How do you manage your clothes and the amount of laundry you do?
February 27, 2024 5:58 PM Subscribe
I always have too much laundry to do because I don't have my own washer/dryer and it's a PITA to get dressed and get it all going in my building's little laundry room even when I really need to. Can you help me develop a tentative strategy to address this issue based on some of the paint points described within?
Things contributing to this problem in no particular order:
1. I have a lot of clothes, towels, and bedding.
2. My nicer clothes are hang-to-dry. This is annoying.
3. Outside clothes like jeans and sweatshirts start to feel/get iffy after like... 5 wears... so I cycle through them quickly.
4. Outside clothes that have come into contact with a doctor's office or theme park or somewhere more likely to be germ-y get immediately sent to the laundry basket after they're worn.
5. I do not know how to disinfect clothes to make them last longer without washing them or if that's even okay to do.
6. Folding clean clothes is tedious and hurts my wrists.
7. I have a lot of closet space.
8. I do not like seeing a full laundry basket so I hide them and forget them until I am out of clothes.
9. I do like sorting clothes, though, but that means I have like... 5 baskets total for one person, which sit, and sit, and sit, until I am wearing a shirt three sizes too small and shorts that are really rather indecent.
10. My laundry room is down the hall so doing laundry is a production that requires attention at regular intervals.
11. I'd like to start looking nicer and more professional but my laundry problem makes me hesitate.
Is it better to have fewer things? Extra towels and bedding feel sort of essential, but maybe not so much with clothes. Is this the point of capsule wardrobes? How do people even maintain capsule wardrobes? What is your laundry strategy?
Things contributing to this problem in no particular order:
1. I have a lot of clothes, towels, and bedding.
2. My nicer clothes are hang-to-dry. This is annoying.
3. Outside clothes like jeans and sweatshirts start to feel/get iffy after like... 5 wears... so I cycle through them quickly.
4. Outside clothes that have come into contact with a doctor's office or theme park or somewhere more likely to be germ-y get immediately sent to the laundry basket after they're worn.
5. I do not know how to disinfect clothes to make them last longer without washing them or if that's even okay to do.
6. Folding clean clothes is tedious and hurts my wrists.
7. I have a lot of closet space.
8. I do not like seeing a full laundry basket so I hide them and forget them until I am out of clothes.
9. I do like sorting clothes, though, but that means I have like... 5 baskets total for one person, which sit, and sit, and sit, until I am wearing a shirt three sizes too small and shorts that are really rather indecent.
10. My laundry room is down the hall so doing laundry is a production that requires attention at regular intervals.
11. I'd like to start looking nicer and more professional but my laundry problem makes me hesitate.
Is it better to have fewer things? Extra towels and bedding feel sort of essential, but maybe not so much with clothes. Is this the point of capsule wardrobes? How do people even maintain capsule wardrobes? What is your laundry strategy?
We just accept a weekly laundry day, where we carry our laundry down to the basement and just deal with it. In our case it's Tuesday nights, and we wash all the clothes and kitchen towels for the week + either sheets or towels.
We do not separate lights or darks or athletic clothes, and but all hang dry clothes go in a big mesh bag so they are easy to fish out. Dry clean clothes are dealt with on a bi-monthly cadence.
Keeping it to a week's worth of laundry makes the loads manageable, and having it on a Tuesday means it gets done. Whoever gets home first starts laundry, and then that person either goes for a walk/run/does errands until it's time to flip laundry. We sometimes coordinate getting home/flipping laundry/bringing it upstairs, but often it's just one person doing it. We do both help with the big sort, and each of us is responsible for putting our own stuff away. To manage timing we check on laundry every hour (1hour to wash, 1 hour to dry), so the chore is done in 2hours.
I will admit that when I lived alone and didn't have laundry in my building I dropped it for for wash and fold. We also have NYC tiny closets which severely limit our wardrobes and that helps a lot.
posted by larthegreat at 6:21 PM on February 27 [3 favorites]
We do not separate lights or darks or athletic clothes, and but all hang dry clothes go in a big mesh bag so they are easy to fish out. Dry clean clothes are dealt with on a bi-monthly cadence.
Keeping it to a week's worth of laundry makes the loads manageable, and having it on a Tuesday means it gets done. Whoever gets home first starts laundry, and then that person either goes for a walk/run/does errands until it's time to flip laundry. We sometimes coordinate getting home/flipping laundry/bringing it upstairs, but often it's just one person doing it. We do both help with the big sort, and each of us is responsible for putting our own stuff away. To manage timing we check on laundry every hour (1hour to wash, 1 hour to dry), so the chore is done in 2hours.
I will admit that when I lived alone and didn't have laundry in my building I dropped it for for wash and fold. We also have NYC tiny closets which severely limit our wardrobes and that helps a lot.
posted by larthegreat at 6:21 PM on February 27 [3 favorites]
This does not solve all of your issues, but it certainly helps (note: I am male, expectations in this regard vary) -- I have a uniform.
...by which I mean a single style of pants, a single style of shirt (various colors, but all otherwise identical), a single style of socks, and then a single type of underwear. Every single item is "travel-wear" (ie., not expecting careful handling, not expecting hang-to-dry, etc.)
Now the outfit I might wear on any given day is irrelevant. Ten pairs of pants. Fifteen pairs of socks. Fifteen pairs of underwear. Twenty shirts. That's all. The only reason to do laundry more than once a week is some kind of embarrassing disaster. Towels and bedding get done every two weeks, except for pillowcases which just get added to the weekly pile.
Nothing is folded. All shirts are hung. All pants are hung. Underwear is thrown in a drawer unsorted. Socks are tossed, unmatched, in a drawer (because all socks are identical).
(note: I do not care about germs in the way you seem to, but even so simply upping my numbers should suffice. Once I lose enough of any given item to damage, I discard/donate all remaining exemplars and replace them as a group.)
posted by aramaic at 6:23 PM on February 27
...by which I mean a single style of pants, a single style of shirt (various colors, but all otherwise identical), a single style of socks, and then a single type of underwear. Every single item is "travel-wear" (ie., not expecting careful handling, not expecting hang-to-dry, etc.)
Now the outfit I might wear on any given day is irrelevant. Ten pairs of pants. Fifteen pairs of socks. Fifteen pairs of underwear. Twenty shirts. That's all. The only reason to do laundry more than once a week is some kind of embarrassing disaster. Towels and bedding get done every two weeks, except for pillowcases which just get added to the weekly pile.
Nothing is folded. All shirts are hung. All pants are hung. Underwear is thrown in a drawer unsorted. Socks are tossed, unmatched, in a drawer (because all socks are identical).
(note: I do not care about germs in the way you seem to, but even so simply upping my numbers should suffice. Once I lose enough of any given item to damage, I discard/donate all remaining exemplars and replace them as a group.)
posted by aramaic at 6:23 PM on February 27
Your laundry room is on the same floor? Get a rolling laundry cart with at least 3 separate hampers. Your cart should also include a hanging rod. This Target cart has a hanging rod, but doesn't have a top shelf, which I find useful. Take a bunch of hangers and keep them hanging on the rod.
Use this cart instead of laundry baskets. Sort your dirty laundry into the hampers as you go. Put the line-dry clothes into different hampers than the machine-dryable clothes.
When you have at least one hamper full of line-dry clothes, roll your cart to the laundry room and run that load. When the washer is done, take the clothes out and hang them directly on the rod with your hangers. Roll the cart back to your apartment and just let it sit. Once all the clothes are dry, hang them in your closet. You don't even have to take them off the hangers. Take some empty hangers from your closet and hang them on the cart rod to replace the ones you took off.
Any time your hanging rod is not being used for drying, you can take your not-quite-dirty clothes and hang them on it. This will allow them to stay fresher for re-wearing.
posted by expialidocious at 6:37 PM on February 27 [19 favorites]
Use this cart instead of laundry baskets. Sort your dirty laundry into the hampers as you go. Put the line-dry clothes into different hampers than the machine-dryable clothes.
When you have at least one hamper full of line-dry clothes, roll your cart to the laundry room and run that load. When the washer is done, take the clothes out and hang them directly on the rod with your hangers. Roll the cart back to your apartment and just let it sit. Once all the clothes are dry, hang them in your closet. You don't even have to take them off the hangers. Take some empty hangers from your closet and hang them on the cart rod to replace the ones you took off.
Any time your hanging rod is not being used for drying, you can take your not-quite-dirty clothes and hang them on it. This will allow them to stay fresher for re-wearing.
posted by expialidocious at 6:37 PM on February 27 [19 favorites]
I manage this by wearing clothes that don't need to be washed too frequently, mostly Merino Wool. This goes for pants, t-shirts, button down shirts. I don't like socks so rarely wear them, but the ones I have are also Merino Wool. Underwear is MeUndies and they hang dry with everything else. These clothes are good year round, with the exception that in summer I swap pants for shorts.
With the exception of bedsheets, I hang dry everything I own and do it on cedar hangers that go right into a spacey closet so there's plenty of air to circulate between them and once I've hung them to dry, essentially they're also put away. Exception would be the underwear, which I gather into an unfolded pile and put in a drawer.
Cotton towels are a pain to do in a dryer so I use linen towels. Not only do I like the feel better but they hang dry. Outlier is my preferred brand.
Basically, I do laundry once per week. Everything I wear in that week goes into one delicate load which takes 28 minutes. I then hang dry them. When I am done hanging everything (about 15 or 20 minutes), I return to the laundry room and fetch my bedsheets from the dryer. Whole thing takes about 50 minutes during which I'm free to do other things.
posted by dobbs at 6:44 PM on February 27 [1 favorite]
With the exception of bedsheets, I hang dry everything I own and do it on cedar hangers that go right into a spacey closet so there's plenty of air to circulate between them and once I've hung them to dry, essentially they're also put away. Exception would be the underwear, which I gather into an unfolded pile and put in a drawer.
Cotton towels are a pain to do in a dryer so I use linen towels. Not only do I like the feel better but they hang dry. Outlier is my preferred brand.
Basically, I do laundry once per week. Everything I wear in that week goes into one delicate load which takes 28 minutes. I then hang dry them. When I am done hanging everything (about 15 or 20 minutes), I return to the laundry room and fetch my bedsheets from the dryer. Whole thing takes about 50 minutes during which I'm free to do other things.
posted by dobbs at 6:44 PM on February 27 [1 favorite]
- Postpone laundering, defunk clothes with DIY Vodka Spray, "to kill bacteria and eliminate unwanted odors. Vodka is a natural odor absorber and dries quickly without leaving any residue or stains".
- Postpone laundering with a clothes steamer.
- Countertop portable washer, since the clothes you'd like to wear more are hang-dry; put a drying rack on the back of a door or in the bathtub.
posted by Iris Gambol at 6:46 PM on February 27 [4 favorites]
- Postpone laundering with a clothes steamer.
- Countertop portable washer, since the clothes you'd like to wear more are hang-dry; put a drying rack on the back of a door or in the bathtub.
posted by Iris Gambol at 6:46 PM on February 27 [4 favorites]
When I lived in an apartment with communal laundry I got a "portable" washing machine that screwed into my sink and drained into my tub. I used the machine itself as a hamper and ran a load whenever it got full. Hung everything to dry.
Did this for a decade and it was the best life level up choice I could make for myself at the time, I highly recommend it. It was, for me, absolutely worth the cost, loss of bathroom space, and whatever else someone might say against that kind of setup. 100%, would not hesitate to do it again if I'm ever back in a communal laundry situation.
posted by phunniemee at 6:48 PM on February 27 [6 favorites]
Did this for a decade and it was the best life level up choice I could make for myself at the time, I highly recommend it. It was, for me, absolutely worth the cost, loss of bathroom space, and whatever else someone might say against that kind of setup. 100%, would not hesitate to do it again if I'm ever back in a communal laundry situation.
posted by phunniemee at 6:48 PM on February 27 [6 favorites]
My two tips are 1. Slightly worn/not quite dirty clothes get hung up on command hooks on the wall. Doesn’t look the greatest, but is a function approach that feels better than “the chair.” 2. Wash everything that needs to air dry in the same load as your last wash load. That way you can take the clothes from the dryer out at the same time and bring them all back at once
posted by raccoon409 at 7:11 PM on February 27
posted by raccoon409 at 7:11 PM on February 27
Is this a problem you would be able and willing to solve by throwing money at it? How much would a laundry service cost- the type where you drop off clothes/linens and they wash, dry, and fold for you? I think they are fairly common in large cities but haven't looked into it in several years.
posted by emd3737 at 7:17 PM on February 27 [5 favorites]
posted by emd3737 at 7:17 PM on February 27 [5 favorites]
I don't think you need laundry tips so much as you need procrastination help. When I had to go to a laundromat, I made it work by scheduling it on my calendar. Your psychologically will vary, but I suggest focusing on that problem rather than trying to solve it by imagining Better Ways. I recommend starting with one load per week, see how that works, and adjust from there.
posted by metasarah at 7:25 PM on February 27 [9 favorites]
posted by metasarah at 7:25 PM on February 27 [9 favorites]
I've just never owned a lot of clothes. I could probably push it to two weeks with some stretching, but mostly I need to do laundry weekly. So it's never more than a large bin, and never takes all that long to deal with. I have my own laundry now so things are easier, but when I was using the laundry in the basement of the apartment building, having just a couple of loads made it relatively painless (as much as laundry can be painless).
posted by Dip Flash at 7:26 PM on February 27
posted by Dip Flash at 7:26 PM on February 27
I feel like I'm missing something, like that you have a physical disability or similar, because, from my NYC renter's perspective, laundry room on the same floor means that doing a load or two weekly should be a piece of cake, and that sounds like more than enough to meet your needs. Stop waiting til you have ten loads to do and it becomes a whole big Thing. This will probably also lead to your recognizing that you have a preferred subset of clothing that are always getting worn and thus washed, which will help you retire or at least store outliers (including those shirts three sizes too small!) and save space in your brain.
There is little need to separate clothes these days, except (if you're not hand-washing them) you might want to bag up your lingerie. If you put all "hang dry" (see below) clothes in lingerie bags, then it will be much easier to separate them on the way out of the washer.
I believe you should be laying delicate items flat to dry rather than hanging them, which generally leads to distortion of shape over time, but either way, there are many folding shelves/hook systems you can hang off the back of a closet door to give those items space to hang/lie, and then fold back up when you're done. I have one something like this, except it's three shelves. When you only have three to five items to dry manually instead of fifteen, it's a lot less overwhelming.
The foundation of looking professional is not being wrinkled, and for woven items, that requires ironing, or at least a good steaming. You can probably get five days out of two work shirts if you iron them on wash day and then steam and hang after each wearing.
posted by praemunire at 7:26 PM on February 27 [8 favorites]
There is little need to separate clothes these days, except (if you're not hand-washing them) you might want to bag up your lingerie. If you put all "hang dry" (see below) clothes in lingerie bags, then it will be much easier to separate them on the way out of the washer.
I believe you should be laying delicate items flat to dry rather than hanging them, which generally leads to distortion of shape over time, but either way, there are many folding shelves/hook systems you can hang off the back of a closet door to give those items space to hang/lie, and then fold back up when you're done. I have one something like this, except it's three shelves. When you only have three to five items to dry manually instead of fifteen, it's a lot less overwhelming.
The foundation of looking professional is not being wrinkled, and for woven items, that requires ironing, or at least a good steaming. You can probably get five days out of two work shirts if you iron them on wash day and then steam and hang after each wearing.
posted by praemunire at 7:26 PM on February 27 [8 favorites]
My steps:
Plan A:
Step 1: Get rid of any clothes that are "shirt three sizes too small and shorts that are really rather indecent" or hide them from yourself by putting them in a place not easily accessible to you, or in a special place for "really rather indecent clothes intentionally worn for fun times."
Step 2: Hang everything except underwear and socks. Get an extra pole in your bath, or someplace in your apartment outside of your closet, and just hang the hang-to-dry clothes immediately, then transfer them to your closet when they are dry. The key is to have a designated place to hang them in your apartment where they will dry timely, and not be in your way. It helps to put a fan/on near them to speed the process of getting them ready to go to your closet.
Step 3: Many items of clothing that are dried fully in the dryer benefit from being tumble dried for ten minutes, then taken out and hang dried for the rest of the drying necessary. (Maybe not socks and underwear, and there are some other items that don't turn out right unless they are tumble dried to complete hot dry.) Do your socks and underwear first. Put them in the dryer. Second load, do things that can be partly dried then hung. Put some in with the socks and underwear for ten minutes, take them out and hang them. Helps to have a little rolling cart with a hanging rod. Keep doing this until all your part-hang-to dry-items are done, and your socks and underwear loads are done.
Step 4: Last load is the special stuff that doesn't go in the dryer at all. By the time they are done, everything else will be out and dry, or hung to dry. Hang these things in the chosen place in your apartment. Fan. Move to closet when dry. No folding required, except matching up socks and doing as you wish with underwear.
Step 5: Have a designated day for laundry. It helps if there are multiple washers and dryers in your laundry room, and you can designate a day and time when they are relatively unused. With a lot of closet space, it helps if the rolling laundry cart has two or three baskets, a rod on top for hanging, and fits inside your closet like another closet rod. Usually you can find one that sits just under the current coset rod and is less than 24" deep, so it is inoffensive, unlike laundry baskets on the floor, which bug me like they bug you.
Alternative plan B I used that failed:
Step 1: Find a service to wash and fold. Ruined some clothes, lost some clothes, failed to deliver on time so I was left occasionally naked, and left all clothes smelling like highly scented laundry detergent and fabric softener, which causes me migraines and rashes, despite my providing the unscented unchemicalized laundry detergent they should go.
Step 2: Find a different service to wash and fold. Same basic result. Also, required delivering and picking up by me which was more onerous than just washing the clothes myself in the communal laundry room.
Step 3. Find yet another wash and fold. Failures of step 1 and 2 of this plan, plus 3rd failure of being very overpriced.
Alternative plan C that worked:
Step 1: Purchase portable washing machine. Hook up to shower with a diverter. (Silk Lux from Laundry Alternative, no longer available and they don't have a good option now.) Some things, like t-shirts, still need to be tumbled to not come out looking wrinkled. (Ironing is not going to happen.)
Step 2: Purchase portable dryer. Magic Chef from Home Depot. 110 outlet, 24" wide. Dry things for ten minutes as in Plan A above, hang everything then as in Plan A, use fan as in Plan A, transfer to tiny closet when dry. Slight failure on this one: make sure the items are totally dry before you put them in the closet, because they won't dry there, not enough air circulation, and will start to smell funky or almost mildewy.
Step 3: Purchase Lysol Laundry Sanitizer, Free and Clear version, and put funky items back in washer for 20 minutes soak with same. Must be for 20 minutes, not really possible with a front loader like in laundry room. Water does not have to be hot. No damage like with bleach. This also works for items that got a funky smell before being washed, like wet towels left unhung to dry (DUDE can you just hang the towel, PLEASE!) (Sorry, that outburst was not relevant to your situation.)
Step 4: Do laundry whenever I want, so less dirty laundry and damp hanging clean laundry to annoying me. Downsides: a. Some bedding won't fit in portable machine. Must still use communal laundry room or get smaller bedding. b. Washer and dryer take up space, possible leak could be large problem, landlord does not like me having in-unit washer, and dryer puts much moisture into air, which bath fan and windows do not remove quickly enough.
You asked what is my laundry plan that takes into account your 1 through 11 situation. These are my successive plans. I admire your use of numbered items, as I use the same writing strategy, so was moved to answer your question despite my current medical condition. I apologize, I just got out of the hospital with what appears to have been a seizure, so am having a problem with words. They call this aphasia. It is a post ictal, or ectal, or some such thing, symptom. I am unable to go back and correct any typos or grammatical errors. I am unable to make this post concise. I admit I am using askmetafilter, a community that has been kind to me, to practice reading and using words. I am a person who really really cares about laundry, so this question was very motivating for me.
posted by KayQuestions at 7:28 PM on February 27 [22 favorites]
Plan A:
Step 1: Get rid of any clothes that are "shirt three sizes too small and shorts that are really rather indecent" or hide them from yourself by putting them in a place not easily accessible to you, or in a special place for "really rather indecent clothes intentionally worn for fun times."
Step 2: Hang everything except underwear and socks. Get an extra pole in your bath, or someplace in your apartment outside of your closet, and just hang the hang-to-dry clothes immediately, then transfer them to your closet when they are dry. The key is to have a designated place to hang them in your apartment where they will dry timely, and not be in your way. It helps to put a fan/on near them to speed the process of getting them ready to go to your closet.
Step 3: Many items of clothing that are dried fully in the dryer benefit from being tumble dried for ten minutes, then taken out and hang dried for the rest of the drying necessary. (Maybe not socks and underwear, and there are some other items that don't turn out right unless they are tumble dried to complete hot dry.) Do your socks and underwear first. Put them in the dryer. Second load, do things that can be partly dried then hung. Put some in with the socks and underwear for ten minutes, take them out and hang them. Helps to have a little rolling cart with a hanging rod. Keep doing this until all your part-hang-to dry-items are done, and your socks and underwear loads are done.
Step 4: Last load is the special stuff that doesn't go in the dryer at all. By the time they are done, everything else will be out and dry, or hung to dry. Hang these things in the chosen place in your apartment. Fan. Move to closet when dry. No folding required, except matching up socks and doing as you wish with underwear.
Step 5: Have a designated day for laundry. It helps if there are multiple washers and dryers in your laundry room, and you can designate a day and time when they are relatively unused. With a lot of closet space, it helps if the rolling laundry cart has two or three baskets, a rod on top for hanging, and fits inside your closet like another closet rod. Usually you can find one that sits just under the current coset rod and is less than 24" deep, so it is inoffensive, unlike laundry baskets on the floor, which bug me like they bug you.
Alternative plan B I used that failed:
Step 1: Find a service to wash and fold. Ruined some clothes, lost some clothes, failed to deliver on time so I was left occasionally naked, and left all clothes smelling like highly scented laundry detergent and fabric softener, which causes me migraines and rashes, despite my providing the unscented unchemicalized laundry detergent they should go.
Step 2: Find a different service to wash and fold. Same basic result. Also, required delivering and picking up by me which was more onerous than just washing the clothes myself in the communal laundry room.
Step 3. Find yet another wash and fold. Failures of step 1 and 2 of this plan, plus 3rd failure of being very overpriced.
Alternative plan C that worked:
Step 1: Purchase portable washing machine. Hook up to shower with a diverter. (Silk Lux from Laundry Alternative, no longer available and they don't have a good option now.) Some things, like t-shirts, still need to be tumbled to not come out looking wrinkled. (Ironing is not going to happen.)
Step 2: Purchase portable dryer. Magic Chef from Home Depot. 110 outlet, 24" wide. Dry things for ten minutes as in Plan A above, hang everything then as in Plan A, use fan as in Plan A, transfer to tiny closet when dry. Slight failure on this one: make sure the items are totally dry before you put them in the closet, because they won't dry there, not enough air circulation, and will start to smell funky or almost mildewy.
Step 3: Purchase Lysol Laundry Sanitizer, Free and Clear version, and put funky items back in washer for 20 minutes soak with same. Must be for 20 minutes, not really possible with a front loader like in laundry room. Water does not have to be hot. No damage like with bleach. This also works for items that got a funky smell before being washed, like wet towels left unhung to dry (DUDE can you just hang the towel, PLEASE!) (Sorry, that outburst was not relevant to your situation.)
Step 4: Do laundry whenever I want, so less dirty laundry and damp hanging clean laundry to annoying me. Downsides: a. Some bedding won't fit in portable machine. Must still use communal laundry room or get smaller bedding. b. Washer and dryer take up space, possible leak could be large problem, landlord does not like me having in-unit washer, and dryer puts much moisture into air, which bath fan and windows do not remove quickly enough.
You asked what is my laundry plan that takes into account your 1 through 11 situation. These are my successive plans. I admire your use of numbered items, as I use the same writing strategy, so was moved to answer your question despite my current medical condition. I apologize, I just got out of the hospital with what appears to have been a seizure, so am having a problem with words. They call this aphasia. It is a post ictal, or ectal, or some such thing, symptom. I am unable to go back and correct any typos or grammatical errors. I am unable to make this post concise. I admit I am using askmetafilter, a community that has been kind to me, to practice reading and using words. I am a person who really really cares about laundry, so this question was very motivating for me.
posted by KayQuestions at 7:28 PM on February 27 [22 favorites]
I personally have a smaller hamper vs a bigger laundry "basket". When the hamper is getting full, it's time to do laundry, which is typically one week.
I have one of those folding boards, but it's much easier to just hang the important items after they come out of the dryer ASAP. The rest, you probably don't care much about. If they are on hangers, they are less wrinkled, and may even be enough to wear, but probably need some ironed creases if you want them to look "good" instead of merely presentable.
posted by kschang at 7:32 PM on February 27
I have one of those folding boards, but it's much easier to just hang the important items after they come out of the dryer ASAP. The rest, you probably don't care much about. If they are on hangers, they are less wrinkled, and may even be enough to wear, but probably need some ironed creases if you want them to look "good" instead of merely presentable.
posted by kschang at 7:32 PM on February 27
If you aren't already, try setting a timer on your phone to remind you when the laundry is ready for the next step. For me, it makes the whole process a lot faster than relying on my memory alone and I feel like I can actually relax between steps.
In fact, that's my other tip: have a designated laundry day that is also a designated relax day if possible. Don't load yourself up with other stuff you have to do and just do whatever you enjoy while the laundry is going.
posted by Eyelash at 7:42 PM on February 27 [3 favorites]
In fact, that's my other tip: have a designated laundry day that is also a designated relax day if possible. Don't load yourself up with other stuff you have to do and just do whatever you enjoy while the laundry is going.
posted by Eyelash at 7:42 PM on February 27 [3 favorites]
I have sensory issues that mean I can’t rewear clothes much, so I do a LOT of laundry. It is terrible and I commiserate, but I do have some ideas.
1. Make laundry as small a production as possible. Make sure all the laundry supplies are in one place, so you don’t have to gather things together. Have tools that you like (either because they function well, are easy to use, are cute, etc).
2. Do laundry every day, whichever pre-sorted basket is full at the moment. (No full baskets? Congrats, it’s a day off!) I know, this sucks, but it is soooooo much easier to do one load than many: no juggling multiple machines and different timing, no sorting and prioritizing what needs to really get washed today, no exhaustion from all the hauling back and forth, no staring down an entire afternoon of doing nothing else. Just grab the full basket and go.
3. Don’t fold anything! Hang what will wrinkle, and get some drawer dividers to corral things that won’t—then just toss them in. You already don’t mind sorting, so it’s win-win!
4. What can you do to redirect your impulse at seeing the full laundry basket from “hide it” to “do it”? What else is in your way? Is it sensory? Maybe you need new detergent, or a pushcart instead of a basket, or headphones, or a mask. Is it exhaustion? Can you throw a load in in the morning before you shower and hang it to dry before you start working? Is it guilt, for having “too many” clothes? I’m just spitballing, but if you have some other pain points getting in your way you can probably address them, even if it means not doing laundry the most perfect, “right” way. (My neighbors probably think I’m weird for doing laundry when I’m half-awake at seven am, but who cares?)
posted by CtrlAltDelete at 7:50 PM on February 27 [2 favorites]
1. Make laundry as small a production as possible. Make sure all the laundry supplies are in one place, so you don’t have to gather things together. Have tools that you like (either because they function well, are easy to use, are cute, etc).
2. Do laundry every day, whichever pre-sorted basket is full at the moment. (No full baskets? Congrats, it’s a day off!) I know, this sucks, but it is soooooo much easier to do one load than many: no juggling multiple machines and different timing, no sorting and prioritizing what needs to really get washed today, no exhaustion from all the hauling back and forth, no staring down an entire afternoon of doing nothing else. Just grab the full basket and go.
3. Don’t fold anything! Hang what will wrinkle, and get some drawer dividers to corral things that won’t—then just toss them in. You already don’t mind sorting, so it’s win-win!
4. What can you do to redirect your impulse at seeing the full laundry basket from “hide it” to “do it”? What else is in your way? Is it sensory? Maybe you need new detergent, or a pushcart instead of a basket, or headphones, or a mask. Is it exhaustion? Can you throw a load in in the morning before you shower and hang it to dry before you start working? Is it guilt, for having “too many” clothes? I’m just spitballing, but if you have some other pain points getting in your way you can probably address them, even if it means not doing laundry the most perfect, “right” way. (My neighbors probably think I’m weird for doing laundry when I’m half-awake at seven am, but who cares?)
posted by CtrlAltDelete at 7:50 PM on February 27 [2 favorites]
If I read this correctly you have 5 laundry baskets or categories? The FlyLady system suggests doing a load of laundry a day. I think that's perfect for you. Do one category a day.
Pain point # 1. Getting dressed in order to do laundry. On a hook put a pair of sweats and a tee shirt. This is your going outside outfit and is only for quick errands, like laundry.
Alternatively, sleep in clothes that are decent enough for you to leave the apartment in. First thing in the morning take a load of laundry without changing your clothes
Paint point #2: 5 laundry baskets. This is a blessing. It means 5 small loads, which makes things easier to put away every day.
Paint point #3: too many clothes. As you do the loads get rid of the stuff that you hate. Have a donate bag and a trash bag.
Paint point #4: is life only laundry now? Yes, actually. A line from the new Mr and Mrs Smith is "life is maintenance". Laundry is never done, it's a cycle of accumulating, washing, drying, and putting away. It's OK. It's like eating. We're never done eating if we consider all the steps, we are just at different points in the cycle.
Pain point #5: hiding the baskets because you don't like to look at them. Each night before you go to bed pull out one basket and put it by your door with your laundry supplies, keys and money. Just have it all ready to go.
Contemplate this: the stuff you are washing is the stuff you use. The other stuff is the stuff you don't use. Does it need to be there? On a good day use the dryer time to declutter some of the unused stuff, perhaps one drawer a day.
posted by jello at 7:55 PM on February 27 [1 favorite]
Pain point # 1. Getting dressed in order to do laundry. On a hook put a pair of sweats and a tee shirt. This is your going outside outfit and is only for quick errands, like laundry.
Alternatively, sleep in clothes that are decent enough for you to leave the apartment in. First thing in the morning take a load of laundry without changing your clothes
Paint point #2: 5 laundry baskets. This is a blessing. It means 5 small loads, which makes things easier to put away every day.
Paint point #3: too many clothes. As you do the loads get rid of the stuff that you hate. Have a donate bag and a trash bag.
Paint point #4: is life only laundry now? Yes, actually. A line from the new Mr and Mrs Smith is "life is maintenance". Laundry is never done, it's a cycle of accumulating, washing, drying, and putting away. It's OK. It's like eating. We're never done eating if we consider all the steps, we are just at different points in the cycle.
Pain point #5: hiding the baskets because you don't like to look at them. Each night before you go to bed pull out one basket and put it by your door with your laundry supplies, keys and money. Just have it all ready to go.
Contemplate this: the stuff you are washing is the stuff you use. The other stuff is the stuff you don't use. Does it need to be there? On a good day use the dryer time to declutter some of the unused stuff, perhaps one drawer a day.
posted by jello at 7:55 PM on February 27 [1 favorite]
I know the urge is to have more clothing so you have to do laundry less often, but the benefit of a capsule wardrobe is you do one small load more often and just keep wearing the same clothing. Consider having two laundry nights a week, with something that you like - a tv show you like to watch or a video game with treats - and do one night for just one load of clothing and one night for two loads: clothing and sheets/towels. Use a timer for when to change the loads. Change your sheets once a week and use two towels a week. Agree with hanging your clothing rather than folding. See how it goes?
As a side note, laundry nights and edibles go together pretty well.
posted by Toddles at 8:19 PM on February 27 [1 favorite]
As a side note, laundry nights and edibles go together pretty well.
posted by Toddles at 8:19 PM on February 27 [1 favorite]
Focus on how great it is to have clean clothes, instead of how annoying it is to do laundry. Reward yourself. Put in laundry, then watch a fun show or get a great magazine to read. Time the washer so you can set a timer on your phone. Reward yourself again when it's done. Maybe get a nice bit of chocolate. I agree with hanging clothes instead of folding, though I kind of like folding laundry.
Machine washed laundry is clean and doesn't need extra sanitizing. If clothes feel germ-y, hang them in a sunny window, sunshine and moving air will help.
It sounds like you go 2 weeks or quite a bit longer. So laundry becomes a big chore. Do it every week, maybe when a good show is on, or when you call your Mom or something. It won't be as horrid a chore. You still deserve a reward, though!
posted by theora55 at 8:45 PM on February 27 [3 favorites]
Machine washed laundry is clean and doesn't need extra sanitizing. If clothes feel germ-y, hang them in a sunny window, sunshine and moving air will help.
It sounds like you go 2 weeks or quite a bit longer. So laundry becomes a big chore. Do it every week, maybe when a good show is on, or when you call your Mom or something. It won't be as horrid a chore. You still deserve a reward, though!
posted by theora55 at 8:45 PM on February 27 [3 favorites]
Not sure where you are, but: Send your laundry out. I did it in Brooklyn, I do it in Chicago, it absolutely slaps and is worth every stinkin' penny to me. I do the kind where they pick it up and drop it off, which might be harder to find in smaller cities, but tons of laundromats have drop-off services. It has made my life much, much better.
posted by Charity Garfein at 8:48 PM on February 27 [4 favorites]
posted by Charity Garfein at 8:48 PM on February 27 [4 favorites]
Sending your laundry out is amazing. It comes back clean, wrinkle free, and folded neatly. Sometimes they deliver. Worth every penny, especially for towels.
Another option is to shower with your clothes so that you, and they, are now clean. Feels weird to do though.
posted by blnkfrnk at 11:13 PM on February 27 [3 favorites]
Another option is to shower with your clothes so that you, and they, are now clean. Feels weird to do though.
posted by blnkfrnk at 11:13 PM on February 27 [3 favorites]
Things contributing to this problem in no particular order:
1. I have a lot of clothes, towels, and bedding.
I think that one actually does belong right at the top of the order.
As a retired person, I now have the massive luxury of not needing to give a fuck what anybody else thinks of my sartorial choices. So I now own fourteen black cotton T shirts, fourteen identical pairs of comfortable cotton underpants, and six pairs of harem pants. I have been barefoot by preference for over forty years, so I scarcely ever use any of my three pairs of socks. One laundry hamper, one load of washing every two weeks and that covers clothes. Bedding and both my big towels go in the second load.
You don't need to go to that extreme but seriously, cutting way back on clothes owned is wholly liberating.
posted by flabdablet at 11:41 PM on February 27 [4 favorites]
1. I have a lot of clothes, towels, and bedding.
I think that one actually does belong right at the top of the order.
As a retired person, I now have the massive luxury of not needing to give a fuck what anybody else thinks of my sartorial choices. So I now own fourteen black cotton T shirts, fourteen identical pairs of comfortable cotton underpants, and six pairs of harem pants. I have been barefoot by preference for over forty years, so I scarcely ever use any of my three pairs of socks. One laundry hamper, one load of washing every two weeks and that covers clothes. Bedding and both my big towels go in the second load.
You don't need to go to that extreme but seriously, cutting way back on clothes owned is wholly liberating.
posted by flabdablet at 11:41 PM on February 27 [4 favorites]
While I have a washing machine in my house, I struggle with laundry due to severe physical exhaustion.
One thing that helps reduce the amount of laundry is to be naked whenever possible inside my house. If it's not too cold, and no one else sees you, you don't need clothes.
posted by chariot pulled by cassowaries at 1:38 AM on February 28 [1 favorite]
One thing that helps reduce the amount of laundry is to be naked whenever possible inside my house. If it's not too cold, and no one else sees you, you don't need clothes.
posted by chariot pulled by cassowaries at 1:38 AM on February 28 [1 favorite]
I think you need to stop accumulating so many dirty clothes at once, because it's overwhelming. Do the laundry on a very regular schedule like weekly. It sounds like you would have 1 or 2 set of outdoor clothes, probably 7 sets of next to skin clothes, and however many towels and sheets you get through in a week. Wash, dry, put away. Do the same again the following week.
Recognise that laundry is a never ending cycle. You must do the laundry at the same rate at which you create it, there is no sustainable alternative. If you do smaller loads more frequently, then you are storing most of your clothes in the closet. If you do larger loads less frequently you are storing more of your clothes in the laundry hamper. These are the only real choices that are possible.
posted by plonkee at 2:31 AM on February 28 [2 favorites]
Recognise that laundry is a never ending cycle. You must do the laundry at the same rate at which you create it, there is no sustainable alternative. If you do smaller loads more frequently, then you are storing most of your clothes in the closet. If you do larger loads less frequently you are storing more of your clothes in the laundry hamper. These are the only real choices that are possible.
posted by plonkee at 2:31 AM on February 28 [2 favorites]
Up until they got old enough I was doing laundry for a total of four people (briefly 6), including sports uniforms. This is one of those things where as soon as you can’t ignore that it just has to be done really often looms large and as soon as you do it extremely regularly it becomes easier.
I just chain it on other habits. So I would start a load before making dinner, put it in the dryer after washing dinner dishes, pull it out after my evening workout or class or whatever, and fold it in front of a half hour of Netflix (one load wasn’t that hard.) Hang dry things got hung and then folded with the next day’s wash. Weekends were more for sheets and towels, which were: coffee, put load in, vaccuum and mop floors, flip, clean bathroom and kitchen and whatever, put back on beds and fold directly into linen cupboard (Saturdays) or put in, go for run, flip, do whatever for an hour, beds and put away, Sundays.
We have one hamper in the bathroom, plus one per child, so it doesn’t have too many places to pile up. For smells, hang towels right away, hang sports clothes on a hook, and for sports things honestly Tide Sports is a godsend.
The times I’ve worked from home consistently I’ve started a load before starting work, flip on a coffee break…and fold during camera-off meetings or training where I didn’t have to take notes, from time to time, or after dinner.
For me, chaining habits worked. But I also love the feeling that I’m cleaning and doing laundry, etc. I’m also now wriggly if trying to watch a show without laundry to do.
I love that rolling cart above but our laundry is in the basement. I’d love same-floor laundry. :)
posted by warriorqueen at 3:20 AM on February 28 [4 favorites]
I just chain it on other habits. So I would start a load before making dinner, put it in the dryer after washing dinner dishes, pull it out after my evening workout or class or whatever, and fold it in front of a half hour of Netflix (one load wasn’t that hard.) Hang dry things got hung and then folded with the next day’s wash. Weekends were more for sheets and towels, which were: coffee, put load in, vaccuum and mop floors, flip, clean bathroom and kitchen and whatever, put back on beds and fold directly into linen cupboard (Saturdays) or put in, go for run, flip, do whatever for an hour, beds and put away, Sundays.
We have one hamper in the bathroom, plus one per child, so it doesn’t have too many places to pile up. For smells, hang towels right away, hang sports clothes on a hook, and for sports things honestly Tide Sports is a godsend.
The times I’ve worked from home consistently I’ve started a load before starting work, flip on a coffee break…and fold during camera-off meetings or training where I didn’t have to take notes, from time to time, or after dinner.
For me, chaining habits worked. But I also love the feeling that I’m cleaning and doing laundry, etc. I’m also now wriggly if trying to watch a show without laundry to do.
I love that rolling cart above but our laundry is in the basement. I’d love same-floor laundry. :)
posted by warriorqueen at 3:20 AM on February 28 [4 favorites]
In your situation I would:
- research the machines in your laundry room and find out the shortest cycle you’d be happy to use; I’ve used a 20-minute “quick” cycle for years that was hidden in the manual of my machine and have perfectly clean clothes
- accept slightly less optimized load separation to reduce the number of washes you need to do each week: if you can get two machines at once, doing one all-clothes-together wash on cool with a cold-water-friendly detergent and some oxygen-bleach booster like Oxiclean, and at the same time, doing one sheets/towels wash on warm/hot with the same detergent + oxygen-bleach booster feels like all you’d need to achieve the level of cleanliness you desire
- when the washes are done, pop the sheets/towels in the dryer, and while they are in there, bring the washed and well-spun clothes back to your flat and hang them on something like the IKEA Mulig rack: this saves you folding later because the wrinkles fall out of the clothes as they hang (indeed, you can just leave the clothes on the rack!)
- put new sheets/bedding on your stripped bed while waiting for the bedding in the dryer to finish
- go back to the now-done dryer and retrieve the towels/sheets; you could just leave them in a bit of the hamper you aren’t using to avoid folding entirely
This is doable! Good luck.
posted by mdonley at 7:21 AM on February 28
- research the machines in your laundry room and find out the shortest cycle you’d be happy to use; I’ve used a 20-minute “quick” cycle for years that was hidden in the manual of my machine and have perfectly clean clothes
- accept slightly less optimized load separation to reduce the number of washes you need to do each week: if you can get two machines at once, doing one all-clothes-together wash on cool with a cold-water-friendly detergent and some oxygen-bleach booster like Oxiclean, and at the same time, doing one sheets/towels wash on warm/hot with the same detergent + oxygen-bleach booster feels like all you’d need to achieve the level of cleanliness you desire
- when the washes are done, pop the sheets/towels in the dryer, and while they are in there, bring the washed and well-spun clothes back to your flat and hang them on something like the IKEA Mulig rack: this saves you folding later because the wrinkles fall out of the clothes as they hang (indeed, you can just leave the clothes on the rack!)
- put new sheets/bedding on your stripped bed while waiting for the bedding in the dryer to finish
- go back to the now-done dryer and retrieve the towels/sheets; you could just leave them in a bit of the hamper you aren’t using to avoid folding entirely
This is doable! Good luck.
posted by mdonley at 7:21 AM on February 28
I felt more on top of my laundry when I had fewer clothes and I had to wash every 4 days. (Granted this was in-suite laundry, but still). Hauling heavy clothes is the worst part of laundry day. 4 days is a large carryon, heck you can even use your carryon to move it! The hamper never got full, the load was done pretty soon, the whole thing was manageable.
posted by shock muppet at 7:33 AM on February 28
posted by shock muppet at 7:33 AM on February 28
The amount of clothing you have doesn't affect the actual amount of laundry you do, it only affects how long you can wait before doing laundry (which does mean a larger amount at one time, if you wait longer). It can be helpful to reduce if you're in the habit of procrastinating for weeks and then building up a massive amount that is causing you difficulty, but otherwise it won't really change anything.
Strong, consistent habits are a great way to fight procrastination and forgetting, which are huge struggles for me in other areas but not laundry anymore. I found a time that my apartment's laundry room is usually empty and I always do my laundry then, exactly once a week, either one or two loads depending on whether sheets etc are due for a wash. So it never builds up. It helps me keep the habit to remind myself that if I miss my slot, I might end up in a busy room, which I hate the idea of.
It sounds like the sorting may be your main issue if you feel the need to wash every sorted basket separately, meaning it has to sit for weeks before it's filled up. The vast majority of clothes can be washed together, or at most separated into lights and darks. You can use mesh bags if you want to keep something like socks physically separated in the washer, and they also help protect delicate items.
posted by randomnity at 7:35 AM on February 28 [2 favorites]
Strong, consistent habits are a great way to fight procrastination and forgetting, which are huge struggles for me in other areas but not laundry anymore. I found a time that my apartment's laundry room is usually empty and I always do my laundry then, exactly once a week, either one or two loads depending on whether sheets etc are due for a wash. So it never builds up. It helps me keep the habit to remind myself that if I miss my slot, I might end up in a busy room, which I hate the idea of.
It sounds like the sorting may be your main issue if you feel the need to wash every sorted basket separately, meaning it has to sit for weeks before it's filled up. The vast majority of clothes can be washed together, or at most separated into lights and darks. You can use mesh bags if you want to keep something like socks physically separated in the washer, and they also help protect delicate items.
posted by randomnity at 7:35 AM on February 28 [2 favorites]
I would also add you don't need to fold your clean clothes at all! There are tons of other options like hanging in a closet (for things that wrinkle), hanging some items on hooks, shoving them unfolded in a drawer (for things that don't wrinkle), or just leaving them in the clean basket, in a dedicated hidden spot if you prefer. I hate folding clothes and generally do a combination of these things instead, and only fold a few things that it's most necessary for.
posted by randomnity at 7:39 AM on February 28
posted by randomnity at 7:39 AM on February 28
I have a lot of clothes, towels, and bedding.
Have fewer. I'm serious. I think you realize this yourself with your questions at the end - but doing one basket of laundry at a time is less of a fucking ordeal than doing five, and it makes it much easier to keep on top of it.
I probably do about 1-2 baskets of laundry a week. Granted, my clothes are less fancy than yours and I don't need to separate them as much, but a lot more can be thrown together into the wash on the cold delicate cycle than my parents' generation was taught. I do laundry when I start to run out of something, so having fewer things means my laundry never gets overwhelming.
(When I was living in an apartment with common laundry it was also more courteous: I wouldn't be monopolizing the machines for hours since I would only be doing a load.)
You could start paring down here:
until I am wearing a shirt three sizes too small and shorts that are really rather indecent
Get rid of clothes that aren't comfortable or don't make you happy to wear. I mean, I'm not saying get rid of all your lounging around the house clothes - but get rid of things that don't fit, that have holes in them, that you think "ugh" about when you put them on, that you will be embarrassed to wear while going to the laundry room.
The same goes for bedding and towels. You only really need one set, if you're in the habit of just washing and putting them back on laundry day, but if you're not used to thinking that way or are worried about accidents I'd start with two: One set to use while the other is in the laundry. You can add a couple of sets of sheets if you like to change them to match the season (e.g. two flannel sets), or if you host guests.
posted by Kutsuwamushi at 8:21 AM on February 28
Have fewer. I'm serious. I think you realize this yourself with your questions at the end - but doing one basket of laundry at a time is less of a fucking ordeal than doing five, and it makes it much easier to keep on top of it.
I probably do about 1-2 baskets of laundry a week. Granted, my clothes are less fancy than yours and I don't need to separate them as much, but a lot more can be thrown together into the wash on the cold delicate cycle than my parents' generation was taught. I do laundry when I start to run out of something, so having fewer things means my laundry never gets overwhelming.
(When I was living in an apartment with common laundry it was also more courteous: I wouldn't be monopolizing the machines for hours since I would only be doing a load.)
You could start paring down here:
until I am wearing a shirt three sizes too small and shorts that are really rather indecent
Get rid of clothes that aren't comfortable or don't make you happy to wear. I mean, I'm not saying get rid of all your lounging around the house clothes - but get rid of things that don't fit, that have holes in them, that you think "ugh" about when you put them on, that you will be embarrassed to wear while going to the laundry room.
The same goes for bedding and towels. You only really need one set, if you're in the habit of just washing and putting them back on laundry day, but if you're not used to thinking that way or are worried about accidents I'd start with two: One set to use while the other is in the laundry. You can add a couple of sets of sheets if you like to change them to match the season (e.g. two flannel sets), or if you host guests.
posted by Kutsuwamushi at 8:21 AM on February 28
5. I do not know how to disinfect clothes to make them last longer without washing them or if that's even okay to do.
YES TOTALLY OKAY TO DO SO! Like another commenter above, I put vodka in a little spray bottle and use it to make professional tops last longer. I normally only wear a blouse, buttondown shirt or a blazer for working hours (and less now that I work primarily virtually) so I will put the top on a hanger and then spritz vodka in the collar and armpit zones. I have designated my dark colored plastic hangers as my "clean enough to wear again" zones and have them on the right side of my clothes rack (I use a standing one, not the closet, but I've also used hooks hanging from doors etc).
posted by spamandkimchi at 8:23 AM on February 28 [2 favorites]
YES TOTALLY OKAY TO DO SO! Like another commenter above, I put vodka in a little spray bottle and use it to make professional tops last longer. I normally only wear a blouse, buttondown shirt or a blazer for working hours (and less now that I work primarily virtually) so I will put the top on a hanger and then spritz vodka in the collar and armpit zones. I have designated my dark colored plastic hangers as my "clean enough to wear again" zones and have them on the right side of my clothes rack (I use a standing one, not the closet, but I've also used hooks hanging from doors etc).
posted by spamandkimchi at 8:23 AM on February 28 [2 favorites]
Secondly, viruses are not actually infectious for that long on porous surfaces like clothes. We all got stressed out at the start of the pandemic when scientists noted that the covid-19 virus was detectable for days after on hard surfaces, but studies on their infectiousness show a different story, especially since porous surfaces degrade the virus envelope quickly.
If I went to the doctors office in a particular outfit and was concerned about germiness, I would just put it on a hanger, put it in the bathroom when I took a shower and let it get steamed up and then put it back on my clothes rack.
Your clothes will last longer with fewer washes (aka all that lint in the lint trap is the disintegration of fabric!)
posted by spamandkimchi at 8:29 AM on February 28
If I went to the doctors office in a particular outfit and was concerned about germiness, I would just put it on a hanger, put it in the bathroom when I took a shower and let it get steamed up and then put it back on my clothes rack.
Your clothes will last longer with fewer washes (aka all that lint in the lint trap is the disintegration of fabric!)
posted by spamandkimchi at 8:29 AM on February 28
Response by poster: So many good ideas. Thank you!
After reflecting on some of your questions I think the real problem is that I am depressed, I'm overweight, don't like my clothes anymore because of how they look on my body, and am overwhelmed by how much has built up. I can get to almost every other chore without too much difficulty. It's just the laundry that trips me up. Maybe if I get clothes I like more (and reduce the number of towels and bedding items I have) I'll feel better?
posted by The Adventure Begins at 9:40 AM on February 28 [8 favorites]
After reflecting on some of your questions I think the real problem is that I am depressed, I'm overweight, don't like my clothes anymore because of how they look on my body, and am overwhelmed by how much has built up. I can get to almost every other chore without too much difficulty. It's just the laundry that trips me up. Maybe if I get clothes I like more (and reduce the number of towels and bedding items I have) I'll feel better?
posted by The Adventure Begins at 9:40 AM on February 28 [8 favorites]
Your update makes so much sense to me. I think your instincts are right, and you have this internet stranger’s enthusiastic permission to get yourself some clothes you love, that fit well and feel good on your body. I bet when you see those clothes in the basket—clothes you actually want to wear and signify you giving yourself the good things you deserve—the burden will feel significantly lessened.
Also, this is great news for digging yourself out of the laundry mountain backlog! Go through those baskets and take anything that doesn’t fit, or you don’t like, or makes you feel bad about yourself, and THROW IT AWAY. Don’t wash it, don’t create a new guilt pile to eventually maybe donate somewhere that is already drowning in secondhand clothes, just send it right to the curb. Give yourself this. You deserve it.
posted by CtrlAltDelete at 10:14 AM on February 28 [3 favorites]
Also, this is great news for digging yourself out of the laundry mountain backlog! Go through those baskets and take anything that doesn’t fit, or you don’t like, or makes you feel bad about yourself, and THROW IT AWAY. Don’t wash it, don’t create a new guilt pile to eventually maybe donate somewhere that is already drowning in secondhand clothes, just send it right to the curb. Give yourself this. You deserve it.
posted by CtrlAltDelete at 10:14 AM on February 28 [3 favorites]
My advice is to stop sorting your laundry into 5 baskets. Honestly in most cases you can not sort things at all and it’s fine, but if you must sort, pare it down to like 2 categories at most, not 5! When you only have 1 or 2 baskets to put dirty laundry into, those baskets will fill up faster, and the baskets being full will nudge you into actually doing the laundry. That’s the system I use.
I really think less sorting is the key, here.
posted by peperomia at 12:38 PM on February 28 [1 favorite]
I really think less sorting is the key, here.
posted by peperomia at 12:38 PM on February 28 [1 favorite]
I do love my handheld steamer for de-grottifying things in between washes. Mainly about creases, smells and making me feel slightly better about germs.
posted by lokta at 4:51 PM on February 28 [1 favorite]
posted by lokta at 4:51 PM on February 28 [1 favorite]
I read your update, and it sounds like you are on the right track!
Just to chime in, as a person in NYC with a laundry room in the basement of the building (which has also not worked for the past year and a half), and anxiety about laundry building up, I got this Costway twin tubs machine that I fill with my showerhead and run inside my bathtub, and this dryer that I vent out the window, and this combination has improved my quality of life tremendously, as I can do small loads throughout the week, and not feel pressured to deal with laundry until I am ready to deal with it. I also don't care about folding laundry, especially laundry that does not wrinkle. I just put clean clothes in the drawers as they come out of the dryer.
Once every few weeks I drop off sheets and towels at my local laundromat, and they fold everything, and I put that heap in my closet, and it lasts me for...well, a few weeks.
Basically, for me creating a solution that makes it possible to do some laundry without leaving my apartment has helped a lot with the "it's overwhelming" feeling that sometimes accompanies laundry. In terms of an earlier comment someone made that in NYC having laundry on your floor means there should be no barrier -- I get that sometimes it's just really hard to mentally motivate oneself to commit to a task that will require trips in and out of the apartment for several hours.
posted by virve at 7:16 PM on February 28 [1 favorite]
Just to chime in, as a person in NYC with a laundry room in the basement of the building (which has also not worked for the past year and a half), and anxiety about laundry building up, I got this Costway twin tubs machine that I fill with my showerhead and run inside my bathtub, and this dryer that I vent out the window, and this combination has improved my quality of life tremendously, as I can do small loads throughout the week, and not feel pressured to deal with laundry until I am ready to deal with it. I also don't care about folding laundry, especially laundry that does not wrinkle. I just put clean clothes in the drawers as they come out of the dryer.
Once every few weeks I drop off sheets and towels at my local laundromat, and they fold everything, and I put that heap in my closet, and it lasts me for...well, a few weeks.
Basically, for me creating a solution that makes it possible to do some laundry without leaving my apartment has helped a lot with the "it's overwhelming" feeling that sometimes accompanies laundry. In terms of an earlier comment someone made that in NYC having laundry on your floor means there should be no barrier -- I get that sometimes it's just really hard to mentally motivate oneself to commit to a task that will require trips in and out of the apartment for several hours.
posted by virve at 7:16 PM on February 28 [1 favorite]
I got this Costway twin tubs machine that I fill with my showerhead and run inside my bathtub, and this dryer that I vent out the window, and this combination has improved my quality of life tremendously
Just a warning that many leases forbid this, so proceed at your own risk!
Cutting down to one to two (if you wash sheets and towels every other week) loads a week will help avoid spending several hours running in and out of your apartment. The less of a Production, the less horrible if you're already feeling depressed/unmotivated. (And CAD is right! Only keep clothes that fit [or, for expensive work clothing, if your weight does fluctuate, maybe one size up/down]! They are useless except as a form of self-reproach. Don't let the past hang around and drag you down!)
posted by praemunire at 11:27 AM on February 29
Just a warning that many leases forbid this, so proceed at your own risk!
Cutting down to one to two (if you wash sheets and towels every other week) loads a week will help avoid spending several hours running in and out of your apartment. The less of a Production, the less horrible if you're already feeling depressed/unmotivated. (And CAD is right! Only keep clothes that fit [or, for expensive work clothing, if your weight does fluctuate, maybe one size up/down]! They are useless except as a form of self-reproach. Don't let the past hang around and drag you down!)
posted by praemunire at 11:27 AM on February 29
it's a PITA to get dressed
I'll add two more options to the suggestions above: you can use a robe or dressing gown (or coat, in winter) as something to just throw on on top of what you're wearing (or not wearing), in the style of a classic suburbanite fetching their newspaper from the lawn in robe and slippers; or make peace with looking like a slob to whoever might randomly happen across you as you go out. (The pandemic helped me get a little more comfortable with the second option.)
Also, if you have any other frequent chores you already find yourself getting dressed for, like taking out the garbage, maybe you can pair the two.
posted by trig at 3:22 AM on March 2
I'll add two more options to the suggestions above: you can use a robe or dressing gown (or coat, in winter) as something to just throw on on top of what you're wearing (or not wearing), in the style of a classic suburbanite fetching their newspaper from the lawn in robe and slippers; or make peace with looking like a slob to whoever might randomly happen across you as you go out. (The pandemic helped me get a little more comfortable with the second option.)
Also, if you have any other frequent chores you already find yourself getting dressed for, like taking out the garbage, maybe you can pair the two.
posted by trig at 3:22 AM on March 2
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I do think paring down a wardrobe is a good idea. Ideally you shouldn't even have a shirt three sizes too small. I'm not sure about capsule wardrobes - I feel like life needs more variety than that. But you can hone your wardrobe down to things that fit you, that you like, and that you feel good in. Just get rid of everything else that is sort of okay but actually uncomfortable or a size too small or whatever.
All that said, I think the real challenge here is the laundry situation. With out-of-unit laundry you end up committing more time and attention than if the washer and dryer are in your residence. If you commit to doing this routinely at a time when you're usually home, it might help to do a single load twice a week instead of batching it up to do 5 baskets all at once. The reality of laundry is that it is a neverending cycle. I'm always constantly working on laundry, which kind of sucks but not as much as not having clothes sucks or trying to get through 5-8 loads in a day sucks.
You could also take stuff to a laundromat for them to wash and fold for you. Whether this makes sense cost-wise depends on your budget, and I probably wouldn't send anything that needs to hang dry.
posted by jeoc at 6:21 PM on February 27 [4 favorites]