My Once-A-Week Laundry Day

This is becoming a series of sorts I guess and you can read the previous post on My Once-A-Week 3-Hour Cleaning Marathon.

I used to do 7-14 loads of laundry a week and I'm not kidding!  I would do small, frequent loads and didn't realize how much it was costing us to use the washer/dryer everyday UNTIL I switched to doing it all in one day.  Now I have it down to 5 loads most weeks, unless I'm washing rugs, bed sheets or our comforter.  Not only do you only have to wash laundry once-a-week, but you save on electric and water costs because you are washing extra-large loads instead of several small loads daily.  It really does add up and is more efficient and takes less time this way.

I start as soon as I wake up on Monday morning by throwing a load in the wash.  I don't have to sort because it's already sorted with that great laundry unit I posted about here.  It is so handy to just grab a bag and throw it in the wash!  For towels/rags, I keep those in a tall basket with holes so it has air and won't grow mold.  I also try to air-out my rags before I put them in the basket so they aren't so wet.

Here are my main 5 loads and water temp:
  1. Whites - hot
  2. Colors - warm
  3. Delicates - cold; sometimes 2 loads
  4. Husband's Work Clothes - cold
  5. Towels & Rags - hot
Then my "as needed" loads:
  1. Rugs - I usually throw them in if there is room in the towel/rag load
  2. Shower Curtain - once a month I throw it in with the towels/rags load
  3. Bed sheets - once a month wash all the bed sheets; it is best to have extra sheets for the beds on hand to change weekly and then wash them all together once a month.
  4. Comforter - once a month wash

You may remember from my cleaning marathon post that I wash the towels/rags load at the end of my cleaning - that way my dirty rags don't just sit in the hamper.  I also fold as I unload from the dryer because I've found that if I put them in a basket, they just SIT there lol!  It really only takes 5 minutes to fold a load fresh from the dryer.


I do not dry a lot of my delicates, I hang them up on hangers on the shower rod to dry.  In the summer, you can hang them outside to dry on a clothes line but I've always hung them indoors.  I use low-heat for the other delicates and my husband's work clothes.
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