry involves doing fewer loads of laundry. On the other side of the coin, you probably want to lower your workload too.
I wouldn’t waste your time ironing clothes before you put them away. They never stay smooth, and you’ll probably not tackle them immediately. What you’re really creating is a pile of pointless procrastination.
Just hang things up the minute you take them off the line or out the dryer. I don’t even fold clothes when I put them away. They get creased in drawers anyway, so I loosely roll them and put them away. If you put pressure on yourself to fold them, then you’ll get caught out by procrastination again!
Outsource Your Laundry
This one isn’t for everyone – mainly because there’s an expense to it. But if you really hate doing the laundry, then why not pay someone to do it for you?
Laundry outsourcing agencies tend do be a bit expensive. Instead, search local Facebook groups and flyers – you might find an independent laundry person with competitive pricing. Often those who advertise themselves as an “ironing lady” offer laundry too. So you can bag up your dirty loads and have them returned washed, ironed and folded. A dream come true, right?